City Assessment for Dredging Residents’ Canals Is Upheld : Ventura Keys: The ruling is the first in a battle over who should pay for removing silt. Homeowners will consider an appeal.

A Superior Court judge has ruled that the city of Ventura has the authority to assess Ventura Keys homeowners extra tax dollars to pay for dredging silt from their back-yard waterways.

But Keys residents on Wednesday said they are considering appealing the judicial decision, which they criticized as unfair.

“We’re still in mourning,” said Bud Whitehead, who has lived in the Keys for more than 23 years. “I certainly hope we appeal. Bottom line, the city and the county are using the Keys as a dumping ground.”

The ruling issued Tuesday was the first decision involving one of the many lawsuits filed by Keys property owners against the city.

Although city leaders view the ruling as a significant victory, another pending lawsuit, which consolidates the complaints of nearly 200 property owners, is pursuing a different legal strategy in challenging the tax assessments. And thus, the attorneys in that consolidated case do not believe Tuesday’s ruling will harm their chances of prevailing in court.

Keys residents have been battling the city for years over who should pay for removing the dirt and debris that washes down barrancas into their back-yard canals. Homeowners argue that runoff from county and city storm drains is responsible for polluting the waterways, and therefore the city and county should pay for dredging costs.

But city officials have decided that the 300 Keys waterfront-home owners benefit the most from the dredging and should pay three-quarters of the costs, or about $1,733 per average household.

When the Ventura City Council began levying assessments for the dredging two years ago, more than 85% of the homeowners filed written protests. But council members overrode the opposition with a 6-1 vote.

In response, homeowners filed a variety of lawsuits against the city, including the one decided Tuesday that contended the council did not have the legal authority to form the tax assessment district.

In the case, Kern County Judge Sidney Chapin was asked to hear the case because all the Ventura County judges disqualified themselves. Each of the judges said they had a conflict that prevented them from taking the case because each has either relatives, friends or associates in the Keys.

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City officials said they were pleased Chapin ruled in their favor.

“It validates what we’ve been saying for years,” City Atty. Peter D. Bulens said.

Mayor Tom Buford said, “We felt we were going to win this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to appeal it.”

Terry Bird, an attorney representing Keys homeowners, said that if his clients decide to appeal he is confident they will prevail. “I think we will ultimately be vindicated,” Bird said. “It’s not unusual for these things to flip-flop between judges.”

Bird said Keys residents have about two months to appeal, and homeowners on Wednesday said they will probably decide whether to file an appeal before the end of the month.

“I personally want to appeal it, but we’re going to have to survey all the people in the Keys,” said Bill Veit, who sits on the Save the Keys Committee, which has spearheaded the effort. “The holidays are going to screw this up something awful.”

Harvey Wilson, co-chairman of the Save the Keys Committee, estimated that Keys residents have spent about $500,000 to cover litigation costs so far. City officials say they have spent about $1.2 million defending themselves.

“The city has foisted on us a very onerous situation,” Wilson said. “It’s big government against a group of people, and the city is using their power.”

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In the larger, consolidated lawsuit, nearly 200 of the 300 homeowners are suing the city the county, the state and two other agencies, blaming them for allowing silt to pile up in the Keys.

A settlement proposal from city officials has circulated among Keys residents for more than two months, but a majority of the homeowners have not agreed to its terms.

Buford said the recent loss in court may persuade some Keys residents to accept the city’s proposed settlement, which would reduce the average annual assessment to $685 per property and have the city cover unpaid dredging costs for 1992.

“We would like an end to this,” he said.