CAMARILLO : Public Can Discuss Plans to Develop Land

The public can discuss at a City Hall forum tonight whether a 300-acre strip of farmland outside the city of Camarillo should be developed.

The parcel, known as the Ponderosa Corridor, lies adjacent to the city, north of the Ventura Freeway. Torrance-based Ran-Rancho Partnerships, which currently is using the land to grow row crops and flowers, has signaled its intention to develop the parcel.

The city is hosting the forum, even though the property is in unincorporated county territory. According to Matthew J. Boden, the city’s director of planning and community development, the land sits within the city’s “sphere of influence” and thus would come under its planning regulations.

Boden said the city has authorized the creation of a preliminary zoning plan for the parcel and is seeking the public’s comments on how the land might be best developed. The site lies directly south of a proposed 89-home tract by the Spanish Hills Development Co.

City-hired consultants already are working on a specific plan for the site and an environmental impact report detailing the benefits and possible consequences of development there.

But according to Camarillo Mayor Ken Gose, the parcel represents one of the last remaining stretches of undeveloped green space around the city and should left as is.

“I would hate to see it developed,” Gose said. “The question we have to ask ourselves is whether we want to see this place turn into another L.A. I don’t want this place to be just concrete and people.”

Boden said owners of the parcel, as well as the two consultants studying uses for the land, will attend the forum.

The consultants and members of the city’s planning staff will answer questions from the public during the forum, addressing what can and cannot be built on the property due to height and density restrictions because of the site’s location under the Camarillo Airport flight path.

The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. at Camarillo City Hall, 601 Carmen Drive.