PORT HUENEME : Judge Refuses to Scrap ‘View Tax’ Suit
A petition to throw out a lawsuit challenging Port Hueneme’s so-called view tax has been rejected by a Ventura County Superior Court judge.
The ruling allows the lawsuit over annual assessments by the city’s Beach Maintenance Assessment District to proceed to trial on Oct. 17, said an attorney for a coalition of homeowners associations that brought the suit.
“If the motion had prevailed today, we would not have been able to carry out our suit,” said Dorothy Blake, chairwoman of the coalition. “So we’ve won one round.”
The residents filed suit against the city of Port Hueneme in 1991, alleging the assessments on 1,252 parcels near the beach are unfair and that residents citywide should share the cost to maintain the beach.
The assessments, which range from $79 to $206 per year, will continue while the city and homeowners battle in court. Assessments are based on the condominiums’ size and proximity to the beach, City Manager Richard Velthoen said.
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