OXNARD : Shopping Center Near Airport OKd
The Oxnard City Council on Tuesday rejected a recommendation by the city Planning Commission and approved a shopping center across from an Oxnard Airport runway.
Pilots groups opposed the project, arguing that it will increase the potential for disaster if a plane crashes while taking off or landing.
“We’re concerned about a lack of a common-sense approach here,” said David Ousley, president of the Ventura County Aviation Assn. “There is no (environmental impact report). . . . You have a moral obligation to make the area around the airport safe.”
Citing potential safety hazards, the Planning Commission voted last month to block the project northeast of Ventura Road and 5th Street, which would include an Albertsons supermarket.
But the City Council approved the project unanimously, because all buildings are outside the airport’s safety zone and runway protection zone, the areas where stores and shops are prohibited by the county’s airport Land Use Plan.
The Federal Aviation Administration reviewed the project and also found that the buildings would not present a problem, city officials said.
A significant portion of the shopping center’s parking lot will be located within the safety zone, however.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
