Camarillo Panel OKs Denser Housing Plan

A developer’s request to build 49 additional homes on an eastern Camarillo housing site was approved unanimously by the city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday night.

The vote came after the developer, Pardee Construction Co., assured the commission that agreements had been struck with both the Pleasant Valley School District and the Oxnard Union High School District to compensate them for the increase in students that will come with the 527-home Rancho Calleguas subdivision.

Bill Teller, a Pardee spokesman, said the 49 additional homes would bring an estimated 150 elementary and high school students.

“I think that is a reasonable number to deal with,” said Planning Commission Chairman Les Meredith. “We have to remember that we are just talking about the impact of 49 homes that is being addressed in this amendment.”

The commission’s decision served to amend the terms of the subdivision originally approved by city officials in the late 1980s. With Tuesday’s decision, Pardee will now be able to build 527 homes on the 126-acre site, adjacent to Camarillo High School.

In a November letter to the city, Pleasant Valley Associate Supt. Howard Hamilton expressed concerns over the increase in students. He stated that the district could see hundreds more students once the project was complete.

Teller, however, said that before the project is finished another elementary school is expected to be constructed to help shoulder the additional students. The amendment to the development plan is expected to come before the Camarillo City Council next month, officials said.