VENTURA : County to Cite Trailer Park for Moving Dirt

The county will cite the managers of the Ventura Beach RV Resort for moving tons of dirt and debris from the trailer park without obtaining a permit, officials said Wednesday.

Alex Sheydayi, deputy director in the county’s Flood Control Department, said Parkstone Management Co. will not be fined for the work that began Friday. But the firm will be cited and must apply for a permit before removal of the silt can continue, he said.

An environmental group brought the violation to county officials’ attention Tuesday, Sheydayi said. Friends of the Ventura River notified the county that work was taking place within a county easement and questioned whether Parkstone was allowed to remove any dirt at all.

Besides county approval, any work in that area requires permission from the state Coastal Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers, said Russ Baggerly, a spokesman for the Friends of the Ventura River.

“They’re in the coastal zone, and in order to move one shovelful of dirt, they need a permit,” Baggerly said.

Coastal Commission and Corps of Engineers representatives could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Tom Staben, the owner of the company hired to remove the dirt, said he received permission from the city of Ventura before any work began, and city planner Mitch Oshinsky confirmed Wednesday that permission had been granted to repair erosion in the area.

“As far we we know, there is no problem,” Oshinsky said. “No (city) permits are needed because they are doing what we classify repair and maintenance.”

Staben said about 2,000 tons of dirt a day have been removed from the RV park since Friday. Most of that was hauled to the Bailard Landfill in Oxnard, but some rich topsoil was deposited on farmland north of the RV park because the property owners requested it, Staben said.