OXNARD : Developer Told to Upgrade Project

After reviewing plans to build 50 houses across from Channel Islands High School, Oxnard City Council members told the builder it needs to make the neighborhood more upscale.

Komorowski Development is looking to build the homes on 7.5 acres at the southwest corner of Rose Avenue and Channel Islands Boulevard. The builder presented preliminary plans to the council Tuesday for approval, but was told it needed to look at ways of increasing the project’s quality.

Komorowski proposed building $170,000 houses. But the council wanted higher-end housing, closer to the $240,000 houses that had been proposed on the property by a previous landowner.

A handful of nearby residents opposed the housing project Tuesday, saying their neighborhood already is overcrowded.

“Crowded conditions mean trouble, and we have quite a bit of apartments in the area already,” said Mercedes Sosa, chairwoman of College Estates Neighborhood Council. “We have a nice neighborhood. We live near the college, we have a beautiful county park. We don’t want to see it all go to waste.”