OXNARD : Council to Consider Zone Plan Change
The Oxnard City Council on Tuesday will consider amending the city’s coastal zoning plan so an access road and parking lot at the Southern California Edison plant on Ormond Beach will conform with state law.
The 2.13-acre site has been used since 1973 as an access road and equipment storage area. The road and a 195-space parking lot were paved in 1982.
But Edison never obtained the required permits to pave part of the wetland area, home to the tidewater goby fish, Savannah sparrow and other endangered species.
The company wants to improve the site and must apply for a permit with the California Coastal Commission. City staff members are recommending that the City Council approve the amendment, labeling the change as minor.
Alan Sanders of the Sierra Club has written a letter protesting the zoning change, saying the site was “part of the unique Ormond salt marsh” before Edison filled it over.
He said that had Edison applied for the correct permits in the first place, it would have faced scrutiny by the city of Oxnard, California Coastal Commission, state Department of Fish and Game, Army Corps of Engineers and U. S. Wildlife Service.
Sanders said he wants to ensure that improvements made on the road do not further impact the region. He is asking the City Council to postpone its decision.
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