VENTURA : 2nd Greenbelt Plan May Be Put on Ballot

Supporters of a so-called greenbelt initiative said they turned in petitions to the Ventura city clerk Wednesday containing the signatures of nearly 9,000 of the city’s registered voters.

If the measure is approved by voters this November, farmland surrounding the city of Ventura would be spared from future development.

The measure is similar to another initiative that has already qualified for the Nov. 7 ballot. But organizers of the second Save Our Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative say that the latest campaign is important because a similar measure in Northern California was upheld by the state Supreme Court earlier this year.

“The model for this initiative has been tested by the courts, and I don’t want to be a test case,” said Richard Francis, the former Ventura mayor who helped coordinate both initiatives.

Francis said the first initiative focuses on the city’s current zoning ordinances regarding preserving the greenbelt. The second measure addresses how the greenbelt would be spared according to the city’s comprehensive plan for future development.

“I don’t know whether it’s tighter or better,” Francis said of the latest initiative. “All I know is that it’s been tested, and the first model was not.”

Organizers said they collected nearly 9,000 signatures in less than five weeks. They need just 5,906 valid signatures to qualify for the fall ballot, but they are not overconfident.

“I never think anything is a slam-dunk in politics,” Francis said. “I’m cognizant of the political muscle of the building industry.”