Keys Residents Reject Pact, Press Suit

With fewer than 25% of Ventura Keys residents agreeing to a 100-page settlement offer, litigation will move ahead in a years-old lawsuit against Ventura and three other public agencies, city officials said.

Just 65 of more than 300 Keys homeowners agreed to the offer, which would have reduced annual dredging assessments from nearly $2,000 a year to about $800, city officials said.

But a majority of Keys homeowners feel the city should bear most of the cost of cleaning out the canals that snake through the community’s back yards.

“The settlement is dead,” said Councilman Gregory L. Carson, who helped negotiate the agreement. “I don’t know what’s next.”

Many Keys homeowners are hoping the city will support an alternate plan proposed by former Keys resident Ray Ellison, which urges the city and other government agencies to purchase a dredge.

“The idea is to get the city to seriously consider the Ellison proposal as a reasonable, cost-effective means of solving this problem,” said Robert Therrien, a Keys homeowner.

“It’s a win-win thing that benefits the city, the Ventura Port District and the taxpayers,” he added.

Residents also are banking on a hearing next week when Judge Sidney P. Chapin is expected to hear oral arguments in the lawsuit.

Homeowners are planning to crowd a City Council meeting on June 19, when the council members will consider extending the annual assessment for another 12 months.