COUNTYWIDE : Board Tentatively OKs Trail Network

Responding to complaints from property owners worried about trespassers and vandalism, Ventura County supervisors on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a revised plan for a regional system of interlinking bikeways and hiking trails.

The supervisors also agreed to delay for two weeks a decision to transfer government sponsorship and administration of the proposed trail system to a private nonprofit foundation.

After listening to protests from some farmers and ranchers, the board decided to temporarily exclude a portion of Sulphur Mountain Road in Ojai from the trails master plan. They gave trail supporters 60 days to meet with the property owners to try and work out their differences.

But support for an all-inclusive regional trails system, which some supervisors hoped would eventually encourage people to bicycle or walk to work, seems to be waning.

Even before Tuesday’s meeting, the supervisors had agreed to temporarily exclude a section of the Santa Clara River Valley, which stretches from Santa Paula to the Los Angeles County line, from the master plan.

Supervisors Frank Schillo and John Flynn said Tuesday they also want assurances that the county would not forcibly take private property for the trails system through the power of eminent domain. And they directed county staff to determine if it is legal for the county to use flood-control channels for trails or bike pathways.

When the system was proposed two years ago, officials envisioned a network of trails and bikeways that would link most county cities. The trails would be developed over 25 years and when completed would help the county meet federal air pollution regulations by providing alternatives for commuters.