VENTURA : Mall Expansion Agreement Canceled

A multimillion-dollar agreement between developers and Ventura officials to expand the Buenaventura Mall was rescinded Monday, but city leaders said the $50-million project will still move forward.

City Atty. Peter D. Bulens recommended that the agreement be canceled to stave off a potential lawsuit by owners of The Esplanade mall, which would lose its two biggest tenants to Ventura if the expansion goes through.

The City Council agreed after little discussion, voting unanimously to cancel the deal signed at a special meeting two months ago. “It’ll just remove the grounds for the lawsuit,” Councilman Steve Bennett said.

Mark L. Armstrong, a Northern California attorney hired by owners of The Esplanade, in a June 27 letter called on the City Council to rescind the agreement.

Armstrong contended that the deal was negotiated in secret and suggested that it may not be legal.

The agreement calls for Ventura to rebate nearly $20 million in future sales taxes to the owners of the Buenaventura Mall, who also would receive $5 million in fee waivers and deferrals.

Under the expansion plans now proposed, the Buenaventura Mall would become Ventura County’s largest regional shopping center, surpassing The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks by more than 110,000 square feet.

In the wake of the council action Monday, negotiators for the city and mall developers are drawing up a new tax-sharing agreement that may be presented to the City Council by October or November.

Members of the public will get their first chance at 7 p.m. today to review specifics of the proposed expansion at a joint meeting of the Ventura Planning Commission and the design review committee. The meeting will be at City Hall.