OXNARD : Developer Owes $100,000, City Says
Oxnard city records show that a developer who has submitted a proposal to build an affordable-housing project owes the city more than $100,000 in back taxes and penalties.
Oxnard developer Donald T. Kojima said he paid off the $107,420 he owed in taxes and late charges on a 41-acre plot in east Oxnard on Thursday. The Ventura County tax collector’s office could not be reached for verification.
The City Council planned to vote on Tuesday to start foreclosure proceedings to collect the delinquent taxes from Donald and Susan Kojima. Jim Fabian, a city of Oxnard financial analyst, said the proceedings will cease if the debts have been cleared.
Oxnard purchased the 41-acre plot of farmland from the Kojimas last year as part of a deal originally intended to help relocate low-income residents of the decrepit Oxnard Mobilehome Lodge. The $5.32-million agreement required the Kojimas to settle any outstanding debts.
The Kojimas owe taxes or assessment dues on the land for city-made improvements such as sewer installments.
The plan to relocate the 1,100 residents of the Oxnard Mobilehome Lodge has been controversial, with the residents now charging that the city’s commitment to find alternative housing has weakened.
Kojima has submitted a bid to develop homes on a site where the trailer park residents had hoped they would resettle.
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