OXNARD : Tax Collector Says Developer Paid Debt

The heat is off.

The Ventura County tax collector’s office confirmed Tuesday that an Oxnard real estate speculator has paid the $107,420 he owed the city in back taxes and penalties, halting foreclosure proceedings.

Donald T. Kojima obtained a private loan to pay for overdue assessments on a 41-acre east Oxnard parcel he sold to the city last year in a $5.32-million, land-swap deal.

The deal, initially part of a city plan to help relocate low-income residents of the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge, called for Donald and Susan Kojima to settle any outstanding debts on the plot at Lombard Street and Camino del Sol.

Kojima was one of 11 who submitted bids to build an affordable housing project for residents of the overcrowded mobile home park. But lawyers representing the residents claim city officials have pulled back on a commitment to find alternative housing for the residents.

“I am very upset to see that the city has taken a position that this land is not in any particular way for the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge residents,” said Eileen McCarthy, a staff attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance.

City Manager Tom Frutchey said Friday that Oxnard had never made a formal commitment to the residents and that because the trailer park’s owner is making improvements to the park, relocating the residents is not a high priority.

Karen Guriel, president of the company that owns the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge, said that by September, she will have spent $250,000 installing a new electrical system and water pipes, and resurfacing streets.

But because Guriel does not own the trailers--some more than 40 years old--she said she cannot remedy the overcrowding and poor living conditions.

“I have solved all I can, but the problem is not solved,” Guriel said.