OXNARD : Council Delays Vote on Housing Project

Protests that there are too many people and not enough parks in an Oxnard neighborhood south of the airport have put a proposed 158-unit housing project on hold.

The Oxnard City Council late Tuesday delayed giving final approval to the development in Sea View Estates after one councilman sided with nearby residents, who contend that a small neighborhood park would be overwhelmed.

Another, larger park is planned if the additional homes are built on a 50-acre tract at Patterson Road and 5th Street. But money to finance the 26-acre park’s construction will be unavailable until several years after the first of 125 condominiums and 33 single-family homes are sold.

“I can’t in good conscience support the project when residents are telling me their parks are overcrowded,” Councilman Thomas Holden said. “I’d like to see a realistic time frame for the completion of the park.”

The housing development will be considered again Nov. 7 when two council members who were absent Tuesday are expected to return.

Marc L. Charney, an Oxnard attorney representing the project’s Temple City developer--Allwin Development Corp.--expressed his displeasure at the delay.

“I don’t know if this project is going to solve all the problems of the community in [four] weeks,” he said, noting that the developer had first proposed constructing the homes at least five years ago.

The developer earlier eliminated 26 homes from the project and allocated 8% of the remainder to low-income families in response to city concerns.

“There’s not much more money that can be squeezed out of this project,” Charney said. “If additional financial requirements were placed on the project I’m afraid it would jeopardize the project, or jeopardize the affordable housing component of the project.”