Backer of Ventura Aquatic Proposal Accuses Rivals in Oxnard of Stealing Concept

The chief advocate for a proposed marine education center in Ventura on Friday accused rival investors in Oxnard of stealing his concept and planning to proceed with a similar project on their own.

Al Fiori, who has spent much of the past two years exploring a marine education center in Ventura, said the group of investors studying an aquarium project in Oxnard has revised its plans to mirror his proposal.

The allegation may be moot, however, because neither plan has secured funding, which would run into tens of millions of dollars. Also, similar projects are under consideration in Long Beach, Santa Barbara, San Pedro, Sacramento and Stockton.

Nonetheless, “it’s our vision,” said Fiori, who has received more than $40,000 from the city of Ventura and the Ventura Port District to study the feasibility of such a facility.

“They stole our idea and they stole our title,” he alleged. “All of the concepts, all of the exhibits. Everything they have is completely plagiarized. It’s like someone stole my plot for a novel after I discussed it with them over coffee.”

Oxnard-based Martin V. Smith & Associates has proposed a sprawling aquarium and marine center for the Channel Islands Harbor. The company wants to build a Monterey Bay Aquarium-style tourist attraction that would lure 1 million or more people to the harbor each year.

Supporters for the first time referred to the project this week as a “marine education and environmental center,” when some funding was secured for a feasibility study, Fiori complained.

Richard Parsons, Ventura Port District general manager, agreed that the Oxnard proposal now sounds a lot like what Fiori has been planning for years.

“Suddenly they’ve changed the name, and suddenly they’re including things like an exhibit on fish farming,” he said. “And they’re emphasizing an educational and teaching concept, which they’ve never said before.

“It strikes me as a little bit of a cheap shot,” Parsons said.

Representatives for Smith, one of the wealthiest landowners in Ventura County, said Friday that the allegation is untrue.

“I’m sorry [Fiori] feels that way. That is certainly not what happened,” said Sue VanCamp, vice president of marketing for Martin V. Smith & Associates. “We’ve been working on this for several years ourselves.”

Smith himself joined County Supervisor John K. Flynn at the Channel Islands Harbor in July, 1994, to announce their ambitious plans for a regional aquarium to rival the one in Monterey.

At the time, they proposed a $20-million to $60-million aquarium on three acres along South Victoria Avenue that would employ at least 1,000 people. Van Camp conceded Friday that those initial plans had changed somewhat.

“We determined that there are already several aquariums planned for the West Coast,” she said. “We decided that we needed something different to offer.”

Flynn also downplayed the allegation, saying details of the Oxnard proposal are still being kicked around.

“We don’t even have a detailed plan, so in no way are we thinking about copying Ventura,” he said. “We would not know what to copy.”

Fiori said the latest analysis of the Ventura project, a study completed earlier this week, concludes that the center could bring as much as $5 million a year to the Ventura economy.