Council to Vote on Mall Project Delay

The Oxnard City Council is expected to decide after a public hearing Tuesday whether to delay a developer’s plans to expand a Rose Avenue retail development.

City Manager Tom Frutchey and the Rio Elementary School District in January appealed a decision by the Land Use Advisors panel to allow the 120,000-square-foot expansion--Shopping at the Rose II--to move forward.

Both Frutchey and the school district wrote in their appeals that the project should not advance until the city determines who will pay for a new bridge over the Ventura Freeway near the proposed development.

Frutchey and the district contend that increased traffic from the expanded shopping center would overburden the already-strained bridge and approach lanes.

Sal Godoy of the school district said children use the span to cross the freeway and he is worried about how the project would affect their safety.

“Any kid could be pushed into traffic and be seriously injured,” Godoy said. “Our long-term plan is to get a pedestrian bridge just north of the bridge.”

The City Council is set to vote whether to uphold the two appeals during the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the council chambers. In a report to the council, city staff members have recommended that the city deny Santa Monica-based developer Stan Rothbart a construction permit.

The city has considered establishing a special assessment district that would require developers to contribute to the $16.3-million bridge project based on the amount of traffic their projects attract. Frutchey wrote that “it is premature to approve this project until the funding source for the improvements is clarified.”

The bridge proposal calls for replacing the two-lane overpass with a six-lane bridge and improving the ramps.