Council Protests New Business Permits

The Moorpark City Council is firing off a pair of letters to the county Planning Commission complaining about two separate conditional-use permits for businesses that want to locate in the unincorporated portion of the county just outside of Moorpark.

The council voted Wednesday night to protest both a proposed worm farm that would operate off of Grimes Canyon Road and a recycling facility planned on the site of the former Egg City chicken operation on Waters Road.

The worm farm--called the Worm Connection--is planned for an avocado orchard and would use worms to compost green waste and horse manure.

The recycling center would accept old building materials such as wood, concrete and cardboard recycled from construction sites.

But city leaders feel the operations would bring too much truck traffic onto the highly traveled California 118 and 23 freeways.

They also said the proposed businesses conflict with the current zoning for the areas, which are now exclusively agricultural.

“I feel it’s a totally inappropriate use for this area,” Councilman John Wozniak said, referring to the Worm Connection proposal.

The applicant for the Worm Connection--Tim Morhar--worked with his father at a similar enterprise off of Tierra Rejada Road between Moorpark and Simi Valley called the Worm Concern. That business was much larger and closed when the operators were unable to obtain permits. The Worm Concern was also plagued by complaints from neighbors about the noise and smell from the operation.

The county Planning Commission has not yet set a date to consider the two issues.