City Seeks to Remove Judge From Mall Case

Oxnard officials have requested that a Santa Barbara judge be disqualified from hearing one of two lawsuits aimed at blocking a proposed expansion of Ventura’s Buenaventura Mall.

City Atty. Gary Gillig said the city filed a motion with Ventura County Superior Court earlier this month asking that Richard Abbe be removed from hearing a lawsuit that challenges the proposed $50-million project’s financing arrangements.

Gillig said the city was “totally happy” with having the retired state Court of Appeal justice hear the first lawsuit Oxnard filed arguing that the environmental impact report Ventura commissioned on the project has serious flaws.

Gillig would not elaborate on why Oxnard did not want Abbe to preside over both cases it has filed against the city of Ventura.

“It was our assessment that we could find another judge to take a look at the issues in the [financing] case,” Gillig said. “We are quite comfortable having Abbe review the environmental case.”

Two anchor stores in The Esplanade mall in Oxnard have pledged to relocate to the Buenaventura Mall if the expansion occurs. The departure of the two anchor tenants could result in the loss of more than $500,000 in annual sales tax revenues in Oxnard.

Oxnard filed its first environmental suit on Feb. 29. The second suit, filed March 8, contends that Ventura violated city ordinances and state laws by approving sales tax rebates to developers and other arrangements.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge John J. Hunter ruled last month that the case should be heard in Ventura County, which disappointed Oxnard officials who wanted the issue heard in another county. But Oxnard officials then welcomed the appointment of Abbe.

Gillig said Oxnard attorneys are set to meet with Ventura lawyers at the end of the month to discuss possibilities of settling the environmental lawsuit.