Hearing Set on Tax District for Rose Overpass

Oxnard on Tuesday will hold the first of two public hearings on a $15.8-million financing plan that would enable the city to build a new Rose Avenue overpass spanning the Ventura Freeway.

As part of the plan, the city would set up a special assessment district, levying area landowners based on how much traffic their developments generate. The district would not assess homeowners in the proposed 900-acre assessment area.

The city in April voted to take the first steps toward setting up the district, which will help build the new, six-lane overpass. In addition to Tuesday’s hearing, which begins at 7 p.m. in Oxnard’s City Council chambers, a second hearing is scheduled June 4.

The existing two-lane overpass--which residents say is often a traffic bottleneck and dangerous for children to cross--has led the city to put at least one development on hold until a financing plan is approved.

The financing plan would enable the city to finish a new overpass by the year 2000. But the plan could die if more than 50% of property owners affected by the proposal protest the assessment. So far, only one property owner, longtime Oxnard farmer Robert Pfeiler, has submitted a written protest. But Jim Fabian, a city financial analyst, said Pfeiler’s property would not be assessed unless he decided to develop it.

The plan sets different levies for different types of property owners. Builders would pay $1,039 for each single-family home they construct, while commercial property owners would be assessed $41,997 per acre.

If the plan is approved after the June 4 public hearing, it could go into effect shortly thereafter. Under the proposal, the city would contribute about $6.8 million toward construction of the bridge. Fabian said that if all of the surrounding property is developed, the city would collect a total of $2.5 million from landowners.