City to Pay 50% of Road Extension Cost

In a small victory for commercial developers planning to build in east Ventura, the City Council has approved $653,000 to build an extension of North Bank Drive in the Wells-Saticoy community.

The city’s contribution will cover half of the $1.3 million in estimated total costs for the 2,400-foot stretch of road. Before Monday’s vote, developers had been expected to pay almost three-fourths of the project’s costs.

There are no hard and fast rules about who will pay how much for capital improvements such as roads, water and sewers in developing areas. A 1990 study for the Wells-Saticoy area of east Ventura assessed property owners according to the size of their property.

But a revised plan takes land use into consideration when divvying up costs. For example, the offices and retail stores that come with commercial development bring in much more traffic and impose greater strains on existing sewer systems than residential areas. So commercial developers are asked to pay a greater share.

But some council members worry that imposing too great a financial burden on developers--and commercial projects are desperately needed in the city’s east end--could drive them away. City staff members initially proposed that the city pay about 27% of the total $1.3 million to install roads. After a suggestion that the city cover the whole $1.3 million failed to pass, council members agreed to split the costs 50-50 with area developers.

To the end, debate was fierce--with Councilman Gary Tuttle and Mayor Jack Tingstrom exchanging personal insults without even hitting their speaking lights. “We’re talking about opening a huge area to development, and I think we have to get developers to pay their own way,” Tuttle said.

The debate hearkened back to years past when issues of growth divided the Ventura council down the middle.

But City Engineer Rick Raives says there is no right or wrong here.

“We are trying to set up a process to allow development to occur in an orderly way--this sets up a system to get the money to do the necessary improvements,” he said. “This is compromise.”