Ruling Clears Way for Move of 2 Esplanade Stores to Ventura Mall

Making Ventura the victor in its shopping mall battle with Oxnard, a judge ruled Friday there was no legal foundation for a lawsuit aimed at blocking expansion of Buenaventura Mall and keeping two of Oxnard’s department stores from leaving town.

Retired Los Angeles County Judge J. Kimball Walker’s tentative decision paves the way for the relocation of Sears and Robinsons-May from Oxnard’s Esplanade mall to Buenaventura.

“I’m ecstatic that justice has prevailed and that we can finally implement a plan that citizens of San Buenaventura voted and said they wanted,” said Ventura Deputy Mayor Rosa Lee Measures, referring to the support voters showed for the project in a referendum last year. “We are basking in the sunshine.”

The city of Oxnard filed two lawsuits against Ventura last year hoping to block the move of the two anchor stores to Ventura’s mall, scheduled to undergo expansion.

On Friday, Oxnard city officials expressed dismay with Walker’s ruling and said they hoped to find a way to make up for the potential economic impact, which could tally up to more than a $500,000 loss in sales tax revenue annually.

“We will have to find a replacement for them if The Esplanade is going to continue to survive,” Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem Bedford Pinkard said. “I am disappointed because we are going to lose major tax revenue. We have to find some way to recoup that.”

Officials will meet Tuesday to discuss whether to appeal the case, once the retired jurist, who was brought in from outside Ventura County to ensure impartiality, makes his ruling final.

In his tentative ruling, Walker found that the city of Ventura did not need to complete a new environmental impact report, saying while the EIR was not perfect, it was sufficient.

The judge added that Oxnard had failed to present any evidence that “relocation of the stores would have an adverse impact on the physical environment.”

Walker also ruled against a separate lawsuit filed by five private citizens alleging that the contract negotiated between Ventura and mall developers is a gift of public funds.

Instead, he stated in his ruling that Ventura’s lease agreements for mall improvements had “both direct and indirect public benefits.”

The ruling comes two weeks after attorneys for both cities argued before the judge in a Ventura courtroom. Oxnard’s lawyer accused Ventura officials of trying to ram a $100-million expansion project through by dodging public scrutiny and cutting corners on environmental review.

But Ventura’s lawyer countered that the city met all necessary state requirements when evaluating the environmental impacts and that the issue was not traffic or noise, but money.

The judge’s decision could be a devastating blow for the city of Oxnard, which has been struggling to increase revenue flow for the past five years.

City officials fear the departure of two large department stores could have a domino effect on the smaller shops in the mall that rely on the anchor stores to lure crowds.

Oxnard City Atty. Gary Gillig said he plans to hold a closed session with the City Council at Tuesday’s council meeting to discuss appealing the decision.

Considering Oxnard has paid more than $300,000 in legal fees to challenge Ventura, Gillig said it might be worth continuing the legal battle.

“Given the time and money and resources that the City Council has invested at this point, I can’t see us stopping,” Gillig said.

Although a second hearing on separate claims is scheduled for April, Friday’s ruling could clear the way for breaking ground on the long-awaited expansion project, Ventura officials said.

Developers have said they would not begin construction until the legal issues were resolved.

Under the proposed $50-million upgrade, an additional 459,000 feet of retail space would be added to the mall. With the addition of Sears and Robinsons-May, the Buenaventura Mall would become the largest shopping center in the county.

Ventura city officials say the mall expansion is badly needed to boost sales tax revenue on their side of the Santa Clara River. Mayor Jack Tingstrom said he never doubted the ruling would be in the city’s favor.

“The court has firmly upheld the city’s rigorous environmental review process,” Tingstrom said. “I have always believed it was not a lawsuit to win, it was a lawsuit to delay.”