Ailing Port District May Sell Harbor

The financially ailing Ventura Port District is considering putting the entire 274-acre Ventura Harbor on the market. But it will be a tough sell, according to one port commissioner.

The district filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Aug. 20, 1993, and has not paid any of its nearly $22 million in overdue loans and debts since. Its largest creditor, Ventura Group Ventures, won a $15.7-million court judgment against the district in 1991 after the district pulled out of a development project.

The district submitted a debt adjustment plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Barbara and the case is scheduled to be heard April 2.

That plan offered several options, including selling the harbor, boat slips, marinas, shopping centers and the mobile home park. A second option would be to gradually develop some parts of the harbor. The district has tried to do this for several years--with little success.

“We accept that this is a bona fide and valid way to find out what the real value of the harbor is,” port district General Manager Ed Wohlenberg said. “This is an appropriate way to find out what the real value is--what an investor would be willing to put on the line.”

But he acknowledged there may be difficulties. The district is plagued with legal problems. Dredging is essential, but there is no guarantee that the federal government will continue to provide millions of dollars a year for the work.

“By putting the harbor up for sale, we have made a good-faith effort to comply with demands [by the creditor] that it be sold,” Commissioner Jean Getchell said.

Commissioner Gary Jacobs said there have already been inquiries, though there have been no offers.

But the question of whether it can be sold must be answered. “It’s part of trying to get the bankruptcy plan adopted,” Wohlenberg said.