Navy Transfers 33 Acres to Harbor District

Four years of bureaucratic haggling turned into buoyant talk of partnerships and milestones Tuesday as the Navy turned over 33 acres of surplus military land to the Oxnard Harbor District.

While waves crashed against a sea wall a few hundred yards away, about 200 people watched military officials present an outsize key to harbor district representatives to symbolize the long-anticipated land transfer that will enable the 65-acre Port of Hueneme to expand.

The property conveyance, which comes about because of the ongoing reduction in the nation’s defense forces, follows lengthy negotiations among the Navy, port district and city of Port Hueneme.

“This is not the ending, but the beginning of an aggressive economic development program which will result in new business, jobs and economic vitality,” said Jesse J. Ramirez, president of the harbor district board.

Officials estimate that the acquisition will eventually result in a 30% increase in the port’s $6.5 million in operating revenue, create as many as 250 jobs and boost the cash-poor city’s share of the port’s income to as much as $1 million annually.

The port’s restricted access means that most Ventura County residents will never see the new warehouses that could store cargo or the planned parking lots designed to accommodate even more of the thousands of luxury imports that are shipped each year.

But a day after military officials announced the layoff of about 180 civilians at the adjacent Port Hueneme Navy base, harbor district officials noted the expansion will help diversify the region’s economy.

“It’s not like building a new shopping mall or skyscraper,” said Bill Buenger, the district’s executive director. “But it has a real impact locally to business and the economic betterment of the area.”

With the harbor district celebrating its 60th anniversary, Ramirez called the land transfer a “gift to the future” that exemplifies the familiar “Think Globally, Act Locally” catch phrase.

Indeed, the port’s expansion has been eagerly awaited by observers worldwide. Mats Jansson, president and chief executive officer of the shipping line Cool Carriers, flew in from Sweden for the occasion.

“We are using the port quite a lot,” he said, noting that Cool Carriers is the port’s No. 1 customer in terms of vessel calls and tonnage shipped. “But we would like to use it even more.”

For now, the expansion’s immediate impact will be to improve traffic flow around the congested port. But eventually Cool Carriers could increase its business locally 25%, bringing in such products as Australian beef and Chilean fruit, company officials said.

The port, once dedicated to the regional oil trade, has recently carved a market niche importing fruit and cars. But lack of space has hampered its ability to grow. So when the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission decided to shutter a naval facility next door, port commissioners were eager to get hold of the land.

First they had to persuade various agencies to transfer the land to the port. Then they had to negotiate the financial arrangements with Port Hueneme officials. In the end, city officials threatened to hold up the deal unless the harbor district helped them secure guarantees for a sand replenishment program.

The city will lease about 10 acres of the land to provide increased public access to a historic lighthouse and oceanfront, as well as to establish the West Coast’s first business park devoted to marine research and raising seafood.

While a lack of money means a proposed beachfront promenade will not be built any time soon, tenants are already lining up to establish aquaculture businesses on the site.

Tom McCormick, senior vice president and operations manager for Proteus SeaFarms International, is planning to found what he hopes will become a new industry in the region by cultivating white sea bass.

The company will work in conjunction with the Channel Islands Marine Resource Institute, a nonprofit conservation, education and research group incorporated in January that is also looking to lease space.

“It represents an opportunity to expand,” McCormick said. “It’s farming. We’re not making computers. . . . Things can happen to your crops. You have to be vigilant. It takes time. But we believe there’s tremendous potential.”