Time Extended for Reaction to Project

Responding to public requests for more time to review a development plan for a swath of prime farm land, city officials have granted 45 days for additional comments on the environmental impacts of the project.

The project, part of Oxnard’s 2020 General Plan to accommodate growth in the city, proposes to allow more than 3,000 homes, restaurants, two schools and a fire station on 815 acres of prime agricultural land. The plan also calls for construction of a 90-acre agriculture theme park called the Pacific Ag Expo.

Last week, the city’s Planning Commission voted to give John Tommy Rosas, a representative of the Santa Clara River Valley Chumash nation, 45 days to review and comment on the development project in southeast Oxnard. Rosas had told the commission that there was a possibility of finding a Native American archeological site in the area.

But after receiving several letters requesting an extension for other input, city planners and the city attorney decided to grant more time.

“We realize this is a significant project and we want to give everybody an opportunity to respond to the EIR [environmental impact report],” said Joyce Parker, Oxnard’s planning manager. “We had gotten several letters requesting the extension and it seemed like the right thing to do.”

The public now has until May 8 to submit comments.

Lee Quaintance, a resident who wrote a letter to the city requesting more time, said he was eager to address the subject.

“It is a very good thing, a very responsible thing to do,” said Quaintance, a resident of Silver Strand. “We are talking about taking 815 acres of prime agricultural land and then taking 90 acres for an amusement park to display what we destroyed.”

John Buse, an attorney for the Ventura office of the Environmental Defense Center, said he was pleased with the decision. At the Planning Commission meeting, the agency’s staff analyst, Carla Bard, told the board that the draft environmental impact report was full of inconsistencies.

“It seems it will allow everybody a fair opportunity to evaluate the project and its impacts,” Buse said.