2nd Oxnard Suit Against Mall Project Is Rejected

For the second time in two months, a judge has struck down a lawsuit brought by the city of Oxnard aimed at scuttling the planned expansion of Buenaventura Mall.

Judge J. Kimball Walker, a retired Los Angeles County jurist, ruled in favor of the city of Ventura on Friday, and in doing so cleared the way for construction on the $100-million project.

The first lawsuit, which alleged flaws in the project’s environmental review and financing arrangements, was struck down more than a month ago. Its defeat was considered a critical win for Ventura in moving forward with the long-awaited project.

City officials in Ventura and Oxnard said they had expected the second lawsuit to also be defeated. Much narrower in scope, it had targeted minor changes in Ventura’s lease agreements with the mall developer.

“We won both suits,” said Ventura Councilman Jim Monahan. “We are home free if they don’t appeal.”

Oxnard officials said they were not surprised by the judge’s decision.

“We knew that that was coming down,” said Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez. He said the City Council has not decided whether to appeal. “It is hard to say right now. We have to discuss it.”

Oxnard stands to lose two department stores, Sears and Robinsons-May, which intend to relocate from The Esplanade in Oxnard to the improved Buenaventura Mall.

In addition to the two department stores, a developer plans to add 459,000 feet of retail space to Buenaventura Mall, making it the largest mall in Ventura County.

But the project has been stalled for more than a year as a result of the two lawsuits brought by the city of Oxnard and a handful of residents.

The first lawsuit was struck down by Walker on Feb. 28.

The second suit, argued in court Friday, questioned whether changes were made to final lease agreements signed by city leaders in September that altered the validity of the project’s contracts, attorneys said.

Ventura’s lawyers argued that the changes were only slight modifications that did not alter the project in any significant way.

“We believe they were insignificant,” Ventura Assistant City Atty. Amy Albano said. “Of course, we always thought the project was valid.”

The judge is expected to sign final orders on both lawsuits April 24, according to Albano. At that point, Oxnard will have 60 days to file an appeal if the council decides to fight the decisions.

“Legally, we have won,” Albano said. “It is up to Oxnard now to decide whether to appeal these rulings.”

With the legal hurdles cleared, groundbreaking on the long-awaited project could begin soon, Ventura officials said.

Mall developers have said they would not begin construction until all the legal issues were resolved.

Ventura has said the project is badly needed to boost the city’s sales-tax revenue, which grew by only 1.5% in 1996, according to an economic report released last month.

That was behind every city in the county except Simi Valley and Fillmore.

Times staff writers Lorenza Munoz and Hilary E. MacGregor contributed to this story.