Environmentalists Back Farm Initiative
An Ojai environmental group Monday publicly endorsed the countywide push to preserve farmland, pledging money and other support for the campaign to put the issue on the November ballot.
Calling it “the first step on a journey that may be the most important in the history of our community and the county,” the board of directors of Citizens to Preserve the Ojai threw their support behind what is known as the Save Open-Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative.
“If Ventura County is to save itself from the debilitating effects of urban sprawl, we must act now,” said Russ Baggerly, president of Citizens to Preserve the Ojai.
Ventura passed a similar citywide initiative in a 1995 campaign led by former Ventura Councilman Steve Bennett and former Mayor Richard Francis.
That initiative stated that all land designated as farmland could not be developed until 2030 unless a majority of citizens approved it at the ballot box.
Bennett and Francis have now pledged to take their fight to preserve farmland countywide. If enough money can be raised and signatures gathered, the initiative will go on the ballot next November.
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