Amphitheater’s Size Concerns City

City Council members expressed grave concern Wednesday evening about how the county’s plan to convert Camarillo Regional Park into a 16,000-seat amphitheater will affect the city, making it clear that they are not in favor of a facility that size.

Rather than approve an agreement that calls for the amphitheater operator to take measures that would ease traffic congestion, council members decided to seek a guarantee that the city would have control if the operator refuses to take the necessary measures.

Council members will vote on the agreement in two weeks, after the changes have been made by city staff.

The agreement with Camarillo Amphitheater Managing Partners LLC requires the operators to continue implementing various measures until the routes to Camarillo Regional Park operate at least as well as they do during peak rush hours.

If shuttle buses, traffic police and carpool incentives do not work, operators say, they are prepared to spend up to several million dollars to widen roads and add lanes.

Other measures could include creating a contra-flow lane on Lewis Road south of Pleasant Valley Road, improving right-turn capacity on the southbound Ventura Freeway ramp at Las Posas Road and adding a southbound lane on Las Posas Road at Pleasant Valley Road.

To minimize effects on two-lane Lewis Road, only eight sell-outs would be allowed each year. For the remaining 22 events, only 12,000 tickets would be sold at what would be Ventura County’s first major concert venue.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved conversion of the county park into an amphitheater and 18-hole golf course last month. The 375-acre project would generate about $750,000 annually for the county.