Ventura Officials Urge New Look at EIR

Ventura officials have sent a letter to the city of Oxnard requesting that planning officials take another look at an environmental report approved for Oxnard’s latest redevelopment project.

The letter, sent earlier this month, comes as City Council members are preparing to declare about 2,500 acres in various parts of Oxnard blighted and in need of economic rejuvenation. The new district would be the city’s fifth redevelopment area.

About 215 acres of the designated zone are farmland near the Ventura border, where Oxnard plans new commercial development. A key issue in Ventura’s objection to the Oxnard redevelopment project is that farmland would be declared blighted, said Ventura City Atty. Bob Boehm.

“The city has a concern about that redevelopment project,” Boehm said. “It includes a lot of agricultural land that is proximate to our borders. . . . The fact that it is on the other side of our border, because of its proximity, makes it important to us.”

Oxnard redevelopment officials did not return phone calls Thursday. They have said that because the farmland was designated for development years ago, there is nothing improper with declaring it blighted.

Oxnard Community Services Director Matthew Winegar said that City Council members will hold a hearing on Ventura’s request in the next couple of weeks. Council members could decide to send the environmental report back to the Planning Commission for review, he said.

“The worst case is that the council will send it back for further study,” Winegar said. “But at some point the EIR will be certified.”