Council to Consider Relocation of Police

A Police Department proposal to move into vacant buildings on the old Oxnard High School campus will go before the City Council on Tuesday night.

Police Chief Harold Hurtt has requested that council members consider moving the 320-employee department to the old campus, saying the agency has become cramped at its downtown headquarters and lacks room for such basic needs as parking and office space.

“We have people virtually on top of each other,” Police Cmdr. Charles Hookstra said Friday. “It makes for better morale and working conditions to be in a place that’s adequate for your needs.”

A number of local officials have said the relocation could cost millions of dollars and renew concerns about low-flying planes at Oxnard Airport. The high school moved to a new campus several years ago because it was so close to the airport and under the flight path of landing planes.

But in a report to the City Council, police officials say safety and cost concerns can be addressed. The report estimates the value of the high school property, which is owned by the state, at $5 million. The department is working with Oxnard Assemblyman Nao Takasugi’s office to buy the property at a much lower cost, according to the report.

In addition, the report states that safety concerns can be avoided by limiting police activity to the southern and eastern parts of the campus, within a safety zone recognized by airport officials.

City Council members on Tuesday will be asked to take a number of steps to move the proposal along, such as having the department come up with more detailed cost estimates.