Baseball Club Gets OK From College District

Tuesday was supposed to be the night the Pacific Suns cleared the last hurdle in a long-running effort to make the Oxnard College ball field their new home.

But while college district trustees approved the plan Tuesday, the minor league baseball team now faces yet another challenge: a lawsuit alleging the city’s environmental review of the project overlooked possible problems such as traffic jams and loud noise.

Suns’ representatives, who have called the lawsuit frivolous, and fans turned out Tuesday night to urge Ventura County Community College District trustees to welcome the team to town. And trustees--meeting at the Cowan Conference Center in Camarillo--did so, approving by a 4-1 vote an agreement that lets the Suns play at the campus ballpark this year, with an option to renew for 1999.

Trustees Allan Jacobs, Norman Nagel, Pete Tafoya and Robert Gonzales voted for the plan. John Tallman was opposed, citing neighborhood concerns.

Suns backers touted the college district’s vote as the last step in a long odyssey. Attorneys for the city and the college district told trustees the pending lawsuit did not prevent them from voting on the ballpark proposal. They said the city will pay any legal bills resulting from the suit.

Suns supporters said the team has been working hard for many months with schools, nonprofit groups and other organizations to prove its commitment to Oxnard.

“Very rarely does a family owned business come into a community, become integral and become a source of identity for the community,” Oxnard Chamber of Commerce President Greg Ramirez told trustees.

The road to Oxnard College began when the Suns moved to Oxnard from Palm Springs more than a year ago. Team officials lobbied city officials and college district trustees to let the team play on the campus field in 1997.

After numerous public meetings in late 1996, city and college officials agreed to let the team play at the campus. But because the team moved to Oxnard so late in the year, Western Baseball League officials forced the Suns to sit out the 1997 season and solidify community support for its operation.

This past fall, after a yearlong public relations campaign, the Suns went before the Oxnard City Council and college district trustees once again. They received unanimous approval from City Council members, who say the team is bringing old-fashioned family entertainment to town.

The trustees withheld approval, pending release of the city’s environmental study. That document, released in November, states that baseball games at Oxnard College would not cause any problems that cannot be offset. For instance, the document states, expanded parking and extensive street improvements being made by city workers will ensure smooth traffic flow.

Some residents near the college, however, remain unconvinced Suns’ games will be problem-free. Dennis Ralph, one of those residents, sued the city last week, alleging the environmental review overlooked possible traffic, air quality, lighting and noise problems.

Ralph was not at the meeting Tuesday. But trustee Tallman, the only board member to vote against the plan, cited similar concerns.

“I want to wish the city of Oxnard and the Suns good luck,” Tallman said. “But I’m not sure there won’t be traffic, emergency services and noise problems. I’m very concerned about the people who live in that area.”

The case goes to court Feb. 2, with Ralph seeking a preliminary injunction blocking the team from playing. Ralph wants the city to launch a more comprehensive environmental review. A closer look might show the problems will be worse than expected, said Ralph’s attorney, Kate Neiswender, Tuesday.

But more important, a full-scale environmental report would force the team and city to consider alternative sites, the attorney said.

“We have all sorts of options here,” Neiswender said, claiming numerous vacant parcels near the Ventura Freeway would make better temporary ballparks. “There are other places,” she said.

Western Baseball League officials said earlier this week they were not aware of the legal challenge. They have praised the team for its community outreach efforts and included the Suns in the 1998 schedule.

Suns’ officials predict crowds of 2,000 people a night at Oxnard College. The schedule calls for 45 home games, with the season starting in May.