Oxnard Council to Consider Film Studio Proposal

In a move that could help pave the way for development of a film production complex at Ormond Beach, the City Council will be asked tonight to agree in principle to spend $5.1 million to acquire property in the area.

Officials will consider a memorandum of understanding with the Metropolitan Water District regarding the possible joint acquisition of 309 acres of land that lies roughly between Perkins Road and Edison Drive south of Hueneme Road.

The memorandum’s language does not specifically mention the proposed studio complex unveiled in April, called the Film Factory, nor signify a final commitment to spend the money until a formal agreement is drafted.

But the document refers to the city’s gaining control of a portion of the property for wetland restoration and development, a clear signal it is interested in aiding the development of the $90-million film complex, officials said.

“I would entertain looking into that proposal,” Councilman John Zaragoza said. “I believe that would help [revitalize] the south Oxnard area.”

The Film Factory is envisioned as a 117-acre complex of sound stages and other facilities that would enable independent filmmakers to produce movies at the site. The unidentified investors behind the project would also commit about $2 million to restore adjacent wetlands that environmentalists have sought to protect.

For its part, the Metropolitan Water District is interested in buying the land with an eye to building a desalination plant on 50 acres of the property decades from now.

The water district’s $10.2-million purchase of the property from a now-bankrupt developer that had proposed constructing 5,000 luxury homes on the site could close as soon as next week. The district’s board of directors will also consider the memorandum of understanding today, said Steve Kinney, executive director of the Greater Oxnard Economic Development Corp.

“The benefit of this arrangement is that it harnesses the financial power of the Metropolitan Water District as a resource for seeing a project go forward,” he said. “And it brings in a statement of intent from the city perspective that it’s the city’s desire to see a productive and appropriate development take place.”

Once the sale is completed, the next step would be for the city to decide what alternative development proposals to consider in an environmental report for the region. That could occur this summer.

At least one alternative proposed by a task force working to build a consensus over the use of the ecologically fragile area is no development at all, said member Al Sanders.

The Sierra Club representative is opposed to both the Film Factory proposal and to Oxnard’s signing the memorandum, despite the moves to try to protect wetlands.

“It’s a very bad idea to develop that area in general,” he said. “It injects a massive set of urbanized uses into an area that has a mix now of natural habitats and agriculture.”

But fellow task force member Jean Harris is taking a more cautious approach, both to the city’s potential purchase and the Film Factory proposal.

“It certainly beats housing in the area,” she said. “There has been good communication between the Film Factory and the environmental people. . . . I see the wetlands as being a site for eco-tourism, and I can see a real financial benefit with restoring the area.”

Businessman Samuel Bowlby, who is leading the Film Factory effort, had a different view of the council’s anticipated action.

“We see it as a tacit approval of the project,” he said. “I believe most everybody wants to make this work, including most of the environmental groups. . . . I believe we can accommodate everybody.”