Judge Hears Arguments in Park Project Lawsuit

A long-running dispute over construction of a golf course and a 16,000-seat amphitheater at Camarillo Regional Park was argued in court Tuesday, with lawyers for two environmental groups contending that Ventura County’s development plan violates state law and local planning policies.

Representatives of the Environmental Defense Center in Ventura and the California Native Plant Society are seeking to overturn approval of the project, launched by the county nearly three years ago to generate money for its beleaguered parks system.

Squaring off before Superior Court Judge Barbara Lane, lawyers for the county and the environmental groups argued for more than three hours on the merits of the development, proposed for the 320-acre park sandwiched between the city of Camarillo and the now-shuttered state hospital.

Environmental lawyer John Buse said the county’s eagerness to boost revenues produced an environmental study that failed to fully assess and remedy impacts to air quality, traffic and the park’s wetland and biological habitats.

“There is substantial evidence that the project was assessed and reviewed in considerable haste,” said Buse, who works for the Environmental Defense Center. “The county’s stated objective . . . seeks to generate the maximum amount of revenue at any environmental cost.”

But a lawyer representing the county said planners who prepared the study were careful to examine every aspect of the proposed development, putting in place a range of measures to offset environmental concerns.

“I think it’s pretty clear that what came out of this process is a consideration of every issue the petitioners have raised,” said Steven W. Weston, a Los Angeles attorney representing the county. “I don’t know what more the county could be required to do at this stage.”

Lane took the case under submission but did not set a date for returning with a decision.

Nearly three years in the works, the county project is designed to expand recreational opportunities while generating up to $750,000 for the county each year to help support the county’s parks system.

That system had operated for years with an $800,000 annual subsidy from Channel Islands Harbor. But county supervisors cut the subsidy in 1996, forcing officials to find ways to turn parks into moneymakers.

Last September, supervisors approved conversion of Camarillo Regional Park into an 18-hole golf course and an amphitheater that would be the first major concert venue in Ventura County, hosting up to 30 events a year.

But environmental groups filed a lawsuit a month later, contending that the project violated provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Specifically, Buse said Tuesday that planners failed to adequately explore developing the project at an alternative site--Happy Camp Park north of Moorpark.

And when county officials redesigned the project’s layout to reduce the impact to environmentally sensitive wetlands, Buse said they should have recirculated the environmental document for public review and comment.

Moreover, Buse said the environmental report contained a deficient analysis of how vehicle exhaust fumes would affect the Dudleya veritye, a federally threatened plant found at the park.

The park is one of just four places in the world where the plant is found, Buse said. But vehicle exhaust chokes lichen that serve as a nursery for the plant’s seedlings. Without the mossy nest, Buse said, the plant cannot reproduce.

“It’s not asking the county to launch upon an unknown series of inquiries,” he said. “The evidence is there. We’re merely suggesting that the county needed to allow further light to be shed on the issue.”

After Buse finished, the judge urged Weston, the county’s lawyer, to address several areas of concern to her, including an assertion by Buse that the county would delay offsetting various impacts related to noise and traffic.

“I’m very concerned about deferring mitigation until after the project is approved,” she said. “I think that’s a major issue here.”

Weston responded that the county has developed several ways to address such issues, and is committed to monitoring the project to ensure compliance. And he pointed out that the county has the power to shut down either operation if compliance can’t be reached.

“There’s no wishy-washy approach here,” Weston said. “There’s a full commitment to mitigate. That should be enough.”