Moorpark Council Votes to Put SOAR on Ballot

Heeding pleas from a number of residents, the City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to place a SOAR initiative limiting development outside city boundaries on the November ballot.

Moorpark is the latest city to consider whether to adopt the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative, which has come under legal attack for deficiencies in the wording of its petitions. Earlier this week, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Santa Paula agreed to take the measure to voters.

“Don’t take away the citizens’ right to vote for or against the SOAR initiative,” said resident Alice Tseng.

More than 50 people showed up for a special meeting on the initiative, which would require voter approval for any development beyond the current Moorpark city limits.

Margaret Kirnig, a city resident for 24 years, said it’s too late to do anything about runaway development in Orange County, but it’s not too late to do something in Moorpark.

“We need the Moorpark initiative on the ballot,” she said. “I think the topography of Ventura County is something special and worth saving.”

But not everyone who spoke supported the measure, which opponents say would deny farmers of their property rights.

Rick Brecumier, manager of the 170-acre citrus and vegetable farm known as Tierra Rejada Ranch, told the council that SOAR backers were trying to subvert the electoral process by stripping the council of its ability to rule on future development.

“I believe you have chosen the wrong method to achieve your goals. . . . The initiative process is elitist and anti-democratic,” he said, adding that such a process is particularly inappropriate in dealing with land-use issues.

If SOAR had passing in 1970, “most of the people in this room would have been denied the opportunity to live here today,” Brecumier said.

Avocado farmer Steve Shehyn said there were many landowners who live outside the area who didn’t realize the threat that SOAR poses to their investment.

“They don’t understand it. They have no idea what this whole thing is about,” he said. “I need the right to put up a house. The right to put up a garage. . . . This is worse than CC & Rs. I just can’t see the logic of this.”

Before the meeting, council members said they also were considering placing an alternative measure on the ballot.

It would require voter approval for expansion outside the boundaries of the city’s General Plan.

This distinction is significant, because it would allow for the Hidden Creek Ranch project, a 3,221-home project that could increase the city’s population by a third.

Richard Francis, coauthor of the Moorpark SOAR measure, said he would look forward to going head-to-head on the ballot with the city’s less restrictive measure.

“We’re here in support of an electoral process. We believe the voters will choose and choose wisely,” he said.

In addition, Moorpark officials were considering adding two tax measures to the fall ballot. One would charge homeowners $79.80 per year to create a fund to purchase open space. Another would charge $40 per home to cover city legal expenses if a lawsuit results from adoption of either of the growth-control measures.