City Council to Hear Proposal on Land Swap for Sports Park

City and school officials are considering a complicated land swap that would pave the way for a long-awaited community swimming pool and park in east Ventura.

Years in the works, the deal to create the so-called Community Sports Park is set for its first airing before the City Council on Monday night, when officials will weigh several measures that would get the project rolling.

“This is the first step toward making this a reality,” Mayor Jim Friedman said. “That in itself is very significant. I only hope the votes are there.”

The arrangement calls for the school district to trade a 40-acre citrus orchard between Telephone Road and the Ventura Freeway for Thille Ranch No. 4, a 94-acre parcel owned by a group of 75 local shareholders.

Thille Ranch is barred from development for 32 years by the Save Our Agricultural Resources measure that Ventura voters approved in 1995. It is bordered by Telephone Road, California 126 and Kimball Road.

By swapping the land for the school district property, which is not affected by the measure, Thille Ranch owners would receive the city permits and approvals they need to plan the development of 240 single-family homes.

Whether any money would change hands remains undecided, Thille Ranch general partner Ron Hertel said Friday.

“The property they have is less than half of what we have, but obviously, theirs is not encumbered and ours is,” Hertel said.

“We want to cooperate in the transaction but it’s one of those things where the school district and the city are still deciding what they want to do.”

The proposal is the latest incarnation of a similar deal first floated by Hertel in 1994. At the time, Hertel proposed trading the Thille Ranch land for an 87-acre city-owned patch of citrus and avocado orchards at Telegraph Road and Petit Avenue.

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In addition, Hertel offered the city $2 million for the land, where he wanted to build 437 homes.

The proposal enraged nearby residents and served as the catalyst for the agricultural resources initiative.

The SOAR measure, which is being proposed across Ventura County, bans development on designated farmland in and around the city until 2030, unless voters decide otherwise.

Final approval of the latest deal would be months away, if it occurs at all, city officials say.

But they are enthusiastic about its chances, saying it adds an ingredient--affordable land--that the city has lacked since tucking away $4.1 million for a community pool eight years ago.

Preliminary visions for the sports park include a large skateboarding facility, soccer and field hockey fields, four baseball and softball diamonds, and concession stands.

The pool would be a state-of-the-art, Olympic-size model that could host regional swim meets. Annual maintenance would run $300,000 to $400,000.

“When we talk about a park, we’re not talking about nicely manicured grasses where you lay down a blanket and eat fried chicken,” Friedman said Friday. “It would be a community sports park, where the main emphasis would be on youth and young-adult sports.”

Early estimates peg park construction between $12 million and $15 million, he said.

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Officials point to a number of financing options, including a dip into an $8.6-million account that has sat untouched since 1987. Over the years, the money has been considered for projects including a convention center at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, a minor league baseball stadium near the Ventura Auto Center and an aquarium at Ventura Harbor.

The city also may attempt to sell the 87-acre parcel that Hertel initially wanted to trade, Friedman said.

That land, also under SOAR’s protection, could be sold for about $1 million as farm land or for $12 million if city voters allow it to be developed, he said.

Although development on the Thille Ranch land is barred, city officials believe the restrictive land measure would allow recreational uses on half the land and school administrative offices or a magnet high school on the other half.

Friedman was to discuss the plan Friday at the YMCA’s annual Campaign for Families celebration. He said he intends to ask the YMCA to help build, maintain and operate the pool, much as it has in other places.

Ventura School Supt. Joseph Spirito said Friday the district is still gauging the ups and downs of trading its 40 acres for the Thille Ranch parcel.

Spirito said the swap appears to be a “win-win situation” for the city and school district, offering the chance to provide needed recreational opportunities for the city’s youths.

However, before signing off on any deal, Spirito said the district will wait for assessments on both parcels, as well as a consultant’s report.

“I want to be able to justify legitimate reasons why this was a good deal for the school and the kids,” Spirito said. “I think I’m there, but I need to be sure.”