The Case for Land-Use Policy

Two “no” decisions by the board charged with controlling which pieces of the county get annexed by cities (and hence developed) illustrate the importance of land-use policy.

Each of the denials--one affecting Oxnard, the other Camarillo--at least temporarily preserves a chunk of working farmland. Yet in each case, the parcel in question is an unincorporated “island” surrounded by a city. Such situations are an invitation to conflict between rural and urban uses.

If the Local Agency Formation Commission balks at allowing development to take place in such spaces, it should be even more reluctant to allow development that extends, rather than fills in, urban boundaries.

The request was an 81-acre parcel between Rose and Rice avenues south of St. John’s Regional Medical Center. It is part of a larger island of unincorporated land completely encircled by the city of Oxnard. That city sought to annex the parcel so it could be developed with 463 homes, a park and a school.

Although LAFCO generally approves in-fill developments like that, this time Supervisor Judy Mikels argued against it, citing the impact such development would surely have on efforts to farm the remainder of that island. She emphasized that building a school so close to working fields would be bad news for both the school and the farmer. Enough of her fellow commissioners agreed to reject the request 4-2.

The second request, for 270 acres north of the Ventura Freeway opposite Camarillo Airport, was rejected over concerns that homes built there would not only displace farming operations but also could conflict with airport traffic patterns. With CalTrans planning to build a freeway interchange in the middle of that parcel, the days of its farming operations clearly are numbered. It is exactly the sort of area to which development should be steered so that more isolated areas can remain agricultural (although commercial use would make more sense than residential so near the airport). LAFCO asked Camarillo to wait six months and then ask again.

In Ventura County, reality often bears little resemblance to the planners’ ideal of homes and schools in the cities and farms in the country, separated by buffers of commercial and industrial areas. Wise decisions, case by case, will lead to maximum benefit with a minimum of conflicts between incompatible neighbors.