Hidden Creek Ranch Seen as Possible Prison Site

The California Youth Authority is exploring the possibility of building a juvenile prison on 90 acres in the Hidden Creek Ranch area and plans to conduct a preliminary site visit in coming weeks, state officials confirmed Tuesday.

CYA Director Greg Zermeno wrote a letter dated Aug. 3 to Moorpark City Manager Steven Kueny that indicates his agency is interested in identifying sites for future facilities and would like to examine the Hidden Creek Ranch property north of the city.

“CYA staff will be conducting a preliminary site visit and review in the coming weeks,” Zermeno wrote. “At this time, we request that you provide preliminary site information regarding roads, water and utility needs.”

A spokesman for the agency, which operates a coed youth prison in Camarillo, said there are no immediate plans, funding or even a demonstrated need for a new facility in this area.

But spokesman J.P. Tremblay said the agency will need to develop plans for new youth prisons in the next five to six years to keep pace with growth of the state’s inmate population.

There are 11 youth prisons statewide, and Tremblay said there has been some discussion about building a juvenile prison for female wards.

“We’re looking at the piece of property, but nothing more,” he said. “At this point, there is nothing on the drawing board.”

Tremblay said the director’s letter was sent at the request of a state legislator who recommended the Hidden Creek property as a potential site. Tremblay said he was not certain which legislator had made the suggestion.

The CYA’s interest in the property comes six months after Moorpark residents approved two ballot initiatives, one to block a massive housing development in the Hidden Creek area and the other to prevent the city from building beyond its designated borders without voters’ approval.

For nearly a decade, the Hidden Creek property has been targeted for development by the Irvine-based Messenger Investment Co., which has fought to build 3,221 homes on 4,300 acres it owns north of the city.

Messenger had tried to ease neighborhood concerns by promising to set aside 1,700 acres of open space and to hand the city and school district tens of millions of dollars in building fees--money that could be used for new schools and roads.

But local residents shot down the company’s plan at the polls in January, overwhelmingly embracing provisions of the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative, or SOAR, and rejecting Messenger’s plan.

Despite voters’ opposition, Messenger is still fighting to build its project. The company recently sued the city, alleging the growth-control ballot initiative is unconstitutional and effectively takes its land for public use without fair compensation.

Reached late Tuesday, Messenger Vice President Gary Austin said he had not heard of any plans by the CYA to study potential development at Hidden Creek.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Austin said. “I just don’t think we’ve gotten any information about that.”

Moorpark City Councilman John Wozniak said the city manager included a copy of the CYA’s letter this week in a packet of correspondence regularly delivered to all council members.

He said he wasn’t alarmed by the letter, explaining it’s too early to tell what the Youth Authority hopes to build or whether Moorpark would be a good place for future development.

“They do a lot of looking for potential sites, but it doesn’t mean anything ever gets built there,” Wozniak said. “Looking at a site and actually getting down to brass tacks and making a decision on a site is a difference of night and day.”

While private developers are restricted from building on SOAR-protected land, it’s possible CYA could slip though a legal loophole in the growth-control policy that allows government agencies to build on protected farmland without prior voter approval.

“In the city, we’ve specifically exempted government facilities,” SOAR co-author Richard Francis said.

If the 90 acres falls within county unincorporated land, which also is protected under a similar growth-control policy, Francis said the state can still supersede local rules and develop the land. Legally, there is no issue, he said, but politically it could prove unpopular.

Moorpark City Councilman Clint Harper said Tuesday night he had not seen a copy of the letter and was unaware of the CYA’s interest in exploring the Hidden Creek property. But he said, “That is probably something there would be some concern about in Moorpark.”

Times staff writers Fred Alvarez and Daryl Kelley contributed to this story.