Ruling Could Kill Hidden Creek

Opponents of the massive Hidden Creek Ranch development on Tuesday applauded a judge’s ruling that could kill the housing project, but said they expect the fight to continue.

Following up on a tentative ruling made last month, Judge Thomas J. Hutchins this week formally overturned the city’s annexation of the 4,300-acre ranch parcel needed for the 3,200-home development. The decision puts the project on indefinite hold.

“We’re very happy with this decision, but there’s a billion dollars riding on this, so none of us thinks this is over,” said Russ Baggerly, president of the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County, which has led the fight against the project.

An attorney for the developer, Messenger Investment Co., said the company will await the outcome of a hearing on another lawsuit against the project scheduled Friday before deciding how to proceed.

“The issue is far from over regardless of Judge Hutchins’ decision,” said William Ross, one of two attorneys representing the developer. “It would be my position that the actions that will be taken Friday have to prevail.”

In his ruling made public Monday, Judge Hutchins said the Local Agency Formation Commission, the state agency that oversees annexations, violated state laws and its own policies in permitting the land transfer.

His decision underscores arguments in a lawsuit by the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County to halt the project. The coalition argued that the commission based its decision on documents that were either outdated or invalid because of the passage of two growth-control initiatives approved by Moorpark voters in January.

One of those measures overturned the Moorpark City Council’s approval last year of the Hidden Creek Ranch project. The other, known as the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative (SOAR), prevents the city from developing beyond its borders without voter approval.

“It’s a clear statement that LAFCO and the city did not follow the law when they made this decision,” said Amrit Kalkarni, an attorney for the coalition. “This was a wholesale failure on their part to comply, and it blew up in their face.”

Plans for the Hidden Creek project, which would increase the city’s size by a third, or by about 10,000 people, have been mired in controversy since their inception.

In April, Messenger sued the city, alleging that SOAR was unconstitutional. Messenger is seeking $150 million in compensation, alleging that the city took its land for public use.

Although saying he regrets not having taken a closer look at the issue, LAFCO board member James Monahan defended the commission’s September 1998 decision to allow the annexation.

“It seemed reasonable at the time,” he said. “The important thing is that if an error was made, it has to be corrected.”

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Times Community News reporter Pamela Johnson contributed to this story.

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Moorpark Annexation Plan

Orange County-based Messenger Investment Co. had proposed to build 3,221 homes on a 4,300-acre parcel. The project would have increased the city’s population by nearly 10,000 people.

Source: Moorpark Planning Department