A Welcome Peace Initiative

Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with Oxnard and Ventura.

We welcome last week’s announcement of a settlement agreement that could bring an end to the neighboring cities’ long-standing dispute over a number of redevelopment issues.

“The two cities are reaching across the Santa Clara River and shaking hands,” Oxnard Mayor Pro-Tem John Zaragoza put it.

Since 1986, Oxnard and Ventura have traded lawsuits on development issues, including creation of an Oxnard Town Center, the expansion of the Santa Clara River Bridge, Ventura’s Midtown Corridor Redevelopment project and the Oxnard HERO redevelopment project. Most recently, Oxnard filed suit less than a month ago over Ventura’s including the San Buenaventura Mall in a mid-city redevelopment project.

Aside from causing ill will and eroding residents’ faith in the diplomatic skills of their elected leaders, the legal disputes have swallowed more than a million dollars that otherwise could have been spent for public services and facilities.

Under the settlement, Ventura and Oxnard would dismiss their individual lawsuits and work to resolve potential land-use and other disputes between the two cities before initiating further litigation.

The cities also agreed to establish a joint committee to meet each month to discuss potential new conflicts and work them out well before they spawn lawsuits.

“Hopefully, this settlement will set the precedent for the east and west counties and show that if we can work together, the east and west county can work together,” said Ventura Councilwoman Donna de Paola.

That’s the right attitude for Ventura County’s leaders to carry into a new century. It’s challenging enough for Ventura County and its cities to compete with the rest of the world. Wasting resources by squabbling among ourselves doesn’t pay off for anybody--except the lawyers.