Hidden Creek Builder Back in Court

The developer of the proposed Hidden Creek Ranch housing project in Moorpark returned to court Monday seeking to invalidate a voter-approved referendum that halted the project.

Attorney Wendy Lascher, representing Costa Mesa-based Messenger Investment Co., argued before the 2nd Appellate District Court in Ventura that the ballot measure approved by voters in January was fatally flawed.

The referendum overturned the City Council’s approval of the Hidden Creek project, which would have added 3,221 homes to the city and boosted its population by one-third over the next two decades.

But Lascher argued that the referendum failed to tell voters that, by repealing the development agreement, they would also invalidate portions of the city’s General Plan.

She said the referendum also failed to provide the exact text of the ordinance it sought to repeal.

“The only remedy is to set aside the referendum and let the development proceed,” Lascher told the three judges.

This is the second time Messenger has gone to court against the referendum. The developer sued the city last fall, arguing that the measure violated state land-use laws. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Hutchins disagreed and allowed the referendum to appear before Moorpark voters on Jan. 12.

In addition to overturning the council’s approval of Hidden Creek, voters adopted the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative, or SOAR, which prevents the city from growing beyond designated borders without a vote of the people.

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Richard Francis, coauthor of the twin initiatives, told the judges Monday that the referendum complies with state law. Moreover, Messenger’s lawsuit is moot, since it sought to strike down a referendum that has since won voter approval, he said.

“Their lawsuit was to keep it off the ballot, but it went forward to an election. What’s their lawsuit about now?” Francis said after the court proceeding.

The appellate judges are expected to render a decision in coming weeks.