Developer Will Fight Effort to Halt Project
Undaunted by a recent legal setback, attorneys for the developer of the proposed Hidden Creek Ranch in Moorpark have vowed to fight remaining efforts to stop the project.
The next battle will come in May when attorneys for Messenger Investment Co., which wants to build the 4,322-acre project, appear in a state appellate court to contest a Superior Court judge’s order invalidating the annexation of the land.
The order by the judge put the Moorpark project on hold.
Noel Klebaum, an attorney for the Local Agency Formation Commission, petitioned for an appeal after a trial court judge said the annexation was invalid. The developers are supporting the LAFCO appeal, said Wendy Lasher, their attorney.
“They won’t walk away,” Lasher said of the Costa Mesa-based developers. “They will go on until they receive compensation. Something will have to be worked out.”
On April 14, the state Supreme Court chose not to review a separate appellate court decision upholding Measure T, which overturned a previous agreement between the developers and Moorpark over the project.
The developers have also pledged to stay on course with a $150-million lawsuit against Moorpark.
The lawsuit alleges that voter approval of the landmark SOAR initiative prevented them from building on land they had purchased with development in mind.
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