Developer to Present Proposal to Council

The City Council will get its first look tonight at plans for a proposed housing complex that has sparked vocal resistance from its potential neighbors.

Trammel Crow Residential of Costa Mesa hopes to build a 306-unit apartment complex and an eight-acre sports park on 21 acres at the southeast corner of Oxnard Boulevard and Gonzales Road.

The meeting will allow the developer to give the council and the public a first look at its plans before it applies for any permits, said Michael Genthe, Trammel Crow’s development manager for the project.

“It’s the first of a long process,” Genthe said.

The plans call for 126 one-bedroom units, 144 two-bedroom units and 36 three-bedroom units. The park would include facilities for soccer, volleyball and skating, as well as benches, walkways, bathrooms, barbecues and a tot lot, Genthe said.

The city’s blueprints for the property call for the entire area to be developed into a sports park or open space, said Paul Huckabee, an associate planner with the city. Building the apartment complex would require a zone change, Huckabee said.

“It really depends on the City Council and how they view it,” Huckabee said. “Right now the only plans that we have are real conceptual.”

The proposed development has angered people who live near the vacant lot.

The Defeat Trammel Crow Neighborhood Task Force has collected more than 1,000 signatures against the project, said group spokesman Ray Komar. The group has concerns about traffic, crime, noise, pollution and the effect of the development on schools, Komar said.

“Our schools are in crisis right now,” he said. “Our schools need a couple of years to catch up. . . . The school board, to an extent, is in this situation because of the City Council’s approval of all the residential building.”

A few dozen people plan to attend the meeting to oppose the project, Komar said. Rather than having each member of the group speak against the project for the allowed three minutes, the group has asked Mayor Manuel Lopez to grant it 14 minutes to make a collective presentation.

“That’s a reasonable request,” said Lopez, who last week said he would more strictly enforce the council’s guidelines for speakers. “You could have 50 people all saying the same thing.”

The proposed development has generated a tremendous public response, said Lopez, who has received more than 100 letters from people opposed to the plan.

The council will not take any action during the informational study session.

“We’re just there to listen and see what is being proposed,” Lopez said. “I would just like to see an open discussion.”

The Oxnard City Council meets at 7 tonight at City Hall, 305 W. 3rd St.