New Site Proposed for Dam Project

The City Council has asked city staff members and the Ventura County Flood Control District to look at an alternative site to build a flood-control dam.

Officials recently discovered six endangered plants near the Lang Ranch dam site, where a 66 1/2-foot-high wall is proposed. As a result, Councilwoman Linda Parks wants to move the project 300 yards downstream on Lang Creek.

The dam was first proposed in 1968, when development was rampant in the region. In 1995, the city revisited the project and approved it after several public hearings and an environmental review.

The retention basin, meant to hold back storm-water runoff, would be built west of Westlake Boulevard. It would encompass 11 1/2 acres and be 1,200 feet long, including a 345-foot-long earthen dam.

On the east side of Westlake Boulevard would be the debris basin, which would cover 3.3 acres and be about 560 feet long.

Originally, both the retention and debris basins were planned for the west side of the road, but the proposal was changed to reduce environmental effects.

The endangered Braunton’s milkvetch plants aren’t the only causes of controversy. A number of residents and officials have complained that the proposed project will lower property values, damage an ancient oak grove and threaten a Chumash burial ground.

If the dam were relocated, it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for new plans and analysis, county officials say.

The flood control district had hoped to start construction on the dam this summer. The agency is working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the California Department of Fish and Game on possible mitigation measures, county officials said.