Road Project Placed on November Ballot

To the dismay of some Somis residents, the county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to place an advisory measure on the November ballot to gauge countywide opinion on a local highway project that some neighbors oppose.

After nearly three hours of public speeches by residents, the board approved a plan, 3 to 2, to poll county residents about realigning Donlon Road near the junction of California 118 and Somis Road.

Supervisors John Flynn and Frank Schillo voted against the measure, with Flynn arguing with the measure’s sponsor, Supervisor Judy Mikels, about what kind of precedent such a measure would set.

“Do we want to put every intersection on the ballot? Every flood control issue? Every road project?” asked Flynn. If the measure passes, he said, “we’re avoiding our responsibility of leadership.”

Mikels argued that the plan was merely a way for the supervisors to measure the opinions of county residents, and that it was not binding.

The board will discuss the specific language of the ballot measure at its meeting next Tuesday.

Area residents said they don’t want people unaffected by the construction voting on the issue. Caltrans has planned to keep the road as a two-lane highway, but residents are also worried that if county voters back construction, it could pave the way for the eventual expansion of the road into a four-lane highway.

Mikels maintains that the area is a major commuter thoroughfare and that people from throughout the county would be affected by improvements to the road.