Fillmore to Decide on Development Curbs

In an era of slow-growth politics, Fillmore voters will decide Tuesday just how much development they want and whether they are willing to accept the political, legal and racial fallout that may go with it.

Voters will be considering Measures J and K, both aimed at limiting growth but doing so in different ways.

Measure J, backed by the county’s leading slow-growth advocates, would forbid development in farmland and open space without voters’ approval. It is patterned after SOAR growth-control laws that have been approved by voters in six Ventura County cities and unincorporated areas.

Measure K, the city’s response that is also backed by business leaders and developers, would set wider boundaries for growth around Fillmore but still require public approval for development outside those areas. The difference may seem slight but both sides claim each other’s proposals would spell disaster for Fillmore.

Supporters of Measure J say it would let voters choose what type of future development Fillmore will have. They say Measure K aims to alter the ethnic balance of this city, where 70% of the residents are Latino, by making it possible for developers to build expensive homes that would draw suburban whites to the outskirts of the city.

But critics say low-income housing needs would be ignored.

City leaders for years have searched for a way to pump up the city’s economy, and they view new, high-end development as one way to do so, those critics contend.

“They are trying to execute an act of social engineering for the community. They feel by bringing in a ‘better class’ of people it will tilt the ethnic balance and attract a higher socioeconomic class,” said Paul Harding, a leading supporter of Measure J. “The reality is that Fillmore is a working-class community. It’s not a haven for professionals or artists. We feel there are some in the community who want to make it that.”

Measure K would permit expansion of the city’s limits to allow development on 800 acres along Goodenough Road on the city’s northern flank and 550 acres in the southeastern part of the city. In the Goodenough Road area, there is talk of building up to 170 luxury homes and 1,000 more near the fish hatchery at the city’s eastern limit.

If both measures pass, the one with the most votes would win.

Roger Campbell, a City Council member and leading backer of Measure K, said the 170 luxury homes are only in the talking stage.

The average home in Fillmore costs about $170,000 while the price of a house in Ventura County is about $300,000. Adding more expensive homes to the city would help even things out, Campbell said. And he refuted arguments that expensive houses somehow shut out minorities.

“That’s racism to say that a Latino can’t afford a $300,000 house,” Campbell said. “We are one of the poorest cities in the county. What we are trying to do is inject some economic diversity into our housing stock.”

Campbell said 56% of the city’s housing is already designated as low income, far above the average county rate of 34%.

“We don’t need any more affordable housing here,” he said.

Fillmore Mayor Evaristo Barajas said he opposes Measure J because it “ties the hands of the city for the next 20 years.”

He warned if Measure J passes, Fillmore would be forced to build blocks of high-density apartments because of the tight boundaries around the city. Supporters of more relaxed boundaries also predict crippling lawsuits against the city if Measure J passes.

Harding dismisses these claims as scare tactics. Crowded housing can only be built, he said, if the city allows it. As for lawsuits, Harding said they have been filed against SOAR initiatives before and rarely prevail.

Harding says the goal of Measure J is simply to give residents a voice in future development while Measure K, he said, helps only business interests and the wealthy.

Measure J, he said, comes in response to the public’s lack of trust in the City Council to make development decisions in residents’ interest. Supporters cite the council’s recent approval of the Riverwalk and Home Town housing projects despite overcrowded schools. They also criticize the city for withdrawing from a lawsuit against Newhall Land & Farming in exchange for a $300,000 settlement. Newhall, based in Santa Clarita, is looking to build a 70,000-resident housing development just east of the Los Angeles-Ventura County line and owns thousands more acres just east of Fillmore.

Richard Francis, the Oxnard attorney who wrote Measure J, said it is modeled on the 1995 Ventura SOAR initiative he also wrote. That measure was challenged all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court but prevailed. “It’s valid,” he said.

But the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative public interest group based in Sacramento, sent Campbell a letter stating if Measure J passes, Fillmore would very likely be sued by property owners.

The Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation, which does litigation on behalf of property owners and housing developers, has offered its legal services to Fillmore land and business owners who believe the measure is illegal.

Measure K has received $73,557 from supporters. Backers of Measure J and a similar slow-growth initiative in Santa Paula filed their campaign statements together. Contributions to both total $39,606.