Talks Continue Over Hidden Creek Project

City officials and environmentalists are in talks with developers of the Hidden Creek housing project, hoping to end costly litigation by agreeing to a smaller version of the proposed 3,221-home community.

Councilman John Wozniak said Thursday the three main parties involved in the litigation--Costa Mesa-based Messenger Investment Co., the Ventura County Environmental Coalition and the city--still have details to resolve before they can take a plan before the City Council for approval.

Still, he said, all parties generally agree there is some middle ground they should be able to live with.

The latest proposal would allow Messenger to annex 4,000 acres just north of Moorpark College into the city with immediate approval to build 500 homes.

Another 1,000 or so homes would be built only with support from local voters, Wozniak said.

“This is to get us out of court, to stop the money from gathering more steam and rolling higher and higher,” Wozniak said.

“We’ll see if we can find something that’s a win-win for the city.”

The Hidden Creek project has dominated much of the political debate in Moorpark since 1998, when voters approved a slow-growth measure and the first of four lawsuits over the development was filed.

Three of those lawsuits remain unresolved. An attorney for Messenger, which has held the land for 12 years, declined comment.