Ventura Votes for Hillside Controls

Ventura voters Tuesday overwhelmingly embraced a ballot initiative giving them control over future hillside development, and reelected three of four City Council members.

Mayor Sandy Smith and Council members Jim Monahan and Brian Brennan were the top vote-getters in a field of 12 candidates.

Management consultant Neal Andrews received the largest number of votes for a fourth seat, knocking out incumbent Donna DePaola, who placed seventh.

Other candidates included parks commissioner Mike Osborn, antique store owner Diane Underhill, activist Brian Lee Rencher, county clinician Jon Patton, activist Carroll Dean Williams, customer service manager David L. Norrdin and attorney Theo Peterson, a write-in candidate.

Voter turnout in this off-year election cycle was even lower than predicted--about 19% of the city’s 59,458 registered voters, according to City Clerk Barbara Kam.

In addition to the council races, Ventura voters were drawn to the polls by the increasingly contentious debate over whether to allow development on the hillsides and in the canyons north of the city. Measure P, which passed by a more than 3-to-1 margin, will give voters final say over extending water and sewer lines to project sites.

“The people of Ventura need to be able to have some kind of support over our hills,” said voter Kristin Ippolito, 33, a nurse who lives in a hillside townhome with city views. “My main concern is I don’t want us to become another Los Angeles or Orange County.”

The initiative surfaced after a group of landowners announced a proposal to build up to 1,900 homes on 6,100 acres bordering the city. Supporters argued the city needs more high-end, executive housing and the extra tax revenue it would bring.

But opponents said voters should have more say over such development projects, which could, they said, harm the city’s small-town charm. Measure P was backed by Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources, a group of slow-growth activists who have led successful campaigns to curb urban sprawl throughout the county.

Other issues in the campaign centered on more city funding for the arts, attracting new businesses and debate over the so-called “living wage” ordinance that is expected to go before the council next year. The ordinance could force companies contracting with the city to pay a minimum hourly wage of $9 with health benefits or $11.25 without.

In other elections, voters in the Ventura Unified School District cast ballots in three school board races. Incumbents John B. Walker, Velma Lomax and Cliff Rodrigues faced lone challenger Terry Towner in the at-large election.

In the Ojai Unified School District, candidates Bob Unruhe and Michael B. Boggs faced off in a contest for one open seat.

And in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, which includes the Conejo Valley, voters were asked to decide three school board races. Incumbent Judy Jordan faced challengers Cindy Iser, Bob Charney, Gordon Whitehead and Bicky Rippe.