County Voters Divided on Tax for Open Space

Ventura County residents overwhelmingly support creation of a land conservation district but are much less unified on whether they are willing to tax themselves to pay for it, according to a new public opinion poll.

The September survey of 620 residents was commissioned by the county Board of Supervisors to gauge support for a taxing district that would buy up undeveloped land for preservation.

Voters may be asked to approve the district in a ballot measure, possibly as soon as next year.

The survey found that 75% of likely voters would approve the district. That is higher than the 68% of voters countywide who supported a 1998 advisory measure on the same issue.

But respondents were more divided on the central question of how to raise money needed to purchase land.

A bare majority, 52%, supported a sales tax increase, and 50% said they would approve an assessment charged to property owners within the district’s boundaries.

Support for a new tax grew when respondents were told about possible projects earmarked for funding and how the tax would benefit them.

Property Assessment Favored Over Sales Tax

But a consultant who analyzed the survey results concluded that a sales tax hike probably would not garner the two-thirds vote needed for approval.

Supervisors should instead focus on the property assessment, which requires a simple majority, said Esther Feldman, a Los Angeles consultant with expertise in special districts.

That assessment should be no more than $20 annually per property owner, Feldman advised.

Supervisor John Flynn, who along with colleagues Frank Schillo and Steve Bennett has supported creation of the district, said the latest poll results show that the public backs their efforts.

But there is still a lot of work to be done, Flynn said. Supervisors first must unanimously support a state bill that would enable Ventura County to form the conservation district. That legislation stalled earlier this year after county supervisors disagreed over what it should say.

The tax ballot measure would follow as a second step.

Supervisors and other county officials also need to educate voters on the benefits of the district, Flynn said. He added that he would prefer to use the money to buy up development rights to farmland.

But other projects, such as buying parkland or ecologically sensitive wetlands, should be considered to make the tax measure appealing to more people, the Oxnard supervisor said.

“In order for this to get the public’s approval, it’s going to have to be done very carefully,” he said. “You’d have to have something there for everyone.”

The poll and the consultant’s report are already drawing criticism from at least one supervisor. Judy Mikels, based in Simi Valley, said she is not convinced that Ventura County has a pressing need to preserve open space.

“I firmly believe that if you are going to preserve land, it ought to be done by purchasing it,” she said. “On the other hand, if you look at how much land is already in the hands of public agencies, are we dealing with a reality or a perception as to the need for more open space?”

Mikels said she has a lot of unanswered questions and will ask her colleagues to delay any action for now.