District Would Limit Growth

Ventura County supervisors are expected to back the creation of a land-preservation district today, reviving a proposal that has been blocked for months by one supervisor.

Four supervisors--Steve Bennett, John Flynn, Kathy Long and Frank Schillo--say they favor immediately asking state lawmakers to proceed with the legislation necessary to put the district’s formation on a local ballot.

Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who sponsored the bill at the request of the Board of Supervisors, has dropped her insistence that board members give it unanimous backing. That clears the way for it to move through the legislative session that began Monday.

If approved, a ballot measure on the district’s formation will tentatively be set for March 2004. The district would be funded either through a sales tax increase or a property tax assessment.

The district would purchase open space, farmland and parks across the county to act as a buffer against runaway growth. It is intended as the long-term successor to the SOAR anti-sprawl initiatives, which will begin to expire in 2020.

Poll Indicates Strong Support

The district has been in the works since 1998, when 68% of the county’s voters said they wanted one. A recent public opinion poll commissioned by the supervisors confirmed broad support.

But Jackson abruptly pulled the legislation last summer after Supervisor Judy Mikels lodged opposition. Mikels said the bill put too much emphasis on acquiring parks and that more time was needed to refine its language.

Jackson has since dropped her insistence that the legislation have unanimous board support.

“If one supervisor just doesn’t want an open-space district, I don’t think that should basically sabotage the bill,” Jackson said Monday.

Mikels said she still has concerns, but she said she might support the bill today if the board agrees that it won’t form the district without placing it on a ballot. An earlier version of the legislation gave supervisors the option of creating the district themselves.

Board to Name Advisory Panel

Mikels said she wants a citizens advisory committee, appointed by the supervisors and city officials, to give recommendations on ballot language, funding measures and land-purchase priorities.

Supervisors are expected to create the advisory committee today. They also will discuss the possibility of sharing the $416,000 cost of creating the district with environmental groups that have expressed interest in working with the county.

But the most important thing the supervisors can do today is give the clear signal that Ventura County wants a district, Flynn said.

“I don’t think we can wait any longer,” he said. “We have direction from the voters to move ahead on this. The voters rule the roost and they want an open-space district.”