Supervisors’ Push for Open Space

I would like to congratulate the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on what will be regarded as a historic vote to back the creation of an open-space district. I believe this action by our supervisors will be as critical to the long-term quality of life in Ventura County as the previous voter approval of the SOAR initiative.

In deciding to vote for an open-space district, much was made by our elected officials of the overwhelming support by county residents for open-space preservation both at the ballot box and in polls. All indications are that those same residents are just as concerned that the Ahmanson Ranch be preserved as open space.

I still find it amazing that the 1992 Board of Supervisors voted to approve a project that so blatantly ignored their own development policies in the Guidelines for Orderly Development. The current board cannot reverse that vote but will soon have to decide whether to call for a new environmental impact report on this project. The current EIR is so old that it bears little relationship to the present realities. It is only proper that the Board of Supervisors should ask for a new one.

Neither side in the Ahmanson Ranch debate has shown any reluctance to go to court over their differences, so I have no doubt that whichever way the supervisors vote, Ventura County will end up in a litigious battle over this.

The Board of Supervisors might want to consider this question when voting on whether to call for a new EIR. Do the voters want Ventura County’s time and money spent fighting to force Washington Mutual to produce a relevant environmental document or to oppose local environmental groups who want an up-to-date analysis of the proposed Ahmanson Ranch development?

Mark Burley

Camarillo