City Council to Consider Golf Course, More Homes

OXNARD — The City Council decided Tuesday night to consider the development of another golf course and hundreds more luxury homes in the city.

The council unanimously agreed that a development agreement with Swift Financial Corp. is needed for a proposed 330-acre project which would include an 18-hole public golf course and 450 upscale, single-family homes near the River Ridge Golf Course.

Other plans include eventually constructing a golf clubhouse and turning over land to build two churches on Gonzales Road and an elementary school.

The council also directed City Manager Ed Sotelo to designate a team of city staff members to negotiate with Swift Financial and make a recommendation to the council as to the appropriate terms of a development agreement.

This does not mean that the project is a go, said Richard Maggio, community development and special projects director. This is only the discussion phase, he said, since the city will have to conduct numerous public hearings before continuing with the project.

The project would be bounded by Gonzales and Patterson roads, the Santa Clara River and Victoria Avenue.

About 185 acres of the property would be developed into the new golf course, which would be integrated with the existing 18-hole River Ridge Golf Course on Vineyard Avenue.

“Some of the anticipated benefits of this project include dedication of approximately 73 acres for a golf course expansion, enhanced appearance of the coastal landfill, a site for an elementary school, church sites and a new public golf course,” Maggio said.

Once the golf course is expanded to its full 18 holes, ownership would be transferred to the city.

The proposed project site is within Oxnard’s so-called urban growth boundaries, and not a protected greenbelt area, Maggio said. About 80 acres of the site is a former landfill. The remaining 250 acres, which would need to be annexed to the city, is mostly agricultural. Such annexation would have to be approved by the Local Area Formation Commission.

Even if the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative passes Nov. 3, this project would not be affected, according to Joyce Parker-Bozyinski, planning and environmental services manager.

“The SOAR boundaries are drawn around it, which means if SOAR is approved, the project will be inside the city’s area that we could urbanize or develop,” she said.

But that didn’t stop some residents from questioning the development of prime agricultural land.

“I’m sad this is happening,” said Ruth Johnson, who has opposed other attempts to develop in the Oxnard Plain.

Other residents said they were concerned about the project’s effect on the wildlife that depends on the Santa Clara River and its having no provisions for low-income housing.