Oxnard, Ventura Near Settlement on Longtime Development Feud

Oxnard and Ventura officials next week are expected to approve details of a settlement agreement that will formally end years of feuding over development issues.

Since 1986, the cities have traded lawsuits on such issues as the creation of Oxnard Town Center, expansion of the Santa Clara River Bridge and Ventura’s Midtown Corridor Redevelopment Project.

The first legal salvo was fired 13 years ago when Ventura sued Oxnard over the proposed $500-million Oxnard Town Center, which was to be the county’s largest mall.

That suit was resolved when the cities agreed not to develop the mall until the Santa Clara River Bridge was widened--something the state is expected to do in the next decade.

Despite some resolutions, both cities have spent thousands of dollars in legal actions against each other.

In January, negotiators for both cities met and agreed to settle conflicts and forge a cooperative agreement for future projects.

Provisions of the deal require Oxnard and Ventura to dismiss their individual lawsuits and work to resolve potential land use and other disputes.

The Ventura City Council is scheduled to vote on the agreement at its regular meeting Monday, with Oxnard to follow Tuesday night.

“I think that it is something that the members of both councils have been looking for for quite awhile,” Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez said of the deal. “We all recognize that we were wasting a lot of resources.”

Lopez said a major benefit for Oxnard will be the creation of Oxnard Town Center.

As a team, the two cities can more effectively deal with state officials to get funding for the widening of the Santa Clara River Bridge, a project that must begin before mall construction can start.

Ventura Mayor Jim Friedman was equally hopeful about the deal and said, “I think it’s an advantage when neighbors work together as opposed to working against each other.”

Friedman said officials will be able to work on development plans within the two cities without fear of lawsuits and litigation.

Highlights of the agreement:

* Establishment of a committee made up of two council members and city managers from Oxnard and Ventura to discuss and resolve issues that affect the cities.

* Establishment of a committee to accelerate the design, funding and construction of the Santa Clara River Bridge.

* Ending formal challenges to certain pending projects and agree to formally mediate disputes before suing. In instances where the statute of limitations does not allow time for pre-litigation mediation, mediation will start as soon as possible after a suit is filed.

* Agreement that building permits for the Oxnard Town Center site will not be issued until there is a new or amended specific plan and an accompanying environmental review, and not until Caltrans has started construction of the Santa Clara River Bridge.

* Agreement not to issue certificates of occupancy for the Oxnard Town Center until six months after Caltrans issues its estimate for the opening of four northbound bridge lanes and elimination of the Oxnard Boulevard left merge lane.