1,800 Sign Petition Against Lucky Store

A petition signed by more than 1,800 people opposing a Lucky supermarket proposed near Ventura College was delivered to the City Council on Wednesday.

The petition, submitted by neighborhood activist Patrick VanHorn, requested that the council ask Lucky Stores to withdraw its proposal, or the city require the developer to present a full environmental impact report before the project proceeds.

Lucky Stores Inc. has a proposal before city planners to build a 52,298-square-foot supermarket on Telegraph Road across from the college.

Residents have argued that the market would generate traffic, noise and air pollution. They also say that a Lucky store is unnecessary because there are three major supermarkets within a five-minute drive.

On Monday, the City Council is scheduled to consider a set of measures designed to reduce the environmental impacts of the Lucky project.

In anticipation of the meeting, residents who oppose the project and petitioners hired by Lucky have been scrambling to gather signatures supporting their positions.

VanHorn said Wednesday that of the 1,870 signatures his group gathered, 1,415 are Ventura residents and 497 live within the immediate area of the proposed store.