Pair to Begin Work on Greenbelt Deal

Councilmen Steve Bennett and Gary Tuttle announced Wednesday that they plan to begin the time-consuming process of extending the greenbelt agreement for the land between Oxnard and Ventura.

The current agreement, which was created four years ago, requires a review within five years. It look nearly a year last time around for the Oxnard City Council, the Ventura City Council and LAFCO--the state agency that oversees annexations to cities--to reach an agreement.

To make sure that everything is done in time, Bennett and Tuttle said they want to begin the process now.

“I’m feeling the pressure of getting off the council,” said Tuttle, who has announced that he will not seek reelection in November. “This takes some time and I want to make sure I have some impact. This is important to me.”

In a news release Wednesday, the two council members pointed out that the five-year greenbelt agreement was the shortest in county history. Most are indefinite.

Bennett said he believes the period was shortened to “open the door for developers to have projects approved on prime agricultural land.”

Other council members contacted Wednesday were surprised by the announcement, but some agreed that the review process should begin now.

“I think that by the time you go through the process, notify the property owners, it will probably take that long,” said Councilman Jim Monahan, who voted against extending the agreement to 2010 in 1993. “But I don’t understand why they are doing a press release. I guess they don’t want to work with the rest of the council.”

Councilman Ray Di Guilio said he supports looking into the issue but noted that this is an election year and Bennett is up for election.

However, Bennett defended his actions as sincere.

“I’ve been a supporter of greenbelts since five years ago, when they did this thing,” Bennett said. “I’ve been there every time, and I have not even said if I am going to run again.”

Meanwhile, at least one property owner was not happy about the announcement.

“He’s trying to slam the door on the [five-year] review window,” said Tom McLoughlin, who owns 295 acres near Olivas Park Drive in Ventura. “He’s trying to take this out to 2030.”