Coveted oceanfront land in Ventura County will become a nature preserve under a controversial plan from the county’s Land Use Management Department.
A proposed rule and a draft environmental impact report would change both the ownership and use of the more than 10,000 acres of land in the community of Ventura.
The proposed rules would open and end the process to sell the land to a buyer who could use the land to build homes.
The property — which is mostly covered by ocean and dotted with swells — is on the waterfront in Westchester — a quiet neighborhood that some residents say is being ignored.
It’s the largest parcel of open oceanfront land in Ventura, which includes beaches and homes along the coast.
Ventura’s proposed rule is set to be presented to the county Board of Supervisors on Monday. It would affect all coastal properties throughout the county.
The draft environmental impact report, which was presented to the agency July 24, would require a public hearing before the land could be sold to any buyer.
The land’s owners would have to submit a written request to the agency by Friday to get the process over with.
A special meeting to decide the fate of the property is set for 8 p.m. Sept. 20 in the Board of Supervisors’ meeting room at the Ventura City Hall.
The county would have the power to buy the land from the owners, who have asked for more time to respond to the draft environmental impact report.
In the end, the county could have the land either for conservation, development or sale to another buyer.
County officials say the proposed rule is based on the county’s own analysis of the environmental impact of the land to make a decision for the public.
They say most of the work to be done over the next several months involves public comments.
In a written response, David Ecker, president of the Coastal Property Owners Association, said a couple of the group’s five members in the area have offered private offers to buy the land.
He also said the properties on the land had been posted for sale, and those offers were made without regard to the potential impact on the county.
Ecker said the property was purchased years ago for the purpose of building homes.
Some property owners and residents have spoken out against the proposed rule and said they were not consulted.
Ventura’s draft environmental
