COUNTYWIDE : Santa Rosa Valley Rezoning Bid Fails

Following nearly two hours of public testimony, the Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected a controversial Santa Rosa Valley rezoning proposal and a plan to widen Santa Rosa Road, the main thoroughfare through the valley.

Supervisor Vicky Howard, whose district includes Santa Rosa Valley, said the $25-million road-widening project was rejected because there are several road improvement projects much higher on the county’s five-year priority list.

The proposal to rezone the Caston Trust properties--12 properties totaling 332 acres--would have converted agricultural land to one-acre residential sites, adding more than 900 residents to the area. The parcels are near Santa Rosa Road, east of Camarillo between Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.

Unless the roads are widened, supervisors said they could not approve a rezoning proposal that would add residents and traffic to an already congested road.

Representatives for owners of the 12 properties denounced the decision. They said the rezoning proposal would have made development of the properties consistent with surrounding lands, most of which are zoned for one-acre lots.

Because of the drought and unusual frosts in the Santa Rosa Valley, the landowners said the properties are no longer profitable for agriculture.

They also argued that Santa Rosa Road will be gridlocked unless it is widened from two lanes to four by 2010.