Report Points to Potential Impact of Homes at Mandalay Beach

OXNARD —  A proposed development at Mandalay Beach near Oxnard could have significant impact in a number of areas, including land-use policy and biological resources, a new report says.

The document, the first step taken before an environmental impact report, outlines the proposal to build more than 300 homes in Mandalay Beach on sand dunes once used as an oil field waste dump.

Among areas of concern cited in the report by Impact Sciences of Agoura Hills:

* Potentially noxious fumes could be blown toward the development by the Southern California Edison plant to the north.

* The homes would be directly under the Oxnard Airport flight path.

* Development would be on environmentally sensitive sand dunes where endangered species live.

* Homes would be built on land now designated as open space and would be incompatible with existing land use in the vicinity.

The report is funded by the developer, but issued through the city of Oxnard.

The proposed development would include 364 single-family units on 91 acres of sand dunes, an area environmentalists say was beginning to be restored after nearly 20 years of environmental abuse.

“This is another attempt by the city of Oxnard to defy common-sense planning,” said Carla Bard of the Environmental Defense Center. “They keep reaching out to the areas outside their boundaries.”

Although the site is outside Oxnard’s boundaries, the city wants to annex the area.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez said the developer, Ron Smith of Mandalay Shore at Mandalay Bay, has promised to clean up the toxins left by the oil field waste dump before any homes are built.

In addition, city officials have said they need more homes to accommodate growth.

The homes would be built at 5th Street and Harbor Boulevard next to the Mandalay Beach community in the northwest area of the city near the Ventura border.

The proposal includes a six-acre lake, small parks, tennis courts and a swimming pool. The plan also calls for expansion of Harbor Boulevard from two lanes to four.

Since the project site is now outside the city’s sphere of influence, the proposal would have to be approved by the Ventura County Local Agency Formation Commission.

The California Coastal Commission must also approve the plan because the area is designated open space.

Lopez said the proposal still has a long way to go.

“When the proposal comes to us, we take all of those things into consideration,” Lopez said. “There is always a question between property rights and community rights and we are right in the middle of it.”

Bard, however, fears that approval of the plan could pave the way for further development.

“It will be precedent-setting for massive development on the north side of 5th Street, something that has not been allowed up until now,” Bard said. “I look forward to studying the EIR.”