Rain Poses Risk to Hill Behind Buenaventura Mission

This week’s storms have left church and city officials fearful that rain could loosen the steep hillside behind the San Buenaventura Mission if stalled construction on a new school does not resume shortly.

“Every day we wait, there is a chance that that infamous El Nino would wreak havoc on that hillside,” said Tom Figg, Ventura’s planning and redevelopment manager.

The hill has been cut to make way for the planned school expansion. There is now a steep 35- to 40-foot incline of loose dirt that extends from Poli Street above to the core of the historic mission below.

The possibility that Poli Street could crumble away is “remote,” Figg said. But he is concerned that a portion of the hill might collapse if it is not reinforced before the rains return.

Msgr. Patrick O’Brien added: “We are very lucky we didn’t get any heavier rain than we did. God has his hand in everything.”

The threat of a falling hillside is only the latest--and most pressing--twist in the mission’s frustrated efforts to build a $5.5-million expansion of Holy Cross School.

Recently, archeologists walked off the site complaining that O’Brien was making them work so fast, they could not do their work professionally. Then local Chumash representatives stepped in to say that the Native American monitor working on the site was not doing his job and was compromising the entire dig.

Not to be deterred, the mission went ahead with an official groundbreaking for the school project on Sept. 17.

But then a curator with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History stumbled upon a long-forgotten plan of the mission--confirming the historic significance of the site and sparking renewed interest in it.

Hearing of the rediscovered documents, the Environmental Defense Center wrote a letter to Figg on Nov. 11 arguing that “the newly discovered material constitutes important new information indicating that the construction project may have significant effects on unique archaeological resources” not discussed in previous environmental impact reports.

The EDC requested that all construction be suspended and a new environmental impact report be undertaken.

But by law, the city cannot prevent the mission from moving ahead with construction, no matter what it finds. The city can only require that the mission spend 0.75% of the cost of the total project on archeology studies.

The church has already spent eight times that, pouring more than $400,000 into such studies, Figg said.

“I think they have abided by the law,” Figg said. “I think the project will move forward.

Figg said he wishes he could issue a “hurry up and get it done” order to speed building before more rain comes. But he added that he is “hesitant for the city to intervene until the issue regarding the Native American observers is resolved.”

To that end, O’Brien met Thursday with Carol Pulido, a Chumash representative, in an effort to select a Native American monitor who would be suitable for the site.

Nothing was resolved, however, and further conversations will have to take place, O’Brien said.

As to whether the mission will shore up the wall before selecting a new monitor, O’Brien declined to speculate.

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said. “We’re trying to build a school for kids, not a factory or a development. We are making every effort on our part to do it right.”