Moorpark to Hold Election Over Hidden Creek Ranch

A special election will be held in January on whether the 3,221-home Hidden Creek Ranch development should go forward, city officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, an environmental group has filed suit over the project, contending that an environmental review was inadequate.

Supporters of the referendum--many of whom are involved in the city’s SOAR initiative--submitted petitions with 2,441 signatures Sept. 16.

City Clerk Debbie Traffenstedt said the measure qualified, but she did not know how many signatures had been validated by county election officials. Sixteen hundred were required.

Last week the City Council decided to place both the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative and the referendum on a special Jan. 12 ballot if the referendum qualified.

Opponents of the project took their case to Ventura County Superior Court on Monday.

In a lawsuit, the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County contended the project’s environmental impact review did not consider the effect of two proposed roads, Alamos Canyon Road and the California 118 bypass. The suit also said the roads were not discussed during hearings on the project.

The roads were added as concessions to Moorpark City Councilman John Wozniak, who dropped his opposition to the project when the roads were included in the plans.

Messenger Vice President Gary Austin predicted failure for the legal challenge. He said the roads are subject to their own environmental review, not the broader review of the entire Hidden Creek Ranch project.

City Councilman Chris Evans criticized the suit at a special council meeting Wednesday. He said Environmental Coalition leaders have tried to divide the community with “lies and distortions.” He said the lawsuit takes the decision out of the voters’ hands and places it in those of a judge.

Russ Baggerly, a member of the Environmental Coalition, said the group wants a judge to order another environmental review for the Hidden Creek project--one that would reflect changes made in the development agreement after the close of the public hearing process.

“The council never listened to the opponents of the projects, just the proponents,” Baggerly said.

Hidden Creek Ranch would expand the city’s boundaries by 4,300 acres. The council approved it last month, after more than eight years of negotiations with Orange County-based Messenger.