Supporting Reasonable and Commonsense Growth Controls

By Bill Little

Like many California cities, Camarillo receives a number of proposed growth projects annually. The job of a Council Member is to evaluate those proposals and determine the future course of action on that proposal. This position paper sets out the criteria I will use to begin the evaluation of the project.

In recent years, the efforts to control and limit development in Ventura County were strengthened by voter approval for establishing urban boundary lines around most cities in the County and requiring voter approval for development to go beyond them. I supported these growth control measures at the time of their adoption in the late 1990's.

The City of Camarillo has a long history of approving quality development in both housing and commercial/industrial with reasonable and common-sense growth controls. These included promoting the use of State tax incentives to discourage the development of agricultural land, as well as limiting the number of residential building permits (400) which could be issued in any one year. In addition, the City maintained an up-to-date General Plan with appropriate zoning and building design controls. As City Manager I was involved on a daily basis with development proposals which were analyzed and evaluated for City Council review and action. In general, I believe that the development that occurred during the period of time I served as Camarillo City Manager was beneficial for the City and provided a reasonable range of housing options for our residents.

During that time, I developed some criteria which helped me in the development review process. First, the City has a responsibility to see to it that any proposed development is appropriate and compatible with the existing developments surrounding it. It should also have benefits to the greater Camarillo community. While it is very important with residential development to provide a wide range of housing types and price points, I have concerns with very large projects that will take decades before they are built out. I have learned that planning concepts and designs tend to be contemporary and, what seems to be a well designed and appropriate project today may not be what the community requires well into the future.

I have also learned that Environmental Impact Reports can be very helpful in making the necessary decisions. Projects having a number of Negative Impacts which cannot be mitigated to an acceptable level need to be seriously questioned. Finally, adequate infrastructure to accommodate the project is essential for its success and for the minimal impact on the total community.