Oxnard project calls for construction of nearly 600 housing units, high school

The last piece of the Maulhardt property in Oxnard has long been expected to be developed sometime in the future. The future is near.

On Tuesday, the Oxnard City Council discussed the development of a 107-acre property on the northeast corner of Rose Avenue and Camino del Sol. The farmland is destined to have nearly 600 units of housing, a high school and commercial space.

No decisions were made on the project, which is proposed by the Maulhardt Family Trust and the Oxnard Union High School District. The meeting was meant for city leaders to ask questions and offer comments before a formal application for development is presented to city planners.

“This is a 100-year proposal,” City Manager Alex Nguyen said. “This is going to be here for a century.”

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Nguyen said staff will be very attentive to detail through the application process. The project will eventually require Planning Commission and City Council approval.

“This is one of those projects ... it’s a once-in-a-generation project, so we will take this very seriously,” Nguyen said.

The property is the largest piece of undeveloped land within the city limits.

The eucalyptus-lined property just south of St. John’s Regional Medical Center is currently farmland. The property is outside of SOAR boundaries, according to Kathleen Mallory, the city’s planning and environmental services manager. The Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources initiative, or SOAR, is a voter-approved measure that requires a public vote when farmland within certain boundaries is developed.

This property is the last piece of a multi-stage project that included housing, commercial and Pacifica High School. The proposal is in the pre-application process, which means the details will likely change.

The plan calls for 590 units of housing, of which 62 units would be single-family homes and the rest would be apartments and townhomes. Of the 590 units, 15 percent would be affordable housing.

Divided into three areas, the project would need a general plan amendment, a zone change, an environmental impact review and other hurdles typical for a project of this size.

Most of the housing — the 62 units of detached homes and 388 units of apartments and townhomes — would be in the area facing Cesar Chavez Drive. The area at the corner of Rose Avenue and Camino del Sol would feature 140 apartment units and more than 21,000 square feet of retail space.

A high school, part of the Oxnard Union High School District, would be built in another area. The campus is expected to accommodate 2,300 students.

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Joel Kirschenstein, a representative of the school district, said Oxnard Union stands to receive $30 million in state bonds for school construction.

Mayor Tim Flynn, a recently retired Oxnard Union teacher, said the school should have a magnet program. Councilman Oscar Madrigal, a teacher at Oaks Christian School, disagreed, saying it should be a neighborhood school and that a magnet program would make it a commuter school.

According to Oxnard’s general plan, the property has an urban village designation and was annexed into the city in 2013. Urban villages are more dense, pedestrian-friendly and favor mixed-use development.

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During the public comment period of the meeting, speaker Barbara Macri-Ortiz said the proposal, with housing concentrated on one side and commercial space on the other, is a far cry from an urban design.

“The whole concept of an urban village is there are things across the street besides another home,” Macri-Ortiz said. “This is another 20th-century proposal. ... We’ve got to move to the next century.”

Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez agreed that it is important residents can walk to commercial areas.

“Walkability is really important for the future of our city and really our state,” Ramirez said.

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Councilwoman Vianey Lopez pointed out a big inconsistency between the proposal and the general plan. The proposal calls for seven small parks totaling 1.5 acres and 14 acres of recreational space to be shared between the city and school district. The shared space would include areas to play tennis, baseball and soccer.

However, the city’s general plan has designated a 30-acre park for the property.   

Some council members expressed hopes that a barn on the property would be preserved. According to Mallory, there were no plans for the barn detailed in the pre-application. She said the barn and other structures will be addressed in the environmental review.