News
Marijuana legalization presents new opportunities and pitfalls
In the wake of the 2016 vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in California, cities across Ventura County are grappling with the question of how to implement it. While most cities and the county have largely banned retail sales and cultivation, some like Port Hueneme and Thousand Oaks have taken a more permissive stance. The…
Read MoreLCA Contract Compliance Heading Toward Penalties
There is no doubt that the Ventura County Assessor’s office is losing patience with agricultural landowners as the delinquency rate of returning annual Agricultural Preserve Questionnaires remains over 20%. These questionnaires are a condition of the Williamson Act Land Conservation program that provides $2.2 million in tax relief to the 1,100 parcels in contracts countywide.…
Read MoreCounty launches changes to coastal habitat regulations
The County of Ventura is moving forward with a plan to significantly alter the regulations which limit development in the Coastal Zone in order to protect plants and wildlife. The proposed changes not only affect how and where projects can be sited, but they will impact brush clearance, grading, fencing, lighting and noise. The County…
Read MoreCounty faces two different paths on the housing crisis
Ventura County is suffering from a housing crisis and economic malaise, problems that have roots stretching back decades and based in decisions supported by county voters. Two recent decisions on housing and land use, one in Thousand Oaks and the other by the County of Ventura, illuminate the divergent choices facing the region on how…
Read MoreNew Dark Sky Ordinance targets Lighting as Pollution
The County Planning Division is preparing a draft ordinance that targets outdoor lighting as “pollution” in the unincorporated areas around the City of Ojai. New rules for light fixtures, automatic control systems, lighting colors, luminosity, light trespass and curfews will have economic and security impacts to residents, businesses, schools and agriculture. CoLAB expects that this…
Read MoreStar, Conservation Groups Take Aim at County Planning
The Ventura County Star published a story on February 27 that called out the Ventura County Planning Division for not ordering a shutdown of the Ferndale oil operation in Santa Paula Canyon during emergency storm conditions. The article was based on a complaint by Los Padres Forest Watch (LPFW), Citizens for Responsible Oil and Gas…
Read MoreBoard Doubles Down on Failed Housing Policies
Cities and civic organizations across the county are holding sometimes contentious conversations about density, growth and the future of housing in Ventura County. However, some members of the Board of Supervisors appear increasingly married to the idea that little needs to change in the county unincorporated areas to solve the region’s dire housing crisis. The…
Read MoreCounty Must Clear the Way for New Farmworker Housing Projects
While the severe lack of suitable housing for farmworkers has been a subject of discussion in county meetings for decades, little progress has been made for the majority of workers. This is largely due to regulations that prevent farmworker housing complexes from being approved in unincorporated areas even though they are specifically allowed by ordinance.…
Read MoreCoLAB-Supported Changes to General Plan Approved
Ventura County CoLAB scored a series of victories in recognizing the importance of agriculture, water, housing, and land management in the latest round of the General Plan Update revisions. The changes suggested by CoLAB and adopted by the Board of Supervisors represent significant improvements on the language for the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles, which…
Read MoreThomas Fire Exposes East County Wildfire Risk
Nearly a decade ago, prior to the Thomas Fire, Ventura County fire agencies prepared Wildfire Protection Plans identifying risks, funding priorities, and programs to reduce the impact of wildfires countywide. Fire agencies were warning of increasing wildfire danger even before the current drought cycle began in 2012. The plans, prepared in 2009 and 2010, outlined…
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