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Aerial view of Oxnard - circa: - 1995
Oxnard - 1995 - How simple it was then - when growth was
not a problem -- But now here we are in 2007
Certain Issues have
captivated the populace as of late....with the most predominant concern
being that of uncontrolled growth. Below you will find a collection of essays and information on the various points of thought that are floating about in regards to having smart growth in the future. |
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Oxnard Traffic Initiative Fact Sheet June 200? • In 1995, Oxnard had five deficient intersections (deficient levels of service (LOS) are intersections that experience extensive delays in traffic). Ten years later, the number of deficient intersections grew to 25-a fivefold increase irjjust a decade! • According to a Ventura Chamber of Commerce Newsletter, the Oxnard/Ventura region has the 9th worst traffic congestion in the nation for communities with a population between 500,000 and 1,000,000. • Oxnard currently has 2,700 homes that have been approved but have not yet been built. Plans are to add an additional 13,000 homes in the next ten years. At a density factor of five people per household, 75,000 residents will be added to the city. An estimated 150,000 more traffic~trips will be added to the city's congested streets. • Oxnard's 2020 General Plan (city's blueprint for growth), called for the, city to add 50,000 residents in a 30-year period. By 2007, in little more than half the time, Oxnard had exceeded that number by 20,000 residents! The Riverpark development alone will add 94,000 traffic trips per day within the next eight years! • According to a Washington Post article in August, 2005, Oxnard is the 12th most densely populated city in the United States. Overcrowding has only worsened Oxnard's traffic problems. • The average commuter now looses 47 hours to congested traffic each year, eroding quality family time and individual quality of life. See U.S. News and World Report, May 7, 2007. • According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, being stuck in a traffic jam more than doubles the risk of a heart attack within the subsequent hour. The Oxnard Traffic initiative allows the residents of Oxnard to determine which large-scale residential and commercial projects will be approved. *•• Questions? Call (805) 340-1922.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN OXNARD by LARRY STEIN -
The
issue of affordable comes down to a basic issue - payments; one has to be
able to afford to make them. One possible solution is for the city to
become a mortgage banker. The city could front the money for 15 year no
payment second trust deeds (sleeping seconds) for x hundreds of thousands
per home ($200,000 - $300,000) at an interest rate that would allow the
note sold for the city to recoup the face value of the loan plus the lost
interest the city would lose until the note is sold. The down side to the
borrower is the payment of the second trust would be paid when the house
is resold (usually by the 7th year), or when the term expires. If the
property appreciates at a rate higher than the interest rate of the note,
there would be sufficient funds to payoff the note without out of pocket
cash from the borrower. The borrower would also have a large interest
deduction on his tax return offsetting tax liabilities for the year. In as
much as housing prices have dropped 20% - 30% locally over the last two
years, it is likely that those prices will be recovered in the next 7
years. The timing is good right now to implement this concept.
Larry Stein - An Oxnard Activist
Oxnard, CA
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THE OXNARD TRAFFIC INITIATIVE: HERE IS HOW IT WORKS IF THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES ANY LARGE PROJECT THAT CAUSES TRAFFIC FLOW AT INTERSECTIONS WITHIN A 5 MILE RADIUS TO FALL BELOW A LEVEL "C OPERATING LEVEL [THIS IS A WELL KNOWN TERM OF ART AMONG TRAFFIC ENGINEERS BASED ON AN A - F GRADING SCALE], THE PROJECT CANNOT GO FORWARD UNLESS ALSO APPROVED BY THE PUBLIC. THE INITIATIVE IS AS SIMPLE AS THIS. IT ONLY AMENDS THE TRAFFIC CIRCULATION ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN TO INSUE THAT THE PUBLIC CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE APPROVAL OF PROJECTS THAT WILL INCREASE TRAFFIC. THE INITIATIVE DOES NOT, THEREFORE, AS ITS OPPONENTS CLAIM, STOP DEVELOPMENT. IT SIMPLY SAYS IF A LARGE PROJECT IS GOING TO FURTHER ADD TO TRAFFIC, THE PUBLIC HAS TO VOTE TO DECIDE IF THE VALUE OF THE PROJECT OUTWEIGHS IT'S IMPACT ON TRAFFIC. EVEN THE CITY COUNCIL IN ITS GENERAL PLAN SAYS IT IS THE GOAL AND POLICY TO NOT HAVE ANY INTERSECTIONS FALL BELOW A LEVEL C OPERATING LEVEL. HOWEVER, THE DEVELOPER SUPPORTED MAJORITY ON THE COUNCIL ACCEPTS REALITY DEFYING EIR'S THAT SAY ANY PROJECTS THAT COME BEFORE THEM HAVE MINIMAL IMPACT ON TRAFFIC AND THE ENVIRONMENT. THAT MAJORITY IS READY TO APPROVE MORE THAN 10,000 NEW HOMES AND OTHER PROJECTS IN JUST THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THIS INITIATIVE WILL ALLOW YOU, THE VOTER, TO DECIDE IF A PROJECT THAT ADDS TRAFFIC TO OUR ROADS IS A WORTHWHILE ADDITION TO OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS A SOAR LIKE INITIATIVE IN THAT IT RESTORES POWER TO THE VOTER TO CONTROL DEVELOPMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. PLEASE HELP COLLECT SIGNATURES TO PUT THIS INITIATIVE ON THE BALLOT AND PUT OXNARD ON THE MAP AS A LEADER OF SMART GROWTH THAT INVOLVES THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. The Oxnard Traffic Initiative Committee
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G . O .
O . D - for the Democrats of OXNARD
Please
come and be our guests at the July 11 GOOD Club meeting. Our special
program for July will be an evening with NPR radio host and political
activist Shawn Casey O'Brien; and everyone is invited to attend on July
11, 2007 at 6:30 PM ( Social 1/2 hr. ) and 7:00 PM - Program begins,....
at Cafe on A , 438 South A Street, Downtown Oxnard. ( Near the New Movie
Theaters at 5th & So. A St).
Our Program for July 11: ----
Widely known as crusading activist for the
disabled in the constant fight for equal rights; Shawn Casey O'Brien also
has remarkable insight into current political events on local and national
levels, made entertaining by an analysis spiced with humor and caustic
wit. It promises to be a learning and laughing experience for everyone.
This July meeting will be another highlight in our 2007 speakers' program;
and we invite everyone in all of your groups to please attend.
So, for one night only, the Oxnard Democrats /
GOOD Club is proud to present our premiere summertime event: Political
Activist and Out-Spoken Leader of Democratic Principles, Shawn Casey
O'Brien: " Current Political Events - A Special View".
We have asked Shawn for an open and candid
analysis of California / National politics, the presidential campaign and
any other topic of his choice. No tape recording will be permitted at this
appearance at the request of the Executive Board . This will no doubt be a
special and memorable evening; and we feel fortunate to have this unique
guest at our Oxnard July 11 meeting.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our Democrat club would be proud to add your
group to our agenda; and it would be a further pleasure to introduce the
Young Democrats of VC to the audience. Can we ask Heather for 3 minutes
for information and what the GOOD Club can do to help. If Ron could also
attend it would be a remarkable night. The same offer to introduce the
Stonewall Democrats and what we can do to assist. Our GOOD Club is quite
familiar with our friend Martin, so a new face would help.
Please spread the word that everyone is
invited to the GOOD Club meeting on July 11 (nd June 13)
All the best,
Joe
Joe ONeill
889-1959
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FROM THE LEDGER OF PHIL MOLINA ::::::::::::
Councilman Timothy Flynn, John Zaragoza, and Friends:
The City Council was given a budget document and asked to approve the
budget based upon the information that staff provided.
With just a short review of the budget document submitted to the public
and the City Council I found that there is a discrepancy of $9,530,972
between the amount the Council was asked to approve and the amount of the
detail of the appropriations. Information taken from "detail pages" of the
City Staff's budget document.
GENERAL FUND FUNDED CATEGORIES:
Now unless $9,530,972 is a minor amount, the Council should demand seeing
the details of how this amount is expected to be spent. Who knows you just
might see cost of litigation included?
The serious issue is if the details are missing here, and if the Council
did not publicly make any adjustments to the budgeted amount submitted,
the City Staff might on their own, with limited input from just one or two
councilmen decide to use the $9,530,972 is ways the public would not be
pleased with.
signed: Your Public Servant and Watchman: Phil
Molina
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IT's BUDGET TIME AGAIN
IN ol'OXNARD View the
Oxnard Budget
Analysis --- Courtesy of Accountant L. Stein.
Note attached - DO NOT USE THE COST TAB - It is still a work in progress.
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Running Commentary........... 03JUN07 The G.O.O.D Club Democrats of Oxnard have a tempest in a teapot
on their hands with an upcoming meeting the Group has planned for their
June assembly. The original intent of the club was to invite
Attorney Richard Francis along with our own Mayor Tom Holden to join for a
table talk on the future of Oxnard's traffic and growth issues. In a
not so well publicized event - Richard Francis and Oxnard City Councilman
Tim Flynn joined to oppose uncontrolled growth in the City of Oxnard with
the "Oxnard Greenlight Initiative" (see next item:::) Now as it stands the Mayor is out and Richard Francis has center stage, The Mayor graciously replied:
Thank you for copying me your message to Mr. O'Neil. I would like to
correct your account of my participation with the proposed traffic
initiative. First, I do support the proposed Jones Ranch affordable
housing project, and I would be happy to discuss this project at any
time. I was invited by Mr. Kraft to meet with the Star Editorial Board
to discuss the Jones Ranch Project, not the proposed traffic
initiative. I was not prepared to discuss the traffic initiative, and
tried to keep the discussion on
the topic that I was invited to speak about. Obviously, this was somewhat difficult given that your group had just finished a lengthy presentation regarding the proposed initiative. If you would like to clarify this, please contact Mr. Kraft at the Star.
As Mr. O'Neill accurately summarized, I will be happy to discuss the
proposed initiative once I and the other Council Members have had an
opportunity to be briefed on the specifics and potential impacts of the
initiative.
Sincerely,
Mayor Holden
Operation Green Light: On Wednesday, May 23rd, the Los
Angeles Times ran an
article about Oxnard City Councilmember
Tim Flynn teaming up with local attorney Richard Francis to initiate a
ballot item restricting growth in the City of Oxnard. The Measure,
called "the Oxnard Greenlight Initiative will need several thousand
signatures to be placed on the next General Election ballot, which will
probably be the February 2008 Presidential Run-off. What
is interesting is that the LA Times, and radio stations in Santa Barbara
picked up the story, but the only local newspaper, the Ventura slash
Camarillo-based STAR will not run this story.....for some reason.
You figure it out. Tragedy at the Auto Exchange: The weekend STAR ran a story about a horrid accident that occurred at Oxnard's Five Point auto dealership. This sad news brings out prayers for the family, for the owner of the company and for all the people who work and buy their cars there. The STAR runs a comment section at the end of each story. Sometimes the comments are harsh, and naughty ones become ethereal history after any complaints come in to the paper. One comment, which may or may not remain on their site indicated a criticism of the journalistic style used to portray the sad story of the accident...the writer wondered if it was just them - or was this story badly written. Concern for the family members was raised regarding the sensitivity of the article in describing how the body was pinned down and the other details which arose from the report. Of note were the only people who saw the accident as the STAR went on to say that victim was one who witnessed it.....hmmmm! Something just isn't right here Fun In Fillmore: The STAR reported a
shooting
over the weekend in quiet and quaint Fillmore. FUN SITES LOCATED FOR OXNARD . . . in surfing the web for news and info about Oxnard, I often find helpful sites that need to be shared ---- here are some: • The Oxnard Files www.theoxnardfiles.com . • VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES IN VENTURA COUNTY • THE Ice Skating Center (for as long as it is here . . . ) • Cool site for the Oxnard "Bedford E. Pinkhard" Skate Park • http://www.at-la.com/cities/Oxnard/ You have to investigate all the links on this site
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MORE AS IT HAPPENS Should you want to comment on the above -- or
submit your own story - please e-mail it |
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... South Oxnard Library --- Now Open ................................................photos Warren Smith - Oxnard
Your Story Here.
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Plaza Park - Day - photo: Warren Smith - Oxnard |
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Photos
by Franz Lopez Oxnard City Council Members: Tim Flynn
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Oxnard City Council Members and Mayor Pro-Tem Dean Maulhardt join Oxnard City Manager Ed Sotelo and Assistant City Manager Karen Burnham as they watch Oxnard Public Library Director Barbara Murray during Opening Ceremonies for the new South Oxnard Public Library, |
The Old Saint John's Hospital Site is soon to be SYCAMORE
SENIOR VILLAGE - a Senior Center based in structure
upon the former hospital mainframe. The City of Oxnard is fully backing
the current construction plans and has given this
project the full GREEN LIGHT.
....................................................................................................................................photo:
Warren Smith - Oxnard
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The Oxnard Journal is revising the Archives for 2006-2007 - please use linx below for earlier versions. |
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