OXNARD : Officials Seek Word on Site for Sonyland

Oxnard officials have told Columbia Pictures Entertainment to advise them immediately if a lemon farm on the outskirts of the city is being considered as a site for an amusement park called Sonyland.

The admonition came during a telephone conversation last week between a spokeswoman for Columbia and Oxnard Economic Development Officer Linda Guillis, according to a city report released Friday.

City officials said they called Columbia after several newspapers reported that a lemon farm near the city is being considered for the Sonyland project.

The Columbia spokeswoman, who was not identified, told Guillis that the Sonyland project is in its infancy and that Oxnard has not been specifically identified as a primary site, according to the report.

CBS Sony California Inc. owns about 950 acres of agricultural land at 4300 Etting Road, according to county assessment records. Sources have told The Times that the Oxnard site is being considered for the proposed project.

In a formal announcement earlier this month, Columbia Pictures said it had received approval from its Japanese owner, Sony Corp., to open Sonyland as a rival to such places as Disneyland and Universal Studios.