VENTURA : Homeowners Assail Hospital Expansion

Two dozen Ventura homeowners met Sunday to voice their opposition to expansion plans for the county hospital, contending that the new buildings would increase noise and pollution and obstruct their ocean views.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $1.8-million loan to help pay design costs for a proposed four-story outpatient wing and five-story parking lot at Ventura County Medical Center. On Tuesday, the board plans to consider granting a design contract for the project.

Administrators last week said the new wing would replace old, asbestos-ridden buildings, doubling the hospital’s outpatient capacity and allowing it to better serve people on Medi-Cal.

The Agnus Drive residents, many of whom live in homes separated from the hospital only by a six-foot-high cinder-block wall, signed a letter to the Board of Supervisors Sunday opposing the plan.

“I’m so depressed,” said Jean Bartel, one of the residents who gathered at a church auditorium across the street from the hospital. “We live right smack behind where they’re going to put it up.”

Bartel and other residents said they will ask the board Tuesday not to loan the hospital the money until the county prepares a full environmental impact report on the project.

“These buildings are going to loom over us and affect our lives dramatically,” said Mark Pachowicz. “We’re pretty upset that we weren’t told about these plans until after the board approved the loan.”

Supervisor Susan Lacey said that since the loan was approved last week, she has received a letter and several phone calls from residents opposed to the expansion.

“I am aware that there are concerns. I’m just going to hear what they have to say on Tuesday and then we’ll take it from there.”

Lacey also said the county’s department of public works told her the agency would soon be meeting with residents to answer questions about the project.