SANTA PAULA : Landowner Stops Crews From Clearing Roadway

A landowner on South Mountain Road near Santa Paula is not allowing crews onto his property to clear a massive landslide until he receives county approval for an unrelated proposal, officials said.

Roger Harvey wants permission from the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District to use gasoline-contaminated soil at Santa Paula airport to make asphalt for the airport’s runways, said Karl Krause, manager of the district’s engineering section.

Krause had given Harvey, who is a member of the Santa Paula Airport Assn., preliminary permission to use the soil, but specific details had not been worked out, he said.

But Harvey tried to move the process along by refusing to allow crews on his land, Krause said.

“He’s attempting to blackmail us,” said Arthur Goulet, the county’s Public Works Agency director.

Harvey refused to comment.

On Tuesday, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted to exercise their emergency powers and will go onto Harvey’s property either today or Thursday, Goulet said.

Rain-related landslides last winter closed South Mountain Road near Santa Paula and California 33 north of Ojai. Residents of Lockwood Valley and a portion of the Santa Clara Valley say their lives have been disrupted by the blocked roads, forcing them to drive up to two hours extra to run errands.