Failed Petition Drive to Cost City $3,697

A failed citizen-sponsored petition drive to reinstate Oxnard’s Planning Commission ended up costing the city $3,697.50 after the City Council agreed Tuesday to reimburse the county for verifying initiative signatures.

Using a random sampling of 8% of the 6,161 signatures initially collected, the county ruled that the group had not collected enough valid signatures to place the measure on the March ballot.

But the group demanded a recount of all signatures, and county officials determined that the group still needed 471 names to reach the 5,219 required.

The county has sent Oxnard the tab for the two signature-verification projects, which cost 50 cents per signature verified plus a setup fee.

The citizens group objected to a city move last year to replace the Planning Commission with a hearing officer and panel of land-use advisors. The petitioners say the public has less input in the city’s planning process because of the new arrangement.

City officials initially turned down the group’s request for a full count of all the signatures, but the City Council later caved in to community pressure.

Former Oxnard Mayor Jane Tolmach, one of three people behind the drive, said the group still has questions about the county’s latest tally of signatures and has not yet decided whether to launch another initiative campaign.

Tolmach said she blames the city for the extra county charge. “They could have just enacted [our group’s proposal] without any cost at all,” she said.