Council Delays Decision as Population Cap Raises Debate

VENTURA —  With residents begging them to slow down the city’s population boom, the City Council delayed a decision Monday night on whether to reevaluate the city’s growth plan and eventually eliminate a restrictive population cap established for the year 2000.

With Ventura’s population racing ahead of a schedule set seven years ago, city officials had recommended scrapping an end-of-the-century population cap to allow future residential projects to come forward.

But some council members and Ventura residents balked at the idea of removing language from the Comprehensive Plan, the city’s chief planning document that was painfully crafted through a series of public meetings in 1989 to keep growth from spiraling out of control.

“I am not inclined to change that or ease up on those numbers,” Councilman Jim Monahan said. “We worked very hard on that plan.”

Ventura resident Joy Kobayashi urged the council not to tamper with the year 2000 limit.

“By deleting or changing this limit, a dangerous precedent will be set,” she said.

After nearly two hours of public input and council discussion, council members voted unanimously to bring the issue back next month for further discussion. Specifically, the council directed city staff to study raising the population cap, instead of eliminating it.

“During the discussion, Councilman Steve Bennett said he was very uncomfortable with abolishing the population cap. “At the same time, I don’t want to be in a spot where, if housing downtown comes forward, we can’t go forward.”

City officials have a long-term goal to bring 900 residents to downtown Ventura, a plan that could be hamstrung by adhering to a strict timeline for population growth.

In 1989, the City Council adopted a growth plan that states Ventura’s population should not exceed 115,000 by the year 2010, contingent upon the availability of water and other resources.

To keep population growth at a steady pace, the council set an interim limit of 102,000 for the year 2000, or 105,000 if available water sources were secured.

But the city’s population has almost reached the 105,000 cap--four years ahead of schedule. More than 104,400 residents now live in the city’s planning area, according to a city report.

By the year 2000, the city’s population is expected to reach more than 107,500, roughly 2,500 more residents than the Comprehensive Plan suggests.

If they adhere to the 105,000 population benchmark, council members could be forced to halt future residential development.

And with attractive, potentially profitable, housing projects waiting in the wings, such as a proposed 400-bed veterans home in the city’s east end, some council members said the cap needs to be lifted or changed.

But Councilman Gary Tuttle, a longtime slow-growth advocate, warned the council against tinkering with the cap.

“We do need some limits,” he said. “But if we change the timeline, in my mind, it is smoke and mirrors. . . . I think what you are really doing is changing the politics in Ventura.”

Ventura became the 15th fastest-growing city in the state in 1994, growing by 3,600 people to 100,700 residents, according to State Department of Finance statistics.

Although population figures for last year have not been compiled, city officials estimate that about 1,230 residents moved into new housing tracts inside the city limits in 1995.

By looking at the number of building permits granted last year, city officials estimate that an additional 2,490 residents moved into residential areas that border the city limits.

Factoring in an additional 3,142 residents expected to live in housing projects recently approved by the City Council, Ventura’s population is expected to reach 107,566 by the end of the century.

City officials attribute the sudden growth spurt to a number of factors, including pent-up demand for housing and more people doubling up in residences.