Development on Hold in Ponderosa Corridor

Development of the Ponderosa Corridor has been put on hold at least temporarily.

The corridor is the unincorporated county property on the north side of the Ventura Freeway between Central Avenue and Las Posas Road. When Cal State Channel Islands was considering locating west of the area in 1994, a plan was developed that would have made the Ponderosa Corridor the housing and commercial focus point for the university.

But today, with Cal State officials looking at settling at Camarillo State Hospital, the Camarillo City Council voted unanimously to stop any further development of the plan. City officials hope to annex the area so that the city will oversee how and when it gets developed.

“That area has always been identified with Camarillo--even when I was a kid,” Mayor Stan Daily said. “Now that Camarillo surrounds it it has been a potential dagger to the underbelly of the city. But once it is annexed, it can be like a new child and be nurtured by the city.”

Once annexed, the area would be zoned so that any development has a minimum of 10 acres between neighboring parcels.

“The fate of the property should be determined by Camarillo and not the Board of Supervisors,” said Councilwoman Charlotte Craven. “The property affects the heart of our city and a lot of aspects of our citizens’ lives.”

The new plan for the Ponderosa Corridor would allow the city to plan for road, water and sewer developments for adjacent areas, said Larry Davis, assistant city manager.

“Aside from that, it’s basically been put into a holding zone until the city decides how it would best be used.”