Ventura County Star
by Kathleen Wilson Image by James Glover II

Inside Ventura County's poorest city, residents of Santa Paula are looking for an economic boon from development of land that's been farmed for a century.

Backers say Measure G, which goes to voters June 3, is the best chance the city has had in years. Limoneira Co., a Santa Paula agribusiness firm, is seeking to develop the 501-acre site into a master-planned community it says could pump up the entire city's fortunes.

"It's going to make a major difference," said John Blanchard, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce. "They are talking about the permanent creation of 1,000 new jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs — that's the bottom line for anything."

But the sloping, historic property lies east of town and north of Telegraph Road in a 34,000-acre greenbelt, a protected area that requires voter approval to bring it into the city.

If passed by a simple majority, it would represent the largest urbanization of Ventura County farmland since the voters began approving open-space initiatives more than a decade ago.

About 400 acres are in active agricultural production, with the remaining 100 acres in natural undeveloped land and ranch housing, city Planning Director Janna Minsk said. Limoneira would preserve 200 acres with open space, trails and an unknown amount of avocado acreage, with the remainder to be developed into urban uses.

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