A developer has sued the City of Oxnard over the permit denial for a 7-Eleven store at 2900 Saviers Road. The City Council upheld the Planning Commission’s decision to deny a special use permit for the location at the corner of Channel Islands Boulevard and Saviers Road. The proposed development would have included the demolition of the existing four-story building located on the property.
The applicant, BV Oxnard, is suing to invalidate the City’s denial of the Special Use Permit to redevelop the property at 2900 Saviers Road and wants the Court to order the City to approve the project and award BV Oxnard’s costs of the suit and attorneys’ fees to be paid by the City.
The City will contest the case.
“It’s no surprise that they have sued the City, as the developer publicly made thinly veiled threats of litigation during the July Council meeting,” said City Manager Alex Nguyen. “We won’t just roll over and we will defend the decisions of the Planning Commission and the City Council.”
City Attorney Stephen Fischer said, “I am confident the City Council’s findings support its denial of the developer’s appeal, and the City will vigorously defend the Council’s decision.”
The developer wants to demolish the existing four-story office building at the site and construct a 24-hour 7-Eleven store with a gas station that also sells beer and wine.
Both the Oxnard Planning Commission and City Council agree that the proposed project is detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding community. According to an Oxnard Police Department report, there is already an undue concentration of alcohol outlets in the vicinity, and the crime rate in the neighborhood is 4.9 times higher than the City’s average.
Evidence presented at the public hearings indicated that issues of loitering and panhandling by the homeless exist at the applicant’s current store located nearby. The applicant didn’t manage these problems. In addition to the quality of life issues, the applicant did not obtain an Historical Resource Assessment with the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board with its plans to demolish the building at the project site. The impacts to significant historic resources remain unknown.