TWO ELEVEN (PROJ-15299) LAWSUIT FILED!
Livable Ventura, Inc. filed a Writ of Mandate to stop the 6-STORY MIXED-USE LUXURY APARTMENT BUILDING DOWNTOWN ON THE CORNER OF THOMPSON AND FIGUEROA WITH 94 UNITS AND 3,322 SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL SPACE ON A .92 ACRE SITE.
THE CASE WAS HEARD ON AUGUST 2ND AND WE ARE AWAITING THE JUDGE'S DECISION!

Approved by the City Council on August 7 with YES votes by Doug Halter, Jim Duran, Bill McReynolds and Jeanette Sanchez-Palacios. Council member Mike Johnson and Mayor Joe Schroeder voted NO. Liz Campos recused herself.
Approved by the Planning Commission at the May 24th meeting with YES votes by Commissioners Shannon Farley, Lucas Zucker, Estelle Bussa and David Comden. Commissioners Scott McCarty and Mark Abbe voted NO.
  • Project developer is the Daly Group who developed the Kal-Thom project at Kalorama and Thompson. 
  • The Downtown Specific Plan (the city's guidelines for building in the downtown area) restricts massing on a 4th floor to 25%.
  • The developer is including a small amount of low-income units to increase the height and density but they have gone far beyond what is allowed by the DTSP.
 Please sign up for our Newsletter for more information and our Facebook page will have more updates.
 
 KB HOMES 
5 City Council members voted to allow a Coastal Amendment to change the land use from Industrial (Jobs) to High Density Residential Land Use in a very special, never before seen agreement with KB Homes to build 394 residential units on 2325 Vista Del Mar Drive. They agreed to proceed without a Seaward Corridor Plan which is desperately needed to plan for the huge growth being planned for this area. There is a hotel under construction, 72 Townhomes (formerly known as Haley Point) a possible fire station and now 394 more units with access from Vista delMar or Alessandro plus a huge development at the corner of Harbor and Seaward. A total giveaway to the developer with very minimal public improvement.

For more information contact: SeawardCorridor@gmail.com
 
Park Plaza Project #15391
701 East Santa Clara on the Post Office side of street
5-story Mixed use with 2 Live/Work units and 2407 square feet of commercial space. The Downtown Specific Plan allows 3 stories and 25% 4th story. The developer is using State Density Bonus Law to increase the height of the building by adding affordable units.
80 residential units (7 affordable) Scheduled for a Community Development Director's Hearing (Rachel Dimond) on September 26th at 5:25 p.m. **Please note the change of time for the hearing to 5:30 p.m. Please look to Livable Ventura (Nextdoor, Facebook) when Staff Report comes out on September 20th.
 
ContactTaylor Hernvall Planner
thernvall@cityofventura.ca.gov
Ocean Avenue Apartments
PROJ- 22- 0194 1829 Ocean Avenue in Midtown 
3-story multifamily residential development with 19 units and 2 accessory dwelling units for low-income tenants. Demolition of 7 affordable cottages will displace current tenants.
Contact oceanavenueventura@gmail.com for questions or concerns regarding this project.
 
MAPLE COURT - RESUBMITTED
290 Maple Court at Maple Street just East of Mills Road
Developer is working with their architect on the design and will
resubmit the project in the future

PROPOSED 350-UNIT MULTIFAMILY APARTMENT COMPLEX
WITH 4900 SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL SPACE
View the project on the City's website here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1xnAw7sjhtCsnpCMODfpItdnsMwtVFLe_&ll=34.27048279999998%2C-119.24512580000001&z=12

Contract Planner: Kim Zuppiger
nzayer@cityofventura.ca.gov
  • Five stories is proposed in an area adjacent to single-family homes
  • 2-3 levels of residential units over 2 levels of parking
  • 35 low income units
  • Contemporary theme does not fit the aesthetics of the area which includes homes with mid-century modern influences
  • Adding 350 units with potentially 500 to 700 vehicles trying to use one or two entrances will directly impact the neighborhood. 
  • Traffic study for the project is essential. The safety of pedestrians and children in the area must be considered.
  • Design looks almost exactly like Front and Kalorama (below) which also does not fit into Ventura's beach and coastal vibe.
 HILTON HOTEL PROJECT  #8165
CORNER OF FIGUEROA STREET AND HARBOR BOULEVARD

FOUR STORY BUILDING  PLUS ROOFTOP DECK 
160 ROOMS PLUS SWIMMING POOL, RESTAURANT, DAY SPA AND 
OTHER AMENITIES
View the project on the City's website here:
https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/31614/PROJ-8165_Hilton_DRC-sr

Contract Planner: Tamara Harrison
nzayer@cityofventura.ca.gov
  • Project was previously approved by the Planning Commission in 2009 but permit expired in 2013.
  • Design Review Committee reviewed the project 5 times in 2014 and 2015
  • Design was changed from Art-Deco Embassy Suites to a Spanish Eclectic/ Santa Barbara influence with more of a contemporary edge 
  • Shared grassy area called Promenade Park will host events
  • Improvements to crosswalk at railroad crossing on Harbor Boulevard
  • Fairgrounds parking lot across the street will be used for events and a crosswalk will be added for pedestrians
 ANASTASI MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT #15022 

INTERSECTION OF HARBOR AND SEAWARD CONSISTING OF 97 CONDOMINIUMS IN 15 BUILDINGS AND
19,493 SQ. FT. OF COMMERCIAL SPACE
View the project on the City's website here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1xnAw7sjhtCsnpCMODfpItdnsMwtVFLe_&ll=34.26532540000001%2C-119.2712101&z=12

CITY CONTACT: KEVIN KOHAN, Contract Planner
dsanders@cityofventura.gov 
  • Developer is requesting a variance for an elevation of 65 feet. It will be 53 feet tall along Seaward and Pierpont. Pierpont residents are not granted height variances for new construction so why is the city favoring developers?
  • Coastal Mixed Use Zone Chapter 24.295 "Facilitate development that respects the desired pedestrian scale and character of Ventura's coastal environment by avoiding massive, monolithic structures and instead encourage a series of smaller scale buildings fronting publicly accessible walkways, streets and/or open space(s)."
  • City is allowing the developer easements; eliminating the bike lane and relocating the sidewalk on Seaward to allow parking.
  • Egress from the project is unsafe and confusing because there are no left turns onto Pierpont or Seaward thus causing traffic problems.
  • Insufficient amount of parking for the live/work units.
  • Very small setback from the sidewalk leaving no room for shade trees or other landscaping.
GET INVOLVED!
Sign up on the NextDoor app. Look for Groups> Save Ventura Views Seaward/Harbor/Pierpont/Mega Structure
https://nextdoor.com/g/t8dqw6msz/?is=nav_bar 

      Front St. / Laurel Community 

There are 522 units planned or under construction in the Laurel/Front area. Some are already underway and some are still in the planning process. These developments together will bring approximately 750 - 1,000 residents within a 4-5 block radius.

FRONT STREET MIXED USE  PROJECT #10148

This appealed project at four stories is being amended. The developer is now requesting five+ stories. The 46 condominiums have been changed to 85 rental apartments, an increase of 85% with no increase in parking spaces. The Design Review Committee had concerns about the increased height, narrow sidewalks and some design elements. It will be reviewed again by the DRC on October 16th at 6:00 p.m.
 
FRONT and KALORAMA PROJECT #14570

APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL 7-0
AFTER PLANNING COMMISSION DENIAL 6-0
https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/agendacenter
A new 4 story apartment building with 88 units was submitted for 935 E. Front Street. This project is known as "Front and Kalorama" and will be built in the current location of Tilly's Marine (boat storage yard). It is near the recently approved 4-story 46-unit condo building known as Front and Laurel and the 45 -unit project known as Kal-Thom at Kalorama and Thompson. 

The Planning Commissioners did not approve this project for the following reasons:
- Project exceeds the city's allowable percentage on the 4th floor (100% requested versus 15% allowed) which will completely block views of the mountains, ocean and sky. This was requested as a Density Bonus concession for including 14 affordable units.
- A lot this size is required by code to have 2 buildings or have the appearance of 2 buildings to avoid massing. They are violating the code (see photo below) and there is no attempt to look like 2 buildings except on 1 side, Front Street.
- Project is allowed by the Downtown Specific Plan (DTSP) to have only 30% of the units be stacked flats to avoid a boxy, monolithic feel. The developer is asking for 92% of the units to be stacked.
- Since Kal-Thom opened, there is a severe lack of adequate street parking for residents and there is less than 1 parking space per unit in this project.
- The building style is out of context and its character does not reflect the surrounding neighborhood.



THANK YOU to the community who showed up at the City Council meeting on November 14th. The Council says "their hands are tied" by the state but they are not enforcing the codes established in the Downtown Specific Plan.
 

Laurel Courts Proj-12046 on Front & Laurel
NEW APPLICATION TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNITS FROM 46 TO 62!

 

 

Subscribe

Subscribe to our email list to receive updates about new developments, planning and city council meetings, and resources. Don't wait, get involved today! 
Livable Ventura