[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6693867,"mediaKeyId","2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f","parentId",2232726,"title","Avalon Homes plan would add 56 units and conserve nearly 30 acres of coastal dunes; EIR recirculation expected spring 2025","audioSeconds",2402,"startMs",2681355,"endMs",5083985,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f&start=2681&end=5083","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f/thumbnail_2681355.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6693867/Oxnard-City/Ventura-County/California/Avalon-Homes-plan-would-add-56-units-and-conserve-nearly-30-acres-of-coastal-dunes-EIR-recirculation-expected-spring-2025","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6693867-cf9ab44eb96cdf1438fa4cbbe8dd9975/orig.mp4?Expires=1771196807&Signature=Cbgk4dn8ksuG~BMV~Wr-n18mg0Me795VOIpwL2ZY~sdSXB7RzAP8~znXYURZg5kXG5N-gm~0ifxvyLGVmmenw~ImLIGM754O~7Jl-iPH6MwQoU0pqZ5uiwp8L5jBu~UscpsO9wM8ABgIqUtMWskCJoVOLsksd2m2oBhhCUqDfBhb8Fbf7CRAf7UoSkrlYtApGnqETum15y7TDYjB4WO04KzI9aIlo9Tt5gvoIn4QfpoOxFUrft-igwy1ZhliA8v2QO~JxCcSPrEuZF7piAY3Ir2xci1Z3wE1yVtqJ~GVWPElEsNH2IMWhaanr7tCz649jKScguM0cW-f0lwApvYiFA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Oxnard, CA","date","2025-02-06T04:19:22.067Z","article","A developer team presented plans for the Avalon Homes subdivision to the Inter-Neighborhood Council, proposing 56 detached condominium units on a roughly 38-acre site with nearly 29.58 acres preserved permanently as coastal-dune open space.

Tanner Shelton of Jensen Design and Survey said the project, led by the Oxnard Shores Company with Toll Brothers in due diligence as a potential partner, would subdivide the property into three residential development lots (about 5.7 acres), three community-amenity lots, two private street/vehicular circulation lots, and two open-space lots totaling about 29.58 acres (77% of the site). Shelton said the developer will offer the open space to the city for a deed-restricted conservation status; if the city declines, the team intends to pursue a certified land trust or conservancy as an alternative steward.

Key project features Shelton described include:
- 56 detached condominium units clustered in small courts; each unit would include a two-car garage and a fenced private backyard. The project’s maximum height would be two stories.
- A private, 36-foot-wide paved roadway with sidewalks where adjacent to homes; the road would be privately owned and maintained by a homeowners association (HOA) but open for public access.
- A quarter-acre private pocket park with a small play area and community garden that the HOA would maintain; the developer said it would allow public access but stressed it would not be a city-owned park.
- A half-mile trail loop through the preserved dune habitat, a gated trail parking area to limit access at night, and modest habitat-restoration work rather than intensive landscaping.

Shelton said the site has been zoned for residential development for roughly four decades; an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was originally prepared in February 2019 and circulated in 2020. Because the EIR has aged, Shelton said the city consultant (Rincon Consultants) will update and recirculate the EIR for public comment, with the developer hoping for recirculation in March or April 2025. After public comment, the project will return to the Planning Commission and then City Council for hearings.

Speakers at the meeting raised multiple concerns about the project’s environmental and community impacts:
- Air quality and aviation lead: Several attendees asked whether leaded aviation fuel from Oxnard Airport could affect the site. Shelton said air-quality impacts are addressed in the EIR; commentators pressed for more testing and voiced concern about children’s exposure. The city’s environmental review will include an air-quality assessment, Shelton said.
- Noise/flight path: Residents noted Oxnard Airport’s flight paths, referenced a Part 150 noise study, and asked how contours and noise exposure were addressed; Shelton said the EIR contains a noise analysis and that specifics would be available in the recirculated document.
- Water supply: Critics asked where water for new homes would come from and whether the city’s Urban Water Master Plan and ASR (aquifer storage and recovery) wells have been funded. Shelton said the Avalon site was accounted for in the 2020 Urban Water Master Plan’s projections. He did not provide a new water-source construction timeline.
- Affordable housing: The developer team said the project will pay in-lieu fees for the inclusionary housing requirement; Shelton said the fee structure was updated in prior years and the project will pay whatever the applicable fee is at approval. Attendees asked for a clear accounting of how in-lieu fees are tracked and used; Shelton did not provide specific fee amounts at the meeting.
- Homeless encampments and preserve security: Neighbors asked how the open space will be secured to prevent encampments; Shelton said the plan calls for a gated trail parking area and a management plan to discourage unauthorized camping, but details will be developed with the open-space steward.
- Park/amenity access and Quimby funds: Neighbors urged using existing Quimby funds (Roger Poirier said the Oxnard Dunes area currently holds approximately $680,000 in Quimby funds) to deliver larger shared amenities such as pickleball courts or a connected bike path along the canal, rather than only a small private park. Shelton said the pocket park is expected to be HOA-owned; he also said the developer intends to build the trail and parking but that final terms will depend on the chosen steward.

Additional technical points Shelton gave: site setback to adjacent neighborhood would be a minimum of 25 feet for homes backing the southern and western property lines; the private street design is intended to be narrow and walkable; stormwater will be treated on-site via catch basins and a “modular wetland” system before tying into the city storm drain and the canal, Shelton said after coordination with city engineering.

When asked whether the units will be for sale or for rent, Shelton and a Toll Brothers representative said the units are intended for sale; the developer also said it does not expect a Mello-Roos (community facilities district) assessment but the project will have an HOA.

Shelton emphasized that questions of market price and exact timing were not yet determinable because the project’s schedule depends on EIR completion, market conditions and partnership agreements. Several neighborhood leaders offered ideas for better integrating trails and neighborhood amenities; the developer said it will continue to coordinate with neighborhood councils and city staff.

Ending: Shelton said the recirculated EIR and supporting studies will be published for public comment; the developer team asked residents to submit written comments when the draft is recirculated and to participate in the planning hearings that follow.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Inter-Neighborhood Council Organization - General Membership Meeting - 2/5/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Developers told neighborhood leaders they plan 56 detached condominium units on a ~38-acre site with about 29.58 acres deed-restricted as open-space; the project’s updated environmental impact report is expected to be recirculated for public comment in March or April 2025.","taxTitle","Oxnard City, Ventura County, California","taxId",3809,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6693872,"City manager: Carnegie Art Museum collection must be inventoried for NAGPRA compliance; reopening plans on hold",1482,1167335,2650005,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f&start=1167&end=2650","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f/thumbnail_1167335.jpg","/articles/6693872/Oxnard-City/Ventura-County/California/City-manager-Carnegie-Art-Museum-collection-must-be-inventoried-for-NAGPRA-compliance-reopening-plans-on-hold","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6693872-e30a0300c2ac94d1a9345bb9d26db4b5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771196807&Signature=MgnLtkyxH0PKJSizhYZ~Yati47re00RLQ-KOIkP1-r7ptJA6IkHfmrLBBwYxloS-OHxlNNjN3yCrGkiImpC4JXATrHYt3PXILWJ0FbmWCtM601P-uiMLBRZFuOVcN1-0Fd5wfx-GleMaS-sEOhpqnc9DQNNBISFme9gSn8tx2u0JNmg0cZE8zhKcWCILlRZH1Gg37ja7zRZFZhxrYVCbVpjtaT06~Z66GDdiC1HAJgHvIvl6DPe3heTKxofcyEY2-qQm33xKPzwnU2OA4-qKLMFMF8dQ2RJBSlPfDJ4XulgYVxiSiCgst81salhFahP0ysYm7XNu-2jy3eWXE7DCnA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Oxnard City Manager Alex Nguyen told the Inter-Neighborhood Council that the Carnegie Art Museum building has been closed since February 2019 and that the city must first resolve a legal and ethical inventory issue before deciding how the building can reopen.

Nguyen said the museum’s holdings include Native American artifacts and possibly human remains and that federal and California repatriation laws now require a qualified Native American expert to handle and assess the collection before city staff may touch the items. He said the city estimates at least 600 objects in the collection but that the number and provenance are not yet verified.

The issue matters because the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California’s companion laws require public institutions to inventory certain categories of cultural items, post them for claim, and consult with associated tribes before retaining or transferring them. Nguyen said the museum’s current status is out of compliance and that addressing the collection’s legal obligations is his immediate priority.

Nguyen summarized a concept he presented to the City Council’s Community Services Committee in September 2023: convert the Carnegie from a municipal art museum to a Carnegie Art Center that would provide daytime art instruction for youth, operate as a gallery in the evenings (with revenue-sharing), and be available for weekend special-event rentals. He said he does not believe the Carnegie can successfully operate as a municipally run professional art museum in its present configuration and that the building’s small size and the museum profession’s requirements make a traditional municipal museum difficult to sustain.

Nguyen said the first step is to hire the right outside consultant or museum specialist to complete a NAGPRA-compliant inventory and repatriation review. Under current state and federal rules, he said, city staff may be present when experts handle artifacts but cannot themselves manipulate the objects. The consultant’s work will include cataloguing items, assessing whether human remains are present, and posting findings on the state and federal notices that give tribes and other claimants an opportunity to respond.

Community members at the meeting urged a faster timetable and asked whether the non-Native portion of the collection could be separated from the artifacts that require NAGPRA handling so the building could be used in the interim. Nguyen said that separation is an option in principle but that the Council has not made a final decision about whether the Carnegie should remain a museum or follow the art-center proposal. He also said he would notify the neighborhood when postings on the NAGPRA websites begin.

Several attendees offered local expertise and contacts. Isaac Collard of CBU Estates said a neighborhood council member who works at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History had advised Nguyen and provided a short list of possible experts; Nguyen said he had already spoken with that contact. Nguyen repeatedly emphasized there is no plan to “sell” the collection; he described deaccessioning or selling items only as standard collection management options that a professional museum might use after a lawful process.

Questions at the meeting ranged from whether the Carnegie’s donors or family heirs had been contacted to how reopening would be funded. Nguyen directed attendees to the city’s online budget portal for information about municipal revenues and said revenue decisions about the building would depend on a Council decision about the Carnegie’s future use. He also said youth classes in the proposed art-center model would be treated as part of city youth programming and would not carry fees; gallery sales and special-event rentals would generate revenue for the facility if the Council pursues that model.

Nguyen said he is working to secure consultants and that the inventory and repatriation work will take time. He told the council that complying with legal obligations to tribes is both a legal and a moral priority.

Ending: Nguyen closed by saying staff will return with more information once a consultant is under contract and NAGPRA postings begin; neighborhood representatives asked to be notified when that work starts.","Oxnard City Manager Alex Nguyen told the Inter-Neighborhood Council that the Carnegie Art Museum’s collection includes Native American artifacts and possibly human remains and must be inventoried under federal and state repatriation laws before the city determines how to reopen or reuse the building.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6693862,"Neighborhood leaders urge Oxnard to create centralized volunteer portal and park ambassador program",302,589165,891925,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f&start=589&end=891","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2232726-2112ed60e5085f467fa8446c5ccec07f/thumbnail_589165.jpg","/articles/6693862/Oxnard-City/Ventura-County/California/Neighborhood-leaders-urge-Oxnard-to-create-centralized-volunteer-portal-and-park-ambassador-program","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6693862-9617458262d134368769055d15c7abd3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771196807&Signature=EhX1EF7bSlWDZGx5ROWNRBnpuEV8vm8NdzOhC6SyKfEce20yXK0EZ1K4ageiPR1H1~xgiaw8MgCID-gVw2J1D1B3jH9lUu3Dn7cLYrDstB3cYx-AokpDwye~eL-j-He6pSedCxzYgsRC9t98dAB18xJvIL7M2r5j61MXxWTzUEDhgICgTDH8mBgaoLyuUpl1wuUvSZI0qHRgzZKpWsq-DhmT0tmBGM8Sv8r~qJV4Qc9O-R1IUVdl6qJ2EgR6pvGPVg~HNffJozv6AbpEdnmcJzoX7EIuA6ulL-B3ZIKuToLsCawKFGWsui58vQFBb63FI~xBRnEEKzXHiDICPdFUqQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Several neighborhood leaders used public comment to urge the City of Oxnard to do more to recognize, connect and support volunteers and to consider a park ambassador program to assist with light maintenance and activation of local parks.

Doug Partello, a 38-year resident and former Cabrillo Neighborhood Council chair, said Oxnard has many volunteers who clean neighborhoods, remove trash and maintain plantings but that the city lacks a centralized way to connect volunteers and projects. He pointed to a City of Ventura web page that lists volunteer opportunities and asked Oxnard to create a similar portal so volunteer efforts can be coordinated and recognized.

Angela Whitecomb, Wilson neighborhood chair and chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, proposed a city-sanctioned park ambassador program. She described a volunteer model used elsewhere in which trained volunteers perform limited tasks — light weeding, painting, litter pickup and other small maintenance activities — while receiving city training and insurance coverage. She emphasized that such volunteers should not perform work that requires specialized training or official authority (for example, trimming large trees or substituting for police duties). Whitecomb said the city previously had broader volunteer programs beyond the current City Corps and that a structured ambassador program would reduce legal and operational concerns while enabling neighborhood activation and care of public spaces.

Commenters framed the proposal as a cost-effective way to increase park stewardship and neighborhood pride while maintaining appropriate boundaries for volunteer activity. Whitecomb said other cities use preexisting models and that Oxnard could adapt those programs rather than building one from scratch.

Ending: Chairs asked the city to explore a city-hosted volunteer portal and to report back on the feasibility of a park ambassador program that would include training, insurance and clear role limits for volunteers.","Residents and neighborhood chairs told the Inter-Neighborhood Council that Oxnard does not adequately recognize or support volunteers and recommended a city-sanctioned volunteer portal and park ambassador program similar to other cities’ models.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Avalon Homes plan would add 56 units and conserve nearly 30 acres of coastal dunes; EIR recirculation expected spring 2025

City manager: Carnegie Art Museum collection must be inventoried for NAGPRA compliance; reopening plans on hold

Neighborhood leaders urge Oxnard to create centralized volunteer portal and park ambassador program