Planning Commission reviews cityplanned developments before annual site tour

At a special Sept. 16, 2025 meeting, the Planning Commission received a staff presentation summarizing planned development projects across the city and then conducted its annual site tour of the projects.

The presentation outlined residential, commercial and mixed-use projects at various stages of approval and construction, including timelines and key design or historic preservation elements. Commissioners approved the consent calendar at the start of the meeting and later reconvened following the site tour.

The briefing highlighted a 20-acre single-family project that will include 159 detached homes (7.8 dwelling units per acre); the Shorley Farmhouse on that site was designated a historic landmark on May 28, 2025, relocated within the neighborhood, and is planned to be restored and occupied as a single-family residence. Staff said construction for that development is anticipated to finish by July 2027.

The Farrand Capital project, previously approved May 14, 2024, covers about 46.88 acres and originally included two automobile dealerships totaling roughly 133,000 square feet and five industrial buildings totaling about 574,340 square feet; staff reported an application to modify plans and reduce overall building sizes has been submitted. A proposed Texas Roadhouse restaurant on a 0.47-acre site at 650 Ventura Blvd. was noted as approved Sept. 17, 2024, and planned as an 8,307-square-foot restaurant within the Camarillo Premium Outlets.

A larger mixed-use proposal referred to in the presentation as the Neon Plaza was approved in December 2017 for approximately 14 acres and includes hotel and conference facilities: staff listed an Embassy Suites hotel with about 155 rooms and a Home2 Suites hotel with about 122 rooms, alongside a 17,500-square-foot conference center, a 16,532-square-foot restaurant space and about 9,365 square feet of retail.

Staff said construction on the project described as Humpty Suites is expected to finish by 2027. The briefing also noted a Chick-fil-A at 670 Ventura Blvd. (5,150 square feet) that was approved Aug. 15, 2023, and opened May 1, 2025.

Affordable and mixed-income housing projects were reviewed. Vista Campanero was described as a 68-unit development with 59 affordable rental units targeted to extremely low-, very low- and low-income households, one unrestricted manager's rental unit and eight for-sale condominium units for low-income households; staff reported the rental units and site work are complete and the for-sale units are expected to finish by mid-2026. Camarillo Village Homes, initially approved in Sept. 2016, was described as a 285-unit for-sale townhome development with 29 moderate-income units and a three-building, three-story mixed-use component with 24 two-bedroom rental units (three designated for low-income households) and roughly 12,000 square feet of commercial space; staff reported certificates of occupancy have been issued for 20 units and the clubhouse, phases 1 and 2 are nearing completion, phases 3—6 are under construction, and phase 7 is due to begin within a week of the briefing.

Fairfield Apartments, approved Feb. 2, 2021, was described as a 385-unit multifamily project with 20 units set aside for low-income households and 20 for moderate-income households; staff said the first building and fitness center have received certificates of occupancy and the project is accepting rental applications. Central Plaza Shopping Center was described as undergoing a major redesign that replaced the former Kmart with a new supermarket; staff said Vaughn's relocated to a newly constructed building and opened Jan. 17, 2025, and that additional pad buildings, a drive-through restaurant and façade and landscaping improvements are ongoing through 2025.

The presentation concluded with staff noting the map of project sites and the route for the commission's physical tour of the projects. Commissioners later reconvened and the director offered a brief report thanking the commission for participating in the tour.

Formal actions taken at the meeting were limited to approval of the consent calendar and adjournment. No ordinances, rezonings or new approvals were enacted during the meeting itself; the presentation summarized projects that had been approved at prior hearings (approval dates were provided in staff comments where applicable).