Oxnard council holds extended public hearing on Teal Club specific plan, no final vote

The Oxnard City Council heard a detailed presentation and public testimony April 15 on the Teal Club specific plan, a proposed annexation and master-planned neighborhood bounded by Doris Avenue, Patterson Road, Teal Club Road and Ventura Road that would allow up to roughly 990 homes, a mixed-use “gateway” at Ventura Road with a transit hub and a central neighborhood park. Council did not take a final vote at the meeting.

The planning applicant, Dennis Hargrave representing the Borchard family, told the council the project is intended as an “urban village” with single-family homes adjacent to Doris Avenue, duplexes and townhomes in a central core, apartments and condos in the southeast quadrant and a ten-acre neighborhood park. “The development agreement provides certainty for both the City and the owners,” Hargrave said, and he urged the council to approve staff’s preferred option.

Why this matters: The proposal is a major land-use and infrastructure decision. It would add hundreds of homes inside the city’s curbs and was listed in Oxnard’s general plan and housing element for years; it triggers detailed environmental review, annexation work at LAFCO and a multi-phase entitlement and construction schedule that the developer estimated could run from 2026 to 2029 depending on market conditions.

What council and staff presented and discussed - Scope and timing: Staff and the applicant said the site is inside the city’s curbs and sphere of influence, not subject to SOAR vote, and that the specific plan and an environmental impact report (EIR) were prepared for the full plan. The applicant said the first phase is entirely owned by the Borchard family and that the EIR also analyzed a phase‑1–only alternative.

- Housing and affordability: The project as proposed would meet the city’s urban‑village requirement of 15% affordable housing. Housing staff said those affordable units would be targeted only to low‑ and very‑low‑income households (60% of the 15% low income, 40% very low), and that the developer offered an extended affordability term (55 years) and a local buyer preference program — a 30‑day window giving local residents and employees first access to purchase homes. Joe Pearson (housing staff) told council the 15% would be rental units and that state law (AB 155 referenced in the hearing) constrains how cities can raise rental inclusionary percentages without…