Traffic measure makes a return to Oxnard
Traffic initiatives are like bad pennies.
They just keep coming back.
In Oxnard, by the narrowest of margins, Measure V has won certification for the November ballot.
So, less than a year after defeating an earlier version of this job-killing measure, the Oxnard Chamber and other organizations have to do it all over again.
Measure V is really the creature of a handful of politicians who see an opportunity to advance their careers by going against the grain of common sense and a decades-long positive relationship between business and citizens in the region’s largest city.
Oxnard has shown signs of a transition to a much more livable city — its downtown has staged a nice comeback, Highway 101 improvements have fostered growth and development and the city has put behind it the deep problems that came with the early 1990s recession.
But to fully develop Oxnard as an economic leader for the region will require building some higher density residential projects. One such project is the cluster of mid-rise condominiums proposed for the Wagon Wheel project that’s located in a blighted area near the Esplanade shopping center just west of Highway 101.
But some people just don’t like to see higher density projects and they are using so-called traffic curbs to accomplish by referendum what they cannot through a vote at the city council level. What they are trying to accomplish is a “kill them at birth” strategy for a newly revitalized Oxnard with a more upscale look, better housing, better retail stores and, oh yes, a much bigger and more stable tax base. All of this will come to a screeching halt if Measure V passes and we think the voters in Oxnard are much too smart to let that happen if they know what the real story is behind Measure V.
We oppose Measure V and we heartily endorse efforts by the Chamber and other business organizations to inform the public about its potential ill effects on Oxnard, Port Hueneme and the surrounding cities.
What folks like Chamber President Nancy Lindholm and others know is that with the economy struggling and housing in a downturn, now is not the time to put up new roadblocks to development efforts.
