City Refutes Suit Claim by Oxnard

The city of Ventura has responded to a lawsuit filed by Oxnard that challenged an environmental impact report conducted for the planned expansion of the Buenaventura Mall.

Oxnard officials say the report is flawed because it fails to study the impacts the $50-million expansion would have on their city.

But in a written response filed with the Ventura County Superior Court this week, Ventura’s lawyers say that Oxnard’s claim has no merit and is not based on environmental concerns.

“Its purpose is not to protect the environment but to prevent competition,” Ventura attorneys said in the four-page document, which refutes more than 25 allegations made by the city of Oxnard.

Oxnard lawyers sued Ventura late last month saying the planned expansion of the Buenaventura Mall would hurt their city by stripping $500,000 in annual sales tax revenue, which in turn would create blight in the area.

The suit also alleges that the city did not conduct an adequate environmental review of the expansion, which would add 800,000 square feet to the existing mall, including two new department stores--Sears and Robinsons-May, which plan to leave The Esplanade in Oxnard for the improved Ventura mall.