Citing its incompatibility with the Saticoy Village Specific Plan which envisioned “sit-down restaurants and retail with an emphasis on forming high-quality public spaces oriented to the pedestrian,” Ventura city planning staff has once again rejected the Ashdon project on Wells and Darling roads in East Ventura.
The project is a new commercial shopping center consisting of seven buildings including a gas station with a car wash, commercial spaces, a day care center, 10 residential units, and two fast-food drive-through restaurants on a 4.7-acre site. The developer submitted another proposal in June of 2020, which was also not recommended for approval.
“The proposed project does not incorporate the neighborhood goals from the Specific Plan because of the combination of uses that are far from the intent for the site,” the letter to the applicant says. “The two fast food drive-throughs, gas station, and car wash combined with a daycare and ground floor residential are in conflict [with a] pedestrian oriented development. Staff does not support all of the vehicle-oriented uses condensed into the site and believes that this project does not meet the intent or regulations set forth in the Specific Plan.”
Among other issues, staff cited numerous health and safety concerns associated with siting a day care in a heavily trafficked area. They pointed out that a car wash is not an allowed use in the area and they had numerous issues with architectural design, vehicle safety, parking and circulation.
As such, staff will not be supporting the project as proposed until significant changes are made. The letter can be found here.
The East Ventura Community Council concurs with staff findings. After numerous meetings with the community, the consensus has always been that the auto-oriented development does not bring the sorts of amenities the far east end is lacking, such as a full-service grocery store and healthy eating choices in walkable areas. We support the goals of the Saticoy Village Specific Plan and hope the developer will follow the lead of the planning document in which his parcel resides.
We thank staff for their diligent work in looking after the needs of the community.