City Council to consider settlement of Hardison House lawsuit Monday
March 17, 2017
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Settling a lawsuit over the development of the Hardison House property is on the Consent Calendar of Monday’s City Council meeting, a meeting short on business but tackling several important issues.
The March 20 meeting will start at 6 p.m. with a closed session in the Administration Conference Room to address the proposed settlement of the lawsuit filed last year by the Santa Paula Conservancy and San Buenaventura Conservancy over development of the Hardison House property.
Back in open session at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers, the meeting will be broadcast live on Spectrum Cable Channel 10 and replayed according to schedule. The session will also be live streamed on the city’s website and archived for viewing on demand.
March will be declared as Brain Injury Awareness Month and the council will hear a presentation by the Ventura County Transportation Commission regarding the unmet transit needs public hearing.
The settlement agreement for the Hardison House property will address the lawsuit filed last year over development of the historic property.
According to the agreement, the Hardison Farmstead will be removed from the tract boundary and largely left in its current configuration and the Project will be reduced from 40 units to 36 new, single-family residential units. The barn, a strong point of contention, will not be moved as initially planned and the caretaker’s quarters and garage will be repositioned on new foundations and not destroyed.
Developer Williams Homes must submit a landscape plan that maintains historic and period appropriate elements.
If the council approves the revised project, the conservancies will dismiss the lawsuit within five days of that approval. If the council does not approve the revised project, the litigation would resume.
Other Consent Calendar items include the creation of a standing committee to address sewer and water rates, a panel with an ominous ring.
Ventura Directional Drilling, which already passed Planning Commission muster, will now go through the council for consideration of a zone change to light industrial. The proposed project is the former home of Ruben’s Tires, 17902 E. Telegraph Road, just west of the Santa Paula Creek overpass. The plan includes upgrades to the structure and landscaping.
In other business, the council will also consider a joint use agreement with the Santa Paula Unified School District and city for sharing a portion of the new park at the Harvest project to offset requirements for a new K-8 school. The agreement calls for the school to share 4 acres of the 37-acre parcel.
