"Neighbors Organize Against Ferrini Oaks Development Proposal" by News Blog

News Blog

Neighbors Organize Against Ferrini Oaks Development Proposal

November 5, 2012

The public has less than two weeks left to weigh in on draft plans for an 870-acre development that hugs Highway 68 west of River Road, and neighborhood groups are using that time to brief themselves on hundreds of pages of environmental documents recently published.

The Ferrini Ranch proposal includes 212 residential lots, a winery with 260 parking spaces, and 43 acres of new roads. The draft environmental impact report calls for removing up to 921 oak trees on what would equal 14 acres of oak woodland. The proposal also calls for preserving 600 acres out of the total 870.

For access to the site, Santa Monica-based developer Domain Corporation proposes taking 3.4 acres of Toro Regional Park parkland, for which they'd offer County Parks a land swap in exchange.

"Why in the world would any reasonable governing body think they could take public parkland and turn it into an asset for a developer?" says Beverly Bean, a member of the Highway 68 Coalition.

Coalition chair Mike Weaver, who's also a member of Save Our Peninsula, helped win a settlement last year with the county over its alleged failure to monitor the environmental mitigation measures imposed on developers. One of Weaver's concerns was with water hook-ups at Ferrini Oaks, a smaller nine-home project by the same developer.

Along with the Rimrock Homeowners Association and other groups, the Highway 68 Coalition and other groups are encouraging neighbors to weigh in on the project before the public comment period on the draft environmental impact report closes on Nov. 16. The County Planning Department extended the public comment by three weeks after posting an incomplete draft EIR.

Mark Kelton, a principal with Domain Corporation, says developer representatives will also host community meetings to educate residents on the project.

LandWatch Executive Director Amy White presents on the proposal at 7pm Monday, Nov. 5, at San Benancio Middle School, 43 San Benancio Road, Corral de Tierra.