Ormond Beach

On October 11, the Oxnard City Council adopted its 2030 General Plan with land use designations for Ormond Beach that should facilitate the State Coastal Conservancy’s wetland restoration. Previous versions of the General Plan targeted urban development in areas the Conservancy hopes to restore.

Find out more about the October 11th decision

Ormond Beach, A Natural Win | October 17 2011

Ormond Beach, located in the city of Oxnard, is home to a vast ecosystem of rich green wetlands and a unique coastline habitat California cannot afford to lose. Once restored, Ormond Beach would provide breathing room for the Pacific Flyway, a resting spot for over 200 species of migrating birds, and a unique opportunity for public recreation and education.

The restoration project is supported by elected state officials in the region, and the California Coastal Conservancy has authorized the purchase of 950 acres for open space; however, the adjacent land is currently privately owned, and the landowner has said that he will not sell his 342 acres unless part of his property is zoned for light industry. While a light industry zoning would bring more value to his land, the California Coastal Conservancy (CCC) has said that if this zoning occurs, the CCC may choose somewhere else to preserve.

The Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter has been fighting for Ormond Beach’s preservation since the 1980’s, and with mounting pressure on the issue, the California Coast Resilient Habitats Campaign  joined the Los Padres Steering Committee, the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County, and the Environmental Defense Center in filing a land-use suit against the City of Oxnard in July.

The “EIR fails to consider the fact that development will hamper the ability of wetlands to retreat” naturally, explains Mike Stubblefield, a long-time advocate for Ormond Beach preservation.

The wetlands, about which Stubblefield is speaking, are some of the strongest examples of vanishing habitat in Southern California.  Though long underappreciated for the worth they present, wetlands are a powerful buffer to coastal flooding, while providing habitat for hundreds of species, and sequestering damaging greenhouse gasses.

“We’ve learned too much about the value of wetlands to take this rare 1500-acre wetland for granted,” states Trevor Smith of the Los Padres Sierra Club Chapter.

With increasing pressure from coastal development, we must make natural systems and associated human communities the priority over development in Ormond Beach, in order to ensure a beautiful future for the California Coast.