Coveted oceanfront land in Ventura County will become a nature preserve, as well as a home site for the county’s largest-ever preserve, according to the Ventura County Planning Department.
The three parcels of land, located in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, were on Thursday approved by the Planning Department’s Environmental Assessment Board.
Ventura County has a number of potential uses for the land: an environmental education center, a place for nature studies, a possible retirement residence and the largest nature preserve in the county.
The three parcels are on East Coast and Highway One in the communities of Calico Rock and Capay Valley, off U.S. 101 between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
The Calico Rock parcel includes.84 acres and is zoned R4. It is currently zoned to accommodate a maximum of 50 family homes.
The Capay Valley parcel includes.33 acres and is zoned R2. It is currently zoned to accommodate a maximum of 50 family homes.
The.64 acre Capay Valley parcel is currently zoned R2. It is currently zoned to accommodate single family homes, a school and up to 250,000 square feet of office space.
The parcels have been zoned to accommodate up to 1,000,000 square feet of office space.
The properties will be a designated nature preserve, along with the larger preserve to the east, where up to one million acres of protected land are also in the planning stages.
The larger protected preserve site would cost about $150 million and would be home to the largest in Ventura County.
The conservation designation will allow for more efficient use of the land for public purposes, such as parks and open space, a water intake control system, electrical system, storm water management, erosion control, natural area protection and preservation of local watersheds.
Another site for an education center would be created, as well as a possible retirement residence.
The three parcels, which are zoned to allow for up to 10,000 to 100,000 square feet of commercial, office or residential use, are located in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Monterey County, adjacent to U.S. 101.
The planning commission is scheduled to consider the proposals during Thursday’s meeting at 5:30 p.m.
The commission will also consider a proposal for a potential “tourism and retirement community” on the Cap