City of Oxnard Updates

Nov 3, 2020 | CINC

This page contains posts regarding City Events

City Of Oxnard Neighborhood Councils

by | Feb 9, 2018 | , ,

Neighborhood Councils The neighborhood councils serve as an outlet for Oxnard residents to work together to improve the quality of life in Oxnard by making each of their neighborhoods a cleaner, safer, better place to live. There are 43 pre-defined neighborhoods in...

Will C.I. Harbor no longer be a REC1 waterbody?

Jun 17, 2020 | CINC, Marine Advisory Committee, Water Quality

MAC speaks at June 11th, 2020 LA Water Board Hearing.
If left up to the City of Oxnard, the LA Water Board and the local farmers organization VCAILG*, our harbor could become polluted and unsafe—like McGrath Lake to our north. At issue—the ‘QAPP’ Quality Assurance Project Plan for water quality monitoring has been revised/downgraded for almost a year, by city staff according to the Water Board at a public meeting (6/11/20). CINC/MAC advocates for ongoing bacterial and nutrient testing by the City with volunteer labor provided by MAC and students from CSUCI. The financially responsible parties are both the City and the County. It is up to them to identify a solution, bringing our harbor back to the pristine condition it once was. When the power plant closed in 2018 it exposed the fact that for years, 2,400 acres of ag fields discharged unfiltered runoff into the Edison Canal. Both the City and the County’s scientist/consultants have stated their opinions about excess nutrients and pesticides found in farm field runoff. The County BOS has voted and approved $477,000 (2020) to trace bacteria that ends up on our harbor’s Kiddie & Hobie swimming beaches. VCAILG’s BMPs (best management practices) are not addressing the environmental issues of today, in our harbor…

READ MORE GET: Will C.I. Harbor no longer be a REC1 waterbody?

Press Release February 14, 2020 -CHANNEL ISLAND HARBOR WATER QUALITY UPDATE

Feb 14, 2020 | CINC, Marine Advisory Committee, Press Releases, Water Quality

For Immediate Release
February 14, 2020

CHANNEL ISLAND HARBOR WATER QUALITY UPDATE

There have been two recent stories (Ormond Beach Power Plant and Lake Erie in Ohio) in the Ventura Star that were related to the water quality issues in the Channel Island Harbor.

Since there are 19 more power plants like the Mandalay and Ormond Beach scheduled for closure in California, these recent articles raise the question if the federal, state, county and local agencies involved in such decisions have thoroughly planned for the effects of such plant closings. We are concerned because they did not study and plan well for the closing of the Mandalay Power Generating Station (MPGS) in Oxnard. The consequences of their lack of post-close analysis and planning for the Channel Island Harbor led to significant negative environmental damage to the Channel Island Harbor, marine life, and the harbor’s residents, businesses, and visitors.

CLICK FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE
January 23, 2020 6 PM at PCYC

January 23, 2020 6 PM at PCYC

Jan 11, 2020 | Events

January meeting of Channel Islands Neighborhood Council  (CINC)
DATE: January 23rd
TIME: 6 PM
LOCATION: Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club (PCYC)
2600 Harbor Blvd, Oxnard, CA 93035

  • WELCOME
  • Chair’s Report
    • Water Board’s Triennial Review
    • Water Board’s Meeting on MS4
    • Forming a not-for-profit entity
    • A visit from Senator Feinstein’s Staff
  • GUEST SPEAKER:
    • Oxnard City Manager, Alex Nguyen
      2020 Updates
  • Marine Advisory Committee MAC
    • Report on Harbor Water Quality
    • The Delayed QAPP and Water Testing
    • The Volunteer Program
  • Community Updates:
    • C.I. Harbor Director, Mark Sandoval
    • Board of Supervisors, Presidential Primary is March 3rd
  • Questions & Comments

NEXT MEETING:
Thursday March 26th @ CIYC @ 6pm
VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION DATE: TBD
 

Boating, Dock & Harbor Safety Reminders…

County Harbor Patrol is NO LONGER providing patrol service for Seabridge, Westport and Mandalay Bay as of 12/31/19.

In an emergency always call 911.

For City Compliance issues like dock safety or big stuff floating on the waterways – logs, trash or dock safety issues, boats adrift or parked in the wrong slip.
Code Compliance: (805)385‐7940.

CINC’s Marine Advisory Committee:
Citizen Oversight at It’s Best!

Click the link below to review how we got here and the 2019 Outreach

Get the PDF: 2019 Recap
LA Regional Water Quality Control Board Triennial Review of the Basin Plan.

Algae Cleanup

Sep 30, 2019 | Marine Advisory Committee, Water Quality

Share your tips and observations!

What started this page…

July 28, 2019

Dear Friends,

I am learning a lot first hand about the CI Harbor Water degradation from nitrates (fertilizers) and pesticides.  The attached photo from our docks and rip rap, taken today is not mud – it’s a stagnant water growing field of all sorts of algae as a direct result of the post NRG power plant era.  On one hand, the Clean Water Act and the related shut down of power plants up and down the Coast of California sought to save the marine life at the outflow to the sea.

Now the NRG plant’s mandated shut down has a direct impact on all marine and bird life that resides in and around our harbor. The lack of flushing of the sea water through the Edison Canal rolling through our harbor allows growth of things that are not good for the health of our harbor – namely algae.  The scientists tell us that the long summer days directly impact the growth rate of the algae and the dropping of oxygen levels in the harbor.  No oxygen – marine life dies.  We’re not the only harbors experiencing algal blooms, it’s global impacting both fresh and ocean water.

So here is what I am doing to clean up my little part of my dockside paradise and it only took me about 30 minutes today, a laundry basket with some extra holes drilled into the bottom by my terrific husband Werner and a small rake. (You Tube video is not required for this experiment.)  Put on a hat, sunscreen and some gloves.  Head out to your dock with a friend and rake out everything that looks like green algae floating material.  Today my “catch” is primarily sea lettuce which feels like waxed paper. It’s amazingly hearty and grows wide and deep.  Pull out everything you can (nothing with fins, feathers or flippers please) and dump it into the laundry basket with holes.  My first attempt at collection was with black trash bags, which broke through quickly.  My laundry basket filled to the top with sea lettuce weighs in at just under 28 pounds.  I’m going to leave it on my dock to drain for a few days.  Before hauling it off your dock to the trash, consider doing it on your trash day, because it really smells bad!     

Share your own dockside clean up pictures and You Tube videos with me, of your dockside algae clean ups.  Be safe and careful on the water!

PS:  Hope to see you this Thursday, August 1st at our Channel Islands Neighborhood Council meeting.  CINC’s Marine Advisory Comittee will give you a full report on everything else we’ve been learning about C.I. Harbor Water Quality.

Make it a great day on our harbor,


Audrey Keller

Chair, Channel Islands Neighborhood Council

(818) 292-0447

Visit:  www.cineighbors.com

North Shore Development Meeting TUESDAY SEPT 24 2019 @ 6pm

Sep 23, 2019 | City_Of_Oxnard

Hello friends and residents of the Channel Islands Harbor,

The developer of North Shore at Mandalay Bay will be present along with City Planners to discuss our concerns about the approval of such an old permitted project circa 1999 on the former oil field dump. It is located at 5th Street and Harbor Blvd.

The City feels their hands are tied as this old permit does not have to take into account that the NRG Power Plant closed, the pumps were sealed shut as was the outflow of the canal to the sea.

Let’s ask for the developer to work with the community in a neighborly way and NOT DUMP or DRAIN anything off their property into the canal. Keep all water/storm or otherwise contained on their own site. We know the best science methods could be highly effective in protecting the canal and harbor’s water quality.

Come with an open mind and let’s give them the chance to do the right thing.

Bring your own water. Parking is available in the structure and on the street.

WHERE:
The Human Resources Activity Room located at 300 West Third Street on the ground floor of the 4-story City Hall building. The entrance is on B Street across from the parking structure.

Tuesday Sept. 24th 6pm Across the street from Council Chambers in the City’s H/R room

City Planning Manager Lambert & Staff explain why it’s a good idea to let developer dump 1 million gallons of water per day during a lengthy construction into the harbor and then build drains that also dump into the harbor.

Let the developer do their thing, BUT KEEP ALL THE GROUND WATER and THE RUNOFF IN THEIR OWN BIOSWALE.

Interesting that this developer has 3 pipes draining
directly into the Edison Canal AND they have a 2.5 acre Bioswale on the site. We must insist this developer keeps their water from this former toxic waste dump site on their LAND, not in our harbor.

CINC has requested from the City the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for this development. The MOU shows an agreement with this developer and the future residents to pay for stuff – like Harbor Water Quality.
The City has produced no MOU – what happened to transparency and ‘sunshine’? Is this part of the PLAN that this developer gets to dump into the harbor without having to contribute to Harbor Water Quality.

What is else wrong with this plan… ?
The Planning Manager, City Attorney and Council will also state that this is not their fault, it is the fault of the State of CA and that we must ROLL OVER and let this developer build with the plan regardless that the power plant closure has
impacted the harbor and every visitor that wants to swim or play in the harbor. The City is afraid of a lawsuit from the developer who has over the time period 2015 to now 2019 already changed their name from SunCal to MPL Property Holdings.
The developer will also say the had public viewings and showing this development as SUNCAL. I was in attendance in 2015/2016 and walked away thinking ‘who the heck wants to buy a home on top of this old dump and
in clear view of the now abandoned NRG power plant’. The local realtors are wondering how many disclosures the buyer will have to sign that they know they are living on a toxic site under watch of the DTS?
The developer will claim they complied to public viewing requirements of their planned community except they didn’t show anyone their intent to dump into the canal with pipes going off their property.
The developer also intends to dump storm water runoff “on the sandy shoulder of the roadway” — hello Mr. Planner I believe the developer is referring to Harbor Blvd. and 5th St. – both major access roads to our beach community.
So the developer plans to flood Harbor and 5th. Great news right?

We had a hard enough time finding the plan showing these plans illustrating, pipes but we found them, literally buried. (We’ve attached the plan showing the dumping into the canal and their own 2.5 acre bioswale.
— Note any other public agency reviewing this plan and not knowing there is a canal directly adjacent to this development, would have to have a microscope to see the tiniest type on the entire document labeling the Edison Canal.)
Edison canal…hidden but in plain site.

The DTS (Department of Toxic Substances – an agency meant to protect us) will attend this meeting and tell us they’ve approved this plan and it’s ok for the developer to dump into the canal and harbor. Except they didn’t
consider the impact of the NRG plant closure, the flow of the canal to the sea closed and the harbor degradation that is considered a state of emergency by sister agency LARWQB. (LA Regional Water Quality Control Board)
LAWRQB is working with us to require an extensive testing plan for the storm water runoff. We are asking that these two key agencies work on over-site together.

fyi — Bioswales are linear channels designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution. Bioswales can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater.
Bioswales are typically vegetated, mulched, or xeriscaped. They consist of a swaled drainage course with gently sloped sides (less than 6%).

These slides are what DTS showed the public in 2018. They will probably show them again on Tuesday night.

WHEN: Tuesday Sept. 24th 6pm
WHERE: 300 West Third Street
The Human Resources Activity Room located at 300 West Third Street on the ground floor of the 4-story City Hall building. The entrance is on B Street across from the parking structure.
NOTE: This is across the street from Council Chambers in the City’s H/R room
More Information

Storm Water Dump Plan into Canal (PDF)

September 20 2019 Letter From Audrey Keller

Attachments

  1. LARWQB JUNE 2017 CI-10336 MPL PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC.NORTH SHORE AT MANDALAY BAY
  2. LAWRQB MARCH 18 2019 10336 2019 MPL PROPERTY HOLDINGS.NORTH SHORE AT MANDALAY BAY
Do they illustrate any pipe draining into the canal — NO!
Bright green area on the map shows the WORST SOILS were moved here – directly adjacent to the canal. Do you see the pipe draining into the canal — NO!
Check this image out – from DTS – the worst polluted area @ top right – SE Corner. There is NO illustration showing their intent to dump into the canal.
NOTE – THE NRG POWER PLANT STOPPED PUMPING MARCH 2018 AND CLOSED THE OUTFLOW TO THE SEA WITHIN 30 DAYS OF DTS closing public comment.

Look at this… We’ve supplied some sunshine (no secrets) about this development – as attached – the developer’s plan to dump into the Edison Canal is attached.

PS: Thank you for following us and if you’ve made it this far, join us on Thursday, Sept 26th at PCYC for our CINC meeting @ 6pm.

Keeping Watch,

Audrey Keller
Chair, Channel Islands Neighborhood Council
Serving 1,900 residents on Channel Islands Harbor
(818) 292-0447

Ready and Resilient

Sep 2, 2019 | CI Neighborhood News, City_Of_Oxnard

Thank you City of Oxnard Fire Department

The Oxnard Fire Department presented at the August 2019 CINC meeting

Ready and Resilient

Disaster Preparedness

Are you ready for a disaster?

The City of Oxnard has two questions to ask you…are you ready and are you resilient?

In a major disaster that affects a large number of people at the same time, the excellent public safety resources we enjoy every day will be taxed. That’s the reality for any community.  Are you ready to be self-sufficient for an extended period of time when those police officers, firefighters and paramedics are unable to get to you right away?  Are you resilient and able to recover quickly?

The Oxnard Fire Department wants you to be prepared, self-sufficient and able to recover quickly when a disaster occurs.   To assist you, the Department’s Disaster Preparedness Division offers a variety of resources and training as follows:

The “Simple Steps to Disaster Preparedness” Guide will walk you through the process of knowing how and where to get help. It will teach you about emergency alerts and warnings, how to make a disaster kit, and the importance of having a family disaster plan. It will also assist you in your efforts to get informed by offering up helpful websites on many of the topics covered in the booklet.  You may download from here or pick up a hard copy at the Fire Administration Office locate at 360 W. Second Street.

Sign up to receive emergency alerts on your cell phone. Text VCALERT to 313131.
See more: https://www.oxnard.org/disaster-preparedness/

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