Cal State Overcomes Hurdle for Campus

California State University officials overcame one of the last remaining hurdles before they can acquire land for a university in Ventura County, a spokesman said Thursday.

The Cal State system received permission from the state Public Works Department to seek condemnation of a 190-acre lemon grove west of Camarillo to make way for a proposed campus, said David Leveille, Cal State’s director of institutional relations.

Eminent domain is necessary because the landowner, Mohseni Ranches, has refused to sell. Cal State has already reached an agreement to purchase an adjoining 70 acres from Sakioka Farms.

Despite the need for eminent domain, Leveille said he is pleased with recent progress in the controversial nine-year struggle to acquire an acceptable site for a campus in the county.

“I think it will be clear sailing from here,” he said.

Under eminent domain, a government agency may take private land without the owner’s permission if it is for public use, such as a state university. If the parties still are unable to agree on a purchase price, a jury will decide the land’s value, Leveille said.

The Public Works Department on July 9 also gave Cal State officials permission to seek an order of possession, Leveille said. If granted by a judge, it would allow officials immediate access to the land to begin planning the campus, Leveille said.

A Los Angeles firm, Hardy, Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, has already been contracted to draw blueprints for the campus, he said.

Cal State is required to deposit the estimated value of Mohseni’s property in an escrow account until legal proceedings have ended, Leveille said. He declined to specify how much money will be deposited, saying he did not want to jeopardize negotiations.