Neighbors Protest Nudist Ranch Plans

VENTURA — Tired of the group nudity and pornographic filming that goes on there, neighbors are trying to block building plans on a ranch owned by a former maverick candidate for the Board of Supervisors.

Neighbors aired their protest Thursday at a county resource management agency hearing on the application filed by Carter Ward, 55, a retired civil engineer, and his wife, Maureen, 46, a former sex therapist.

The Wards, who are nudists, say they just want to extend electricity to a tennis court, spa and tiki bar on their 21-acre property, known as Dry Gulch Ranch. It is tucked away in a Malibu enclave just inside the Ventura County line. They only want to enjoy their property with friends, they say.

But neighbors said the Wards’ request is nothing more than an extension of their profitable hobby, which has added an undesirable element to the neighborhood of million-dollar homes on a tree-covered hillside a mile from the ocean.

Since the early 1990s, the Wards have offered their ranch as a filming location for everything from modeling shoots to a documentary on John Wayne and adult films.

Taping for at least 10 adult films was done at the ranch last summer, according to the county’s film permitting department.

Carter Ward shrugged off criticism Thursday, saying he is just a good-natured Texan who is trying to enjoy the wide-open spaces and the modifications he has made to his property since he bought it in 1979.