Cost of Harbor Plan May Climb $100,000

A plan to develop the Ventura Harbor would cost the city another $100,000, bringing the plan’s total to $400,000, much of which the city hopes to eventually recoup, officials said.

The City Council will consider spending the money, along with an additional $20,000 for more traffic studies of the harbor, at its meeting at 7 tonight.

The $400,000 is an estimate to examine all potential development for the harbor, a preferred development plan and its effect on surrounding neighborhoods. The plan should be completed by the fall.

But developers who build in the harbor would repay the city and district for much of the plan’s cost, said Oscar Pena, general manager of the port district.

The city and the district propose roughly $100 million for apartments, shops, offices and parks on the vacant northeast corner of the harbor. Other proposals for developing the harbor include a 1.25-million-gallon aquarium on the western side of the harbor, plus a visitors center and other attractions.

The proposed development is expected to bring thousands of more cars into the area each day, but the plan is also crucial to the district paying off a $15-million revenue bond, officials said. The bond was used to clear up a 1993 bankruptcy filing, following a breach-of-contract lawsuit.