Plan for Big Apartment Complex Is Approved : Oxnard: Builder can now proceed. Project is on a parcel that has caused fiscal hardship for the Maulhardt family.

After Councilman Dean Maulhardt stepped off the dais and out of the debate, the Oxnard City Council early Wednesday approved in concept a high-density, 468-unit apartment complex on land owned by the Maulhardt family.

Although they said they were concerned with the number of apartments being proposed, council members voted 4 to 0 to let a developer proceed with plans to build 400 rental units, 68 condominiums and a commercial center on 33 acres.

Located just north of La Colonia neighborhood on Rice Avenue, the project would be built on a vacant industrial park owned by Maulhardt, his brothers and sister.

The family owed about $130,000 in delinquent property taxes on the property before making payment last month, county officials said. The family also owed $46,000 in back assessment fees before making payment last week, said Oxnard financial analyst Jim Fabian.

Lynn Maulhardt told council members the Maulhardt family is hoping to sell the property to a developer to avoid more financial hardship. He said council approval of the proposed project is needed before the sale could be completed.

“We have no financial interest in the development,” Lynn Maulhardt said. “Our only interest is to move forward and sell the property so we can get over the tax and assessment burden.”

In 1990, the Maulhardts sold the land to Latigo Investment Group, a developer. Part of Oxnard’s $45-million northeast industrial assessment district, the land was paved over by the city, which put in streets and sewers for the 40 lots the developer divided.

But Latigo was unable to sell any of the lots. The developer was unable to pay the Maulhardts for the land, or make payments to the city and county for the improvements and property taxes.

Consequently, the Maulhardts were forced to take the land back in 1993 through foreclosure. Stuck with a vacant parcel they were unable to sell or farm, the Maulhardts were forced to make back payments on the land for two years by borrowing money against the family farm, Dean Maulhardt has said.

Last year, Camarillo businessman Stephen Maulhardt, a member of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, introduced his cousin Dean Maulhardt to Pacific West Management, a Camarillo-based residential developer.

The Maulhardt family has since worked out a deal with the developer to sell the industrial park, but it requires the Oxnard City Council to rezone the property to allow for an apartment complex.

“The developer has to be convinced that he has a viable project that he can move forward with,” Lynn Maulhardt said. “It’s just like any other real estate deal.”

Dean Maulhardt, who owns one-fifth of the land, said in an interview after the vote that his involvement in the deal does not constitute a conflict of interest because he plans to excuse himself from all other discussions on the apartment project.

“As with any project, if there is a conflict of interest, I’m not going to be taking part, just like the mayor with downtown,” Councilman Dean Maulhardt said. “Up until three months ago, I was very involved in all of this. But now I’m not.”

Dean Maulhardt said he took control of the land from his brother, Richard Maulhardt Jr., after the foreclosure. But since he was elected to the City Council last November, he has let other family members handle the deal, he said..

Many of the proposed apartments, located within a gated area, would be affordable to low-income families, said developer Robert Fukotomi.

City Planner Matthew Winegar said the development’s density would be higher than other projects in northeast Oxnard, but within legal limits for the city.

Councilman Andres Herrera said he is concerned about the number of rental units being proposed. But he said changing the zoning to allow for residential development seems reasonable.

“The property was not in the hands of the owners at the time, and I think we need to take that into account,” Herrera said. “I could conceive rezoning this.”

Councilman Tom Holden said that a project with that many apartments that close to each other needs to look especially nice, and he asked the developer to add more landscaping.

“My concern is very evident: Density and quality,” Holden said. “We don’t need to create living conditions that are not appropriate. We don’t need another apartment complex that is going to look poor.”