NEEDED HOMES VIE WITH OPEN SPACE.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Ventura County could prove to be too nice for its own good, as a study released Monday suggests that several of its cities will run out of housing as early as 2004.

The key to the problem lies in the county's agrarian land.

While it provides the character and key agricultural acres for the county, removing it from the bustle of big city life, the Reason Public Policy Institute and Solimar Research Group speculate that it is also preventing additional housing construction.

Businesses are still moving into the area and this could create a big problem for Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Ventura, the report said.

These cities could run out of housing as soon as 2004, suggests the report, funded by the California Association of Realtors and the nonprofit James Irvine Foundation.

Overall, it warns that the county must build an additional 60,000 residential units by 2020.

The news squares with what local experts have noticed in their independent study.

Doug Tapking, executive director of the county's Area Housing Authority said the housing crunch weighs heavy on the minds of residents.

``It's a real Catch-22,'' he said. ``People are concerned, but they don't know how to resolve the conflict between open space and affordable housing.''

A key problem in future developments is the Save Open-space and Agricultural Resource growth control measures. Approved throughout much of the county in the late 1990s, the SOAR restrictions enjoy a high degree of popularity among residents, yet curtail additional development until 2020 at the earliest.

``Locals shouldn't vote for growth control without understanding the limits of them,'' said Sam Staley, who directed the project for RPPI. ``The study is showing that they're well below the density they could have. Unless they expand the boundaries and think in a different way, they're going to run out of land.''

And easing the SOAR restrictions, everyone agrees, is not a viable option.

``If you suggested to people that you revoke SOAR, you'd be tarred and feathered,'' Tapking said. ``They like their open space, and the full problem of affordable housing has not come home to roost everywhere.''

As an alternative, the study recommends more rapid approval of existing developments and re-examining growth boundaries.

In heavily affected communities like Camarillo, this is already under way. More than 900 new units are in the works for the city in the next few years, according to director of community development Bob Burrow.

``The city views housing as important, but we're not ready to overreact,'' he said. ``We're aware that our general plan and buildout is approaching, but we have areas in the city that can be looked at. We feel that we can meet the housing needs assessment through 2005.''