PANEL OKS PORT EXPANSION : HUENEME BASE PROPERTY COULD BRING NEW JOBS.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

The Oxnard Harbor District moved one step closer to expanding its port Friday when the California Coastal Commission approved its plan to handle more vehicles, produce and other goods.

The port has been seeking to expand since the Naval Civil Engineering Lab at Port Hueneme was put on the list of base closures in 1993, said Kam Quarles, manager of marketing and trade zone services for the port.

The only deep water port between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, the Port of Hueneme is a point of entry for many imported automobiles, including BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Jaguar, Volvo and Range Rover, Quarles said. It also ships produce grown in the region, he said.

``Just about every BMW west of the Mississippi goes through Hueneme,'' Quarles said. ``We serve every state in the Southwest United States and Canada.''

Port officials would have no problem finding customers for the vacant 33-acre naval lab site, Quarles said. In fact, the Oxnard Harbor District, which manages the 65-acre port, has already received inquiries, he said.

``The impact would be tremendous,'' said Michael Plisky, vice president of the harbor board. ``It gives us amazing expansion possibilities.''

In addition to increasing the acreage of the port property, the expansion plan would offer other benefits:

Improved public access to the port entrance.

Expanded marine research facilities.

A 60 percent to 80 percent increase in vehicle handling capability.

Expanded container handling capability.

Increased commercial fishing areas.

Authorities heard few complaints about the expansion plans from residents, a response they attribute to the estimated 2,700 jobs and $300 million annually the port generates for the region.

The need for more space, coupled with the port's economic benefits to the community, are why port officials are eager to add the base to its property. The port is self-sufficient, and profits must go back into the operation. Expansion would cost between $15 million and $25 million, Quarles said.

A federal law passed about the time that U.S. military base closures were being ordered allows the free transfer of base land to port authorities if the property is beneficial to the economy, Quarles said.

``When they first put the base on the list, the port went after it,'' Quarles said. ``We share a fence with the base, it's so close. It was natural for us because we're built out.''

Late last year, the Oxnard Harbor District, which oversees the port, submitted an application to the federal Department of Transportation to take over the base property, Quarles said.

The Department of Transportation must get approval from the U.S. Department of Defense, a process that could take just a few weeks, Quarles said.

The only hurdle appears to be a disagreement between the city of Port Hueneme and the Navy, Plisky said. The city must approve the project for the port to expand, but it has withheld that approval because it wants to pressure the Navy into providing beach improvements, he said.

If the deal goes through, the Port of Hueneme would be the first public agency to take advantage of the new law, Quarles said.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--ran in CONEJO and SIMI--color in CONEJO) Port of Hueneme officials want to acquire Navy property next door to expand their cargo-handling operations.

(2--ran in CONEJO only--color) Kam Quarles, the port's marketing manager, stands outside the Navy site.

Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News