Millionaire California homeowners are trying to ban hikers from using a hillside near their property, two years after they helped save the green space from developers by saying they wanted to preserve it for public use.
A group of residents from the prosperous city of Ventura have expressed concern over plans to establish formal trails in the stunning Mariano Rancho Reserve.
The trails, currently traveled by “outsider” hikers, would create formal paths on the dramatic slopes overlooking Ventura and the Pacific Ocean.
The group “Ventura Hillside Neighbors” says allowing public access under the plans would be “surprising and unnecessarily intrusive to residents.” SF Gate reports.
The group was formed in 2015 and managed to thwart plans for 55 homes on the site by insisting the land should be preserved for “public outings”.
However, tensions have begun to flare again after the current owner, a non-profit conservation organization, revealed plans to formalize the trail network and introduce car parking by 2025.
Millionaire California homeowners are trying to ban hikers from using a hillside near their property in Ventura, two years after they helped save the green space from developers by saying they wanted to preserve it for public use.
Ventura Hillside residents previously campaigned to stop real estate development on the land in 2015, arguing it should be for public use.
Now, Ventura Hillside neighbors are raising concerns about plans for hillside trails, pointing out how close it would be to home and how many visitors it would bring to the area.
A diagram showing trails proposed by the Ventura Hillside Neighbors group
Ventura Land Trust purchased the hillside in 2020 with plans to preserve the green space. At the time, Ventura Hillside Neighbors praised the acquisition as “very good news” for its conservation.
Developers have been surrounding the green 1,600-acre stretch since 2002 and locals were eager to prevent homes from being built. A developer had proposed homes on the site in 2015, but it sparked strong community backlash. Those plans were abandoned and the Trust purchased the property.
In 2022, the trust received $7.2 million from the state to complete the purchase and prepare the hillside for public use.
But now Ventura Hillside Neighbors, led by Nick Bonge, have expressed resistance to the Trust’s proposals for formal trails, even though the area has been popular with hikers for decades.
“As only a few news stories have emerged about the trails, NVH has been inundated with questions about the future of this preserve and its potential impacts to the city of Ventura and its residents,” a post on its Facebook page states.
Concerns include estimates that up to 1,600 visitors arrive each day. However, according to the Ventura Land Trust, this figure has now been revised to 274 hikers per day.
A post from Neighbors for the Ventura Hillside also highlights how parts of the trail could be 150 feet from homes, by comparison, trails in nearby Harmon Canyon are 650 feet from homes.
‘[The Trust] “plans to build fences along the entire edge of the property that may block access and obstruct residential views,” the post said.
The median home price in Ventura, which counts Kevin Costner and Chuck star Zachary Levi among its residents, is currently more than $880,000, according to Zillow.
A Ventura Hillside Neighbors post also highlights how parts of the trail could be within 150 feet of homes. In the photo: a house in Ventura
Concerns include estimates of up to 1,600 visitors descending each day.
Ventura Hillside residents led by Nick Bonge (pictured) have expressed resistance to the Trust’s proposals for formal trails, even though the area has been popular with hikers for decades.
Ventura Hillside Neighbors was created in 2015 in response to plans for 55 homes on the site. Pictured: Artist’s rendering of the 2015 development.
Developers have been surrounding the green hillside for decades. Pictured: Artist’s rendering of the proposed 2015 development.
Neighbors for Ventura Hillside describes itself as “a grassroots organization formed to protect Ventura’s hillside, agricultural lands and open spaces.”
He adds that he “played an active role in opposing a development project that most residents considered unsuitable for the hillside.”
During the group’s 2015 campaign to stop housing development, the word “save” appeared on sandbags on the hillside, although the group denied any responsibility.
However, his stance toward the Ventura Land Trust’s most recent plans has earned him the nickname “Watchful Neighbors” among some disgruntled residents.
‘So the Ventura Hillside Neighbors advocated for years to preserve the hillside…. And now you’re up in arms over public access to the same hillsides they fought to protect?’ local Tanner Shelton wrote in a social media post.
“To be frank, this reeks of policing of our community’s shared backyard by a disgruntled group of elitist homeowners.”
‘The entire state needs housing and you and others like you make life more difficult. Now you can’t even allow hikers to use the space as intended? Get over yourself,” said user Dave Gillis.
“Pure undistilled, not in my backyard,” added Eugene Koontz.
Ventura Land Trust Executive Director Melissa Baffa said the resistance is because “people are afraid of change.”
However, trust officials backed the proposed trail plan, saying it has been used by hikers for years.
“People are always afraid of change, because you don’t know what’s coming, and I think it’s a very human quality to imagine the worst scenarios and let your brain run away with them,” the Ventura Land Trust executive said. said director Melissa Baffa.
‘From an empathy point of view, I can absolutely understand how it can be scary to think of strangers on the land right next to your house. However, the fact is that people have been encroaching on Mariano Rancho lands for generations.’
The confrontation has similarities to the outrage that broke out in nearby Montecito when millionaires from the exclusive city blocked a public path leading to a popular hot spring with huge rocks.
Montecito residents received angry letters from Santa Barbara County after they passively aggressively placed rocks along roads outside their mansions.
The owners were trying to steer visitors away from the stunning trail near their homes leading to hidden gem hot springs that had been parking on their street.
