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Battle Brewing Over 120-Year-Old Camarillo Farmhouse

A pair of conservation groups have moved to save a 120-year-old Scholle farmhouse in Camarillo that is slated to be razed for the final element of a mixed-use project currently in development, according to a Camarillo Acorn report. The farmhouse property, near Springville Road and West Ponderosa Drive along the north side of the 101 Freeway, has been earmarked for sale as part of the final phase of the Springville housing development, a project with roots that go back to 2013. The farmhouse land is scheduled to be redeveloped into 158 single-family homes as the capping component of C & C Development Co.’s larger 1,350-unit community. Ventura County groups San Buenaventura Conservancy and Pleasant Valley Historical Society want to prevent the farmhouse from being demolished and preserve the 1900 edifice. The conservation groups believe the farmhouse, boarded up for more than a decade, has a historic link to the area’s agricultural history. According to San Buenaventura’s president, Stephen Schafer, there has been an outpouring of support online to save the structure. Schafer and Pleasant Valley Historical Society Immediate Past President Joy Todd have approached the city of Camarillo and were successful in having public comments on the environmental report extended to Aug. 10. The environmental review process required a historic resource assessment to determine the farmhouse’s significance. The November 2019 report, drafted by Pamela Daly of Riverside based Daly & Associates, found that while the property itself was not eligible to be registered as historic, the house is. As a result, the house now cannot be demolished by the developer without approval from the Camarillo City Council. The housing development, which will require an amendment to the city’s general plan in order to be granted a zoning change, must now go before the city’s planning commission prior to going before city council. Dennis Hardgrove of Development Planning Services, a consultant hired by the developer to serve as the planning manager on the project, said that it will be unlikely that the Scholle farmhouse will remain in its current place. The building may have to be transported elsewhere on the property or to nearby land or perhaps might become repurposed as a coffee shop or other usage. According to the environmental report, the developer will be responsible for relocating and restoring the building should that come to pass.

Michael Aushenker
Michael Aushenker
A graduate of Cornell University, Michael covers commercial real estate for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Prior to the Business Journal, Michael covered the community and entertainment beats as a staff writer for various newspapers, including the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, The Palisadian-Post, The Argonaut and Acorn Newspapers. He has also freelanced for the Santa Barbara Independent, VC Reporter, Malibu Times and Los Feliz Ledger.

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