OXNARD, Calif. – More than 100 people packed City Hall Tuesday and the behest of Pacific Oaks FCU and convinced the City Council to drop plans to use eminent domain as part of a larger effort to acquire a credit union branch and build a Lowe’s store in the dilapidated Carriage Square shopping center.
The council is hopeful that the shopping center’s owner, Upside Oxnard LLC of Calabasas, can work out an agreement for relocating the credit union branch office.
The City Council agreed to eliminate the item from the agenda because there was an indication that the two sides were close to a deal.
The credit union and the shopping center’s owner now plan to spend the next several days hammering out an agreement. If they cannot reach a deal, the City Council, which is scheduled to be off in August, will hold a special meeting Tuesday to consider imposing eminent domain. If enacted, it would force out the credit union to free up the property for redevelopment.
With more than 25,000 members, credit union officials say moving the branch office would be highly disruptive to business operations.
