Channel Islands Harbor

Last updated

Channel Islands Harbor
Hampton Inn Oxnard Aerial.jpg
Scene from commercial fishing boat unloading pier facing southeast with hotel in background
Channel Islands Harbor
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
Country United States
Location Oxnard, California
Coordinates 34°10′12″N119°13′30″W / 34.17°N 119.225°W / 34.17; -119.225
Details
Opened1960;64 years ago (1960)
Owned by County of Ventura [1]
Type of harbour Artificial
Size of harbour166 acres (67 ha)
Land area126 acres (51 ha)
No. of berths 2,150
Statistics
Website
channelislandsharbor.org

Channel Islands Harbor is a small craft harbor [2] and shore-protection project [3] in Oxnard, California at the southern end of the Santa Barbara Channel. It is the fifth largest harbor for small-craft recreation in the state of California [4] and is a waterfront resort, recreation, and dining marketplace. Recreational activities include diving, boat charters, sea kayaking, sportfishing, and whale watching (gray whales January through early April; blue and humpback whales July to September).

Contents

The horseshoe shaped harbor contains 166 acres (0.67 km2) of water surrounded by 126 acres (0.51 km2) of land [5] and supports more than 2,500 vessels, [6] four yacht clubs, and nine full-service marinas. [7] The Channel Islands are a popular destination. [4] Island Packers operates a ferry service out of the harbor that accesses Anacapa Island. The Ventura County Maritime Museum has a regularly rotating exhibit, maritime-themed art, and model ships. Every three years the harbor is host to the Channel Islands Tall Ships Festival [8] which includes between two and five large sailing vessels and draws thousands of visitors. [6]

History

The US Army Corps of Engineers formed the harbor in 1960 by scooping out sand dunes and wetlands at the edge of Oxnard Plain and depositing the surplus sand at the nearby beaches of Port Hueneme. [6] The sand trap at the harbor entrance was designed to retain sand that otherwise might be diverted into the ocean due to the impacts of the construction of the Port of Hueneme. [9] The sand was to be regularly dredged and placed on Hueneme Beach which suffers erosion due to the port blocking the littoral drift of sand. [10]

While the County of Ventura arranged to oversee the harbor and manage it in 1963, they formed an agreement with the City of Oxnard to annex the then vacant county land and provide sewage service, water and utilities. The city built the infrastructure and under the agreement began to receive sales, property and lodging tax revenues. [11] After the annexation agreement between the county and city had expired, the city stopped keeping up the parks, parking lots and restrooms in public areas in 2018. [12] They also were no longer going to pay the water bills for these facilities. [13] Oxnard harbor residents also elected to end payments to harbor patrol which ended an annual revenue stream. [14] The Mandalay Generating Station closed in 2018 which circulated water as part of the power plant's cooling process. [15]

Operation and facilities

Ventura County Harbor Department patrols the main harbor which is south of the Channel Islands Boulevard bridges. The city of Oxnard maintains the northern neighborhood waterways. [16]

The harbor is part of Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program. [17]

Neighborhood and destinations

The harbor waters connect to the north with Mandalay Bay, a residential waterfront development built in 1972 consisting of over 700 boat dock homes. Additional developments expanded the Harbor in the 2000s. [18] The development consists of single-family homes and townhouses with reinforced concrete bulkheads lining a series of short navigable canal-like waterways. [19] Between 1950 and 1981 Mandalay Bay was a permitted oil field waste disposal site which caused the release of numerous hazardous chemicals. [20] The records of what was dumped were subsequently lost, resulting in calls for an investigation and millions of dollars in lawsuits from home buyers who were told the area was safe for habitation. [21]

The Channel Islands Boating Center opened in 2013. [22] [23] Great blue herons and white egrets nest in trees around the harbor. [24]

CI Harbor Panorama.jpg
Channel Islands Harbor from west side looking east in the late afternoon towards peninsula in center of harbor.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventura County, California</span> County in California, United States

Ventura County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxnard, California</span> City in California, United States

Oxnard is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of downtown Los Angeles and is part of the larger Greater Los Angeles area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Hueneme, California</span> City in California, United States

Port Hueneme is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Clara River (California)</span> River in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, California

The Santa Clara River is an 83 mi (134 km) long river in Ventura and Los Angeles counties in Southern California. It drains parts of four ranges in the Transverse Ranges System north and northwest of Los Angeles, then flows west onto the Oxnard Plain and into the Santa Barbara Channel of the Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandalay State Beach</span> State park in California, United States

Mandalay State Beach is a protected beach in the city of Oxnard, California, United States. Managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the park preserves an area of undeveloped sand dunes and wetlands that was once common along the 16.5-mile-long (26.6 km) coastline of the Oxnard Plain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventura County Railroad</span>

The Ventura County Railroad is a class III railroad subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming, connecting the Union Pacific Railroad in Oxnard to South Oxnard and Port Hueneme. It began operations in 1998 under RailAmerica, leasing its lines from the Ventura County Railway, owner of lines first opened in about 1905 that have remained independent of larger carriers. The railroad serves industrial areas including the Port of Hueneme and Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center at Naval Base Ventura County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxnard Plain</span> Landform in Ventura County, California

The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California, United States surrounded by the mountains of the Transverse ranges. The cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme and much of Ventura as well as the unincorporated communities of Hollywood Beach, El Rio, Saticoy, Silver Strand Beach, and Somis lie within the over 200-square-mile alluvial plain (520 km2). The population within the plain comprises a majority of the western half of the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metro Area and includes the largest city along the Central Coast of California. The 16.5-mile-long coastline (26.6 km) is among the longest stretches of continuous, linear beaches in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Base Ventura County</span> Group of US Navy installations near Oxnard, California

Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) is a United States Navy base in Ventura County, California. Formed by the merger of NAS Point Mugu and CBC Port Hueneme, NBVC is a diverse installation composed of three main locations — Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, and San Nicolas Island. The base serves as an all-in-one mobilization site, deep water port, railhead, and airfield. NBVC supports more than 100 tenant commands with a base population of more than 19,000 personnel, making it the largest employer in Ventura County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Strand Beach</span> Beach neighborhood in California, United States

Silver Strand Beach is an unincorporated beach neighborhood in Ventura County, California, United States. Lying between the mouth of Channel Islands Harbor on the north and the ocean entrance to the Port of Hueneme on the south, the eastern side of the beach community lies along the boundary of the Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme. The harbors and the Naval base almost completely surround Silver Strand, keeping the area relatively separate from the city of Oxnard and making it accessible by only one main road, Victoria Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Hueneme Light</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Point Hueneme Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southeast entrance to the Santa Barbara Channel, in Ventura County, California

The Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) is a union high school district in Ventura County, California. The district serves students in grades 9–12 on the Oxnard Plain, including the cities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Camarillo, California as well as adjacent unincorporated communities including El Rio, Somis, and Channel Islands Beach. As of 2020 the superintendent is Dr. Tom McCoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxnard High School</span> Public school in California, United States

Oxnard High School (OHS) is a public four-year high school serving grades 9–12 in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the western portion of the city of Oxnard, north Port Hueneme, and adjacent unincorporated beach neighborhoods.

Hueneme High School (HHS) is a public high school in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the southern portion of the city of Oxnard and most of Port Hueneme including part of Naval Base Ventura County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin V. Smith</span> American restaurateur

Martin V. Smith, also known as Bud Smith was an Oxnard, California developer and philanthropist with properties from Los Angeles County to San Luis Obispo County. He was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1941, he ventured into business when he traded a collection of jukeboxes for a failing hamburger drive-in on Oxnard Boulevard that he remodeled into the Colonial House Restaurant; he was 23 years old. After returning from military service in the South Pacific during World War II, Smith transformed the Colonial House into the most popular restaurant in Ventura County. The Colonial House was frequented by Hollywood stars. The Colonial House was demolished in 1988: its stone fireplace remained standing for many years alongside Oxnard Boulevard until the parcel was developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VCTC Intercity</span> Public bus service in Ventura County, California

VCTC Intercity is a public transit agency providing bus service in Ventura County, California. It provides an intercity bus service between the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Santa Paula, and Fillmore in Ventura County, and to communities in neighboring Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties. The agency is part of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, a governmental body that oversees transportation planning and funding in Ventura County. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 383,700, or about 1,300 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

The Hueneme School District is a school district headquartered in Port Hueneme, California, United States. The district serves elementary and junior high school students in portions of the cities of Port Hueneme and Oxnard as well as adjacent unincorporated areas of Ventura County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Montalvo Oil Field</span> Oil field in Ventura County, California, United States

The West Montalvo Oil Field is a large and productive oil field on the coast of Ventura County, California, in the United States, in and adjacent to the city of Oxnard, California. Discovered in 1947, it has produced approximately 50 million barrels (7,900,000 m3) of oil, and originally contained up to 650 million barrels of oil in both the onshore and offshore areas. The offshore portion of the field is exploited from wells directionally drilled from onshore near McGrath Lake, from within an enclosure above the high-tide line at McGrath State Beach.

'olol'koy Beach Park is a recreational area operated by the city of Oxnard, California at the edge of the Oxnard Plain. Formerly called Oxnard Beach Park, the park was renamed after the Chumash word for dolphin in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Hueneme</span> Commercial and military port in Ventura County, California

The Port of Hueneme in the city of Port Hueneme, California, United States, is the only deep water harbor between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. Located in Ventura County on the Santa Barbara Channel, the port complex not only serves international shipping businesses but is an operating facility of Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC).

The Ventura County Historic Landmarks & Points of Interest consist of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods designated by Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board as historic landmarks and points of interest in Ventura County, California. The county board of supervisors created the Cultural Heritage Board in 1966 and in August 1968, two sites were designated: the Faulkner House near Santa Paula; and the Edwards Adobe in Saticoy. The scope was established to include the entire county: both cities and the unincorporated areas. The cities of Fillmore, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks have the county Cultural Heritage Board advise them and those designations are listed here. The cities of Moorpark, Ojai, Santa Paula, and Ventura established their own separate historic designation systems with the City of Ventura Historic Landmarks and Districts developing into an extensive list. The Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum houses historical artifacts, photographs and information on the history of the Hueneme area. The museum is in the Hueneme Bank Building.

References

  1. ↑ Channel Islands Harbor Website "About Us/Harbor Information" Accessed 24 Dec 2013
  2. ↑ United States Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division (1973). Water resources development by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in California. University of California Libraries. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-125-52499-2.
  3. ↑ Herron, William J.; Harris, Robert L. (1966) LITTORAL BYPASSING AND BEACH RESTORATION IN THE VICINITY OF PORT HUENEME CALIFORNIA Proceedings of 10th Conference on Coastal Engineering, Tokyo, Japan
  4. 1 2 Travis, William, ed. (2006). Fodor's Southern California (Second ed.). New York: Random House. p.  385. ISBN   978-1-4000-1603-7.
  5. ↑ Smith, Patricia (1998). "Channel Islands Harbor Master Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 McKinney, John (2005). California's coastal parks: a day hiker's guide (1st ed.). Berkeley, CA: Wilderness press. p. 78. ISBN   0-89997-388-4.
  7. ↑ Harris, Elanor; Lichtig, Claudia Harris (2006). Quick escapes Los Angeles: 20 weekend getaways from the metro area (7th ed.). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. pp.  124. ISBN   978-0-7627-4219-6.
  8. ↑ "Tall Ships Relocate to Channel Islands Harbor Through Feb. 15th". Ventura Harbor Village. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  9. ↑ Meyers, Jeff (November 1, 1990) "An Era of Sail Lies Anchored in Two Harbors : Boating: Ventura County shoreline took on greater appeal with construction of marinas in Ventura and Oxnard." Los Angeles Times
  10. ↑ (September 8, 2014) "Dredging at Channel Islands Harbor will begin Oct. 1" Ventura County Star
  11. ↑ Wilson, Kathleen (February 17, 2019). "County stuck with $500K maintenance bill at Channel Islands Harbor". Ventura County Star . Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ "County of Ventura and City of Oxnard Reach Cooperation Agreement for Channel Islands Harbor" (Press release). Channel Islands Harbor. May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Kathleen (March 3, 2019). "New Oxnard city manager Alex Nguyen says county's comments on harbor wrong-headed". Ventura County Star . Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  14. ↑ Leung, Wendy (February 29, 2020). "With budget slashed, Channel Islands Harbor Fourth of July fireworks show in danger". Ventura County Star . Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  15. ↑ Varela, Brian J. (January 6, 2024). "Residents at odds with Oxnard over water testing costs for Channel Islands Harbor". Ventura County Star. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  16. ↑ Varela, Brian J. (January 12, 2023). "Rain brings tricky trash problem to Channel Islands Harbor". Ventura County Star. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ Varela, Brian J. (March 13, 2024). "In Channel Islands Harbor, sea bass have a place to grow". Ventura County Star. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  18. ↑ Boyd-Barrett, Claudia (Jun 27, 2014) "Oxnard harbor-area residents push for central authority" Ventura County Star
  19. ↑ "Oxnard Condo Development to Get Start". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. March 29, 1987. p. Section 8 p.14.
  20. ↑ Public Meeting Fact Sheet (October 2005) "Cleanup Proposal for North Shore at Mandalay Bay Site—Oxnard, California" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Retrieved 2 August 2014
  21. ↑ McCartney, Patrick (November 10, 1991). "Flynn Calls for Mandalay Bay Investigation : Oxnard: At issue is whether all traces of a landfill and oil-waste dump were removed before the waterfront housing was built". Los Angeles Times.
  22. ↑ Biasotti, Tony (Apr 3, 2013) "Much-delayed Channel Islands Boating Center opens in Oxnard" Ventura County Star
  23. ↑ Wilson, Kathleen (July 21, 2016). "County balks at agreement for boating center, saying university operator has fallen short". Ventura County Star . Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  24. ↑ Rivers, Kimberly (March 18, 2021). "Residents Protect Nesting Birds | Channel Islands Harbor gathering saves tree used by herons, egrets". VC Reporter. Times Media Group. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.