A June 20 demonstration over a Ventura development proposal drew more than two dozen protestors to a vacant property at Wells and Darling roads, some with signs depicting sinister-looking gasoline pumps and one reading “No one should live with toxic gas fumes.”
Saticoy for Sensible Development is a group launched to oppose construction of a 49-unit apartment building with an adjacent gas station and two drive-thru fast food establishments, one of which would be a Starbucks, according to documents submitted to the city.
The 4.7-acre site once included a small wooden church originally built in 1898, Sacred Heart Mission Church, also known as Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 102. The white and gray steepled church was a favorite of photographers, who often captured wildflowers in the foreground and Topatopa mountains in the background until the landmark church burned down under mysterious circumstances in 2005…