County Population Up 0.4%; Moorpark Leads With 2.7%

Moorpark’s population continued to swell, while Ventura County inched up a mere 0.4% in 1996--the slowest growth rate in decades, according to a state report released Monday.

Moorpark led all 10 cities in population growth, with a 2.7% gain that brought its total to 28,400 as of Jan. 1. Port Hueneme was second, increasing 1.4% to 22,500 residents, and Thousand Oaks was next, with a 1% rise that brought its population to 112,800.

But the majority of cities in the county either grew by less than 1% or posted no change in population, according to estimates released by the state Department of Finance. Santa Paula was the only city to shrink, showing a loss of 0.4%.

The overall number of county residents grew by 3,000 people during the last year, from 713,800 on Jan. 1, 1996, to 716,800 by the first of this year, the report showed. By comparison, California grew to 32.6 million residents, a 1.2% population increase.

Given the county’s humming economy, this could spell good news for cities if the state’s estimates are reliable, experts say.

“That’s the slowest population growth rate in 40 years, and cities are growing at some of the slowest rates ever,” said Mark Schniepp, director of UC Santa Barbara’s Economic Forecast Project. “It means that Ventura County is the beneficiary of some very socially preferred demographics.”

Translation: Usually when the economy swells, so does population. And when population increases, so do traffic and crime, he said. But Ventura County seems to have sprouted a healthy job market without adding too many people.

The population estimates are based on births, deaths, legal immigration and people moving in and out of the county. The information comes from city documents, Medicare applications, driver’s license applications and IRS documents.

Given the county’s buoyant economy, some people greet the state figures with a fair helping of skepticism. For the county’s population to grow so slowly, experts say, many residents must have migrated out of the county.

When county demographics specialist Steve Wood first learned of the lagging growth, he said, “Wow, that’s really low.”

“There’s significant out-migration--more people moving out of the county than moving in,” said Wood, who works for the county’s Planning Department. “Or maybe some people aren’t reporting their income tax these days.”

Moorpark, the fastest-growing city in the 1980s, defied the trend. New housing developments approaching completion account for much of the 750-person influx last year, said Nelson Miller, the city’s director of community development.

“Moorpark traditionally has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the county,” Miller said. “The people move in from a variety of places in Southern California for the better quality of life they perceive in Moorpark.”

Also growing at a rapid clip was Port Hueneme, which grew by 300 people. The city has not built any new housing in the last year, but population grew 1.4% to 22,500. That leaves Port Hueneme Associate City Planner Greg Brown with only two conclusions.

“I would attribute that growth to the Navy base--their population fluctuates depending on their missions and who happens to be in town when they take their estimates,” Brown said.

Less likely, but possible, is that people who have weekend beach houses in Port Hueneme may have moved in full time, he said.

Across the county, the population in development-wary Thousand Oaks grew to 112,800, a gain of 1,100. The city’s 1% growth rate is hardly rapid, said Senior City Planner Larry Marquart.

“One percent is not high,” he said. “We’re growing, but at a controlled rate. That’s what I think most people can accept.”

The cities of Ojai, Oxnard and Ventura did not grow a bit, according to state figures. Santa Paula, meanwhile, lost about 100 residents. Its population fell 0.4% to 26,500.

Beyond helping officials plan, the population estimates affect the amount of motor vehicle and gas tax a city receives from the state. The numbers also figure into the state appropriations limit.

* CALIFORNIA: State population grows slightly. A3

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Ventura County Population Figures

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Jan. 1, 1996 Jan. 1, 1997 % change Camarillo 58,000 58,500 0.9% Fillmore 12,750 12,850 0.8% Moorpark 27,650 28,400 2.7% Ojai 8,050 8,050 0.0% Oxnard 152,800 152,800 0.0% Port Hueneme 22,200 22,500 1.4% Ventura 100,000 100,000 0.0% Santa Paula 26,600 26,500 -0.4% Simi Valley 102,900 103,700 0.8% Thousand Oaks 111,700 112,800 1.0% Unincorporated 91,200 90,700 -0.5% Ventura County total 713,800 716,800 0.4%

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Source: State Department of Finance