SOAR is a series of voter initiatives that require a vote of the people before agricultural land or open space areas can be rezoned for development.

SOAR stands for Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources. The first SOAR initiative was approved by the voters in the City of Ventura in 1995. Since then, seven others have been enacted around cities in Ventura County, as well as in the County’s unincorporated areas. The County’s SOAR initiative requires a majority vote of the people in order to rezone unincorporated open space, agricultural or rural land for development. The eight voter-approved SOAR initiatives passed by the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura require voter approval for urban development beyond a City Urban Restriction Boundary (CURB), or in the case of the City of Ventura, before rezoning agricultural land within the city’s sphere of influence, or in Thousand Oaks, before rezoning parks and open space within the CURB. All of the SOAR initiatives were renewed by voters in November 2016, extending their expiration date to 2050.