The property owner of the burned-down Swap Meet on Saviers Road has agreed to rebuild the facility for retail use, and the city of Oxnard will give him more time to do it.

Ralph Roussey, his lawyers and attorneys for the city made the announcement Monday in Ventura County Superior Court. The parties appeared in court for an update on Roussey's progress in cleaning up the property. Judge Frederick Bysshe agreed to postpone the progress hearing until Jan. 7.

The 29,000-square-foot Swap Meet was gutted in a fire on July 30, 2005. In March, Roussey pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of violating city nuisance codes. Under the plea agreement, Bysshe ordered Roussey to either raze or rebuild the structure and submit plans to the city under a series of deadlines, or face up to $135,000 in fines.

Progress had been stalled since March, however, in disputes over zoning rules and a related lawsuit. Roussey submitted plans over the summer to rebuild the Swap Meet but missed the deadlines set under the plea agreement.

City planning officials rejected the plans, calling for improved parking, lighting and signs on the property. Roussey argued that the zoning rules didn't require him to do that and appealed to the Oxnard Planning Commission.

Roussey withdrew his appeal Monday and agreed to all the improvements, Assistant City Attorney Jim Rupp said.

In a related case, Roussey sued Ralphs, which operates a supermarket on the parcel, for breach of contract. Roussey argued the grocery store chain failed to provide fire insurance as required under a lease agreement.

The two parties settled last week after a judge ruled in Roussey's favor. Roussey was seeking a seven-figure settlement, but details are confidential.

Roussey agreed to rebuild the structure for retail use partly because he's negotiating with a potential tenant, his Ventura attorney, Richard Norman, said Monday. Norman declined to name the tenant.

"There's nothing signed, sealed and delivered," Norman said, "but it looks like it would be compatible" with the shopping center.

Settling the Ralphs lawsuit also helped to end the logjam with the city, Norman said. "He never knew what way the lawsuit was going to go," Norman said.

On Jan. 7, city attorneys will present an amended plea agreement to Bysshe with new deadlines, Rupp said. It's unclear how long Roussey will have to renovate the facility.

The fire displaced about 30 vendors in the Swap Meet building and enraged some neighbors, who called the structure an eyesore and magnet for graffiti and transients.

Asked about the new agreement, Roussey said, "It's better than the old one."