Ventura residents continue to do an outstanding job exceeding the 20% water conservation requirement of a Stage 3 Water Shortage Event! In 2019, Ventura Water customers have conserved an average of 26% when compared to pre-drought years.

During the 2019 Water Year (October 2018 through September 2019), the City of Ventura received 20 inches of rain. Unfortunately, a single wet winter with above average rainfall does not neutralize the impacts of several consecutive years of persistent drought conditions. Before the 2019 winter rains Lake Casitas dropped as low as 30.4% (November 2018) of its capacity. Currently Casitas is at 41% capacity dwindling from this year’s high of 45%. Additionally, Ventura’s local water sources continue to be challenged by environmental, regulatory, operational, and legal constraints.

Each year following the rainy season staff evaluates the City’s water supply and demand while considering challenges, uncertainties and reliability associated with Ventura’s water sources through the annual Comprehensive Water Resources Report.

From Sustainable Ventura Newsletter

In the United States, the holiday season is the most wasteful time of year, with an average of 5 million pounds of food tossed during the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Let’s all be a part of the solution at home this season by keeping these food waste-reducing steps in mind.

Share the love: Encourage family and friends to take leftovers home by asking them to bring reusable containers to your holiday feast. Or save your recyclable plastic food containers throughout the year and supply them yourself at the holidays.

Get Creative: Try throwing your holiday protein and veggie scraps into a pot pie or a quiche. There are hundreds of recipes to try online. Visit www.savethefood.com for recipes using food scraps or food past its prime.

Avoid the temptation of overindulgence: We mean well when we want to share our love for family and friends with abundant and delicious meals, but please, try to prepare only what you need. If you have a habit of preparing too much, try cooking less once and see how it goes.

Compost it: Food scraps that can’t be used up can go in a home compost bin. If you don’t have one yet, check them out online or at your local nurseries.

Estelle Bussa joined the City of Ventura in May 2018. Her team helps provide resources that help businesses open and grow. She also helps businesses navigate the public agency process while also helping to make that process more collaborative and streamlined. She is a fourth-generation Ventura native, raising her own daughters here in our community. She has a strong background in strategic planning, project management and effective collaboration. We sat down with her to learn more about her efforts.

What is Economic Development?

I define Economic Development as the creation of capital, the creation of dollars from which community benefits are realized.  Through increases in revenues, or increases to the economic base, quality of life and community gains are achievable.  This can more tangibly translate to better streets, more police and fire, more parks to play in and extended services to the community.

What do you do?

Our mission is really to cultivate an environment for economic sustainability and growth. We help provide resources that help businesses plan, make possible, open shop and thrive here in Ventura.

Daily that can take many forms… from helping a business owner understand and go through the process of obtaining a permit for a tenant improvement, to educating a business on how to go about getting a business license or various permits.  We work with some of our larger companies in the City to understand their longer-term goals and objectives, so that we can work together on the infrastructure needed to support their plans.  The expansion of Community Memorial Hospital in the last few years is a great example of the partnership in action.

What are some best practices to support local businesses that lead to revenue enhancement?

First, connecting with business owners and entrepreneurs is important. The approach can’t be “them” and “us,” it must be more “we.” Meeting at industry events, chamber meetings or downtown associations is important to understand and solve problems. The City of Ventura wants to help businesses thrive and the relationships we build helps us understand the needs and how we can help make a difference in the process.

Second, building partnerships with educational institutions.  In Ventura County alone, we have three community colleges, and two universities.  Expanding that footprint just a few more miles and the reach is large. Learning, refreshing skills and retooling a workforce is critical in a dynamic economy.

Third, partnering with commercial real estate brokers and people investing in the region. They know what is happening in a given location and can speak to the opportunities and challenges.

And Finally, engaging with the community.  Ultimately, we want the workforce in Ventura, to live in Ventura… so understanding what is important to the community is vital!

Ventura is a great place to live, work and do business. It’s an honor to help build a strong economic future where my daughters and future generations can thrive in this beautiful place we call home.

Learn more about Economic Development in the City of Ventura at www.cityofventura.ca.gov/913/Economic-Development or schedule an appointment with Estelle by calling 805-677-3947.

by Richard Lieberman

Cannabis has been a hot talking point in recent years with further legalisation being debated for a long time. People are becoming more informed on the different sides of cannabis and learning things about Terpenes, trichomes, and the complex biochemistry of the plant. Becoming more informed is allowing a bigger, more fact-driven debate around the issue — and it’s working. The City Council at a recent meeting adopted a resolution for new fees for cannabis delivery permits. The new fee schedule is to take effect November 1, 2019.

Until recently the ordinance approved by City Council banned all outdoor cultivation and all commercial activity. The state has mandated that “deliveries may be made to any jurisdiction in the state.” The regulation applies even if a local jurisdiction previously prohibited cannabis delivery. Ventura must comply and allow cannabis delivery within city limits. So this now means that medical marijuana patients are now able to stay in the comfort of their own homes while having their medicine such as this gods green crack strain delivered to their door, ready for whatever relief they’re consuming medical marijuana for.

The proposed ordinance has some restrictions: Delivery is permitted to residential locations only. Delivery times must be from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm only. No deliveries are allowed within 600 feet of public or private K-12 schools and will not be allowed during school hours 8:00am to 3:00 pm.

Whilst the restrictions are tight when it comes to cannabis businesses operating, it does allow for new ventures to be pursued by the market. Many are already undergoing a series of growth by utilizing seed to sale software, though for now this remains firmly in an indoor growth scenario. Distribution may have improved but there are still hurdles for these companies to face.

Other additional requirements are that dash cams be installed on each delivery vehicle, it must also be equipped with GPS and the delivery must include educational public information.

The fee schedule will aid in the recovery of cost to manage and conduct background checks by the city and permits to be renewed yearly.

New City Parking Authority established at Council Meeting

The City Council has approved a measure to create a new city department “The Parking Authority”. By a vote of 7 to 0 the council approved the measure.

The official name of the Authority is the “City of San Buenaventura Parking Authority.” The new Parking Authority will be administered by a governing board which will consist of members of the City Council. The new department will be staffed by existing city employees and no additional compensation to staffers will be offered.

There will be appointed officials for managing the department. Proposed and adopted by the city council are staffing positions of Chair which shall be the Mayor of the city, Vice-Chair will be the Deputy Mayor of the city, Executive Director position will be filled by the City Manager, Secretary position will be filled by the City Clerk, the treasurer position will be filled by the City’s Finance and Technology Director, the authority’s General Council shall be the City Attorney.

Regular meeting of the Parking Authority will occur at the regular Monday evening City Council meetings. All meetings of the Parking Authority will be open to the public and public participation is encouraged.

After an extensive search, Daniel Wall has been selected as the City of Ventura’s first Emergency Services Manager. The new role will begin on October 21, 2019. The Emergency Services Manager will serve as the central point of contact for all emergency management planning for the City of Ventura. He will be charged with developing and overseeing a progressive emergency management training and exercise program to enhance the City of Ventura’s emergency management program of preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.

“I’m honored to accept the position of Emergency Services Manager, with the City of Ventura. My experience as a veteran of the US Army and in local emergency management will allow me to immediately hit the ground running as a contributing member of the City Manager’s Office. I hope to collaborate with staff and partner agencies to build on our collective disaster experience to make our city more resilient into the future. Disasters are and will always be a threat we face, and it is through our continued focus on process improvement and preparedness that we will develop the best tools to protect our community,” said Daniel Wall.

Daniel Wall is an accomplished emergency management professional. He has more than 28 years of experience in emergency response. He began his career serving in the United States Army then he served as a Staff Nurse for Kern Medical/Trauma Center, Delano Regional Medical Center and Community Memorial Hospital. He comes to the City of Ventura from the Ventura County Health Care Agency where he has served as the Manager of the Emergency Preparedness Office. He has been with the County of Ventura for more than 16 years.

“Daniel Wall has the proven experience in overseeing an emergency management program that integrates the activities of many departments and organizations into a common vision and direction for the safety of our community. The City Manager’s Office looks forward to welcoming him to our team,” said Deputy City Manager Barry Fisher.