by Ventura Mayor Sofia Rubalcava

The coming of a New Year marks a time when many people take a moment to reflect on the past year. It’s a time to acknowledge achievements, recount past accomplishments, and celebrate milestones. As we wrap up 2021, I’m reminded of how productive the City and Council have been in the last year. We’ve done a lot amidst a pandemic and seen many long-term efforts come to fruition.

The City Council recently approved a permanent streamlining ordinance to simplify the development review process. For several years, it has been a Council priority to streamline the planning and public hearing process for those who want to build in Ventura and businesses who want to improve their properties. Under the improved streamlining process, the City can shorten a development project’s review time while keeping the community informed through early public notification and involvement.

The City Council also recently approved extending the five-block closure of Main Street to vehicle traffic through July 2022. In addition, work is underway to explore options for making Main Street Moves a more permanent attraction through a cost-effective, flexible design approach for the downtown area. This project will come back to Council for review and approval as it develops.

Thanks to City staff’s determination and hard work, the City Council unanimously approved key terms for a potential development agreement worth $35 million to extend Olivas Park Drive and construct a levee in the flood plain along the Santa Clara River. The 139-acre project is the southern gateway to the City, adjacent to Highway 101 and the Ventura Auto Center, and has been a priority since the 1980s. Under the agreement, the City would pay for the road extension, and the three property owners would pay for the levee. This project is a huge win because it will create significant sales and property tax revenues and improve traffic flow in the area. City staff will bring the final proposed deal to the Council early next year.

Apart from recent Council-approved items, it’s important to acknowledge City staff’s commitment and dedication to launch new programs and engagement opportunities in a wide variety of City departments.

Transitioning public services online has been an ongoing priority. In 2021, the City launched a new virtual public permit counter. Ventura Online Permit Services, also known as Ventura OPS, is a digital public permit counter that allows a customer to submit a permit application, upload plan sets, schedule inspections, and check project status online without coming into City Hall. Next year, continued enhancements such as an integrated online payment system and improved forms are planned.

In 2021, construction kicked off for a second entrance at Community Park and the City’s first ever inclusive playground at Arroyo Verde Park. Both sites are anticipated for completion in 2022. The City was also awarded a $2 million grant from the state’s “California Outdoors for All” initiative to fund construction to expand the skatepark at Westpark. The project will add more than 20,000-square-feet to the existing site with features tailored to various skill levels, green infrastructure, and public art. Our Parks and Recreation Department will conduct additional outreach to gather community input as it prepares a final design for the Westpark skatepark in the coming year.

The City recently completed the visioning phase of its General Plan Update, which involved virtual workshops, seven in-person pop-up events, and more than 1,500 survey responses. The goal of this phase was to gather input on community values, identify locations for new development, and determine potential land-use changes in different areas for the future and long-term growth of our City.

In support of the General Plan, the City is also working on its Active Transportation Plan to identify projects and programs that will make walking, biking, and taking transit great choices for all who live, work, or visit Ventura.

Some other notable 2021 achievements include adopting and implementing new water and wastewater rate increases to support daily operation and maintenance of the City’s existing water and wastewater systems. Additionally, this will support approximately 36 planned capital improvement projects, including the long-anticipated State Water Interconnection Project and the VenturaWaterPure Program.

VenturaWaterPure is the long-anticipated potable reuse project that will divert water currently being discharged to the Santa Clara River Estuary to a new advanced water purification facility. Currently, the program remains in the design phase, with construction anticipated to begin in 2023. To date, VenturaWaterPure has received over $4 million in federal grants. The City continues to pursue grants and other cost-sharing opportunities to maximize value and minimize financial impacts for our community.

This past year has been one full of many successes thanks to the resilient spirit of our community members, businesses, City Council, and hard-working City staff. I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished working together. I’m looking forward to more exciting projects and enhancements on the horizon. Happy New Year, and cheers to 2022!

To learn more about these and other City of Ventura news, visit www.CityofVentura.ca.gov.

Streamlining the development review process has been a priority of the City Council for several years. 

The Ventura City Council made the process of obtaining construction permits and developmental approvals easier at the city council meeting held on Dec.6. The council voted 7-0 to approve a streamlining ordinance during the meeting.

The changes are expected to cut down to about a year for approvals instead of the several years it has been taking. In some cases over 10-years.

Changes included in the streamlining process include.

The community development director will be given the authority to route a project to a different decision maker than is ordinarily required. This is on a case-by-case project.

When a project requires multiple hearings in front of various committees, the community development director will “identify a single final action body,” essentially determining which committee will make the final decision. An appeal can still be filed and heard by the city council.

In response to our request Peter Gilli, AICP Community Development Director told the Breeze.

“Streamlining the development review process has been a priority of the City Council for several years.  A consultant report (referred to as the Matrix Report), endorsed by the City Council in 2019, included recommendations calling for staff to propose ordinance amendments to simplify the hearing process, reconsider whether to retain DRC/HPC or reduce their scope, and to shift more application types to staff hearings or administrative actions.”  

“Council adopted a temporary Emergency Streamlining Ordinance (ESO) in May 2020.  In February 2021, City Council set a goal to adopt streamlining by the end of 2021.  In April 2021, Council extended ESO for another year to allow the “permanent” streamlining ordinance to be prepared. “

“The proposed ordinance places aspects of the temporary ESO into the Municipal Code. The Planning Commission reviewed the streamlining changes at hearings on 11/3 and 11/17, and recommended approval of the streamlining changes on a 5-2 vote with a short list of recommended changes. “ 

“It is unfortunate that some in the community make statements such as what you were sent.  Here’s a high-level overview of the streamlining proposal:” 

• DRC and HPC are retained.  
• Any project over 5 units will continue to go to DRC, as they have in the past.  Every housing project over 5 units will continue to have at least two public hearings, as they have in the past. 
• Any project that affects a historic resource will continue to go to HPC, as they have in the past.
• Projects with Major Variances or Exceptions will continue to go to PC, as they have in the past (a housing project over 5 units with an Exception goes to DRC and then PC).
• Before ESO, façade changes (changes to the exterior of a building that does not involve additional building area) were split between administrative action and DRC review, depending on location.  Streamlining will make all façade changes administrative. 
• Before ESO, use permits were split between staff hearings and PC depending on the type of use permit.  Streamlining will make all use permits go to staff hearings (these are still public hearings, with public notification, public comment and the ability to appeal)

“Staff finds that housing projects are what the community has the most input on.  Streamlining will keep those projects going to multiple hearings as they would have in the past.  By shifting the rest of use permits to staff hearings and the rest of the façade changes to administrative actions, we not only simplify the process (Matrix) but also fulfill shifting application types to staff hearings and administrative actions (Matrix).”

As is typical in many jurisdictions, there are generally two pathways that a project may take: discretionary or ministerial. 

Ministerial projects are generally smaller in scope, and must meet certain criteria, but generally have less review than discretionary projects. Typical examples of ministerial projects include putting in a backyard gazebo, interior building improvements, room additions, fences or even obtaining a marriage license. 

If a ministerial project meets the requirements of the municipal code and the required fees have been paid, the permit will be granted. Furthermore, the city has very little discretion on whether it can say yes or no; oversight is limited to the various requirements that are already laid out in the code. 

The ministerial phase still involves building, encroachment and grading permits, but in this phase these do not require public notification and hearings. Ventura issues thousands of ministerial permits every year. 

With discretionary projects, the city has discretion about whether or not to approve the project. The project, such as a residential home build or a multi-unit development, must still meet state and local code requirements, but various studies — traffic impact, environmental review, etc. —  are included in the review phase. Discretionary projects require public notifications and hearings and include an appeal process in which parties opposing decisions on the project can seek an alternative. “

According to a January 2021 report produced by Ventura City Manager Alex McIntyre and Gilli, about 100 discretionary projects are approved each year. Most are minor projects, but a few attract public interest. 

Both ministerial and discretionary projects require a sign-off from various agencies including public works, fire and Ventura Water, and the city attorney’s office weighs in when legal support is needed. 

“Most simply, the problem with this phase is the difficulty in getting through it. This is not to say that the process should be easy. But when describing past experiences with this phase, developers were pleading simply to be able to get through the process to a hearing, where a decision could be made,” stated the city’s 2021 staff report. 

The report cited “internal” factors that are “completely within the city’s control” that lead to the reported struggle developers have with the process.

As previously reported by the Ventura County Reporter, Gilli said (“State law puts city into a corner,” Kimberly Rivers, Apr. 28, 2021) that the current process for reviewing development proposals includes a web of various committees, which are restricted in what they can review and act on. This means a developer must present a project to several committees, none of which have the final thumbs up or down on the entire project, but rather only commenting on and approving a piece of a project. 

This can create an onerous appeal process, both for the project developer and for members of the public that object to the project. An appeal could be filed regarding one committee’s decision, only to have the project sail through another committee. 

What developers are asking for, and what Gilli said the city is working to achieve, is a process that ensures plenty of public input opportunities, a thorough review of the project, but also a clear approval and/or appeal process, which, as is the goal, would shorten the time a project is in review. 

The report continued, “Since the City’s future tax base relies on private investment in property, addressing these internal factors in the development review process has been a City Council priority.”

What will the future downtown look like? Photo by Richard Lieberman

The Ventura City Council voted 7-0 at its meeting on November 8 to make Main Street Moves long-term with a full closure of five blocks in Downtown Ventura, retaining the existing curb, gutter, and sidewalk configuration through a flexible design approach.

Discussions included maintaining a pedestrian-friendly area in keeping Main Street closed to traffic from San Buenaventura Mission to Fir Street, with an additional focus on potentially keeping California Street closed to traffic.

“During the pandemic, the City reimagined the use of public spaces and joined with Downtown Ventura Partners to launch Main Street Moves, which helped many local businesses not only survive but thrive,” said Mayor Sofia Rubalcava. “Thousands of people have expressed strong support for keeping streets closed and maintaining outdoor dining and shopping areas. It’s exciting to hear that kind of positive public response as we look at design, cost, and logistics for supporting a semi-permanent downtown street closure for Main Street Moves.”

The design approach includes the installation of bollards at the intersections and furnishings that are removeable, allowing the modification of the closure as needed with the evolution of downtown and the needs of the space. The design would open back up the existing sidewalks, use the existing angled parking spaces for businesses to use for outdoor seating and dining in the form of parklets, and keep the existing travel lanes free and clear to accommodate delivery trucks, service vehicles, and emergency vehicles.

The City Council also voted to have City staff work with consultants to study traffic impacts, environmental impacts, obtain a bid for removable bollards, and design standards for the parklets, all which will guide the process to the full closure. Additionally, an appointed ad hoc committee will be created to focus on improvements and cohesive design to the Mission Park and Figueroa Plaza.

To encourage participation for both restaurants and retailers, staff will create a fee and lease structure for use of the public right of way space to support the activation of the street and have critical mass of participants.

In December 2021, the continuation or issuance of a new interim special use permit for Main Street Moves will be brought to City Council while staff finalizes the full closure program with the necessary studies. Main Street Moves currently operates under a Special Use Permit and Temporary Emergency Ordinance, which are set to expire on January 7, 2022.

Visit www.cityofventura.ca.gov/OutdoorDiningProgram to learn more about Main Street Moves and view reports, and survey results.

Community members are invited to join the Ventura Police Department for coffee, conversation, and a toy drive at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, located at 1780 S. Victoria Ave. The free event will be hosted on December 9, 2021, from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Coffee with a Cop provides an opportunity for residents, students, and kids to engage with local police officers and ask questions, share feedback, and get to know the men and women who patrol Ventura’s neighborhoods.

New, unwrapped toys and gift cards donated at this Coffee with a Cop will support the 12th annual Castro Family Toy Drive serving patients and siblings of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at the Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC).

“This is the first Coffee with a Cop event we’ve hosted since the pandemic started. Coffee with a Cop serves as a great opportunity for the community to get to know our officers, build relationships, and engage in community-wide conversations,” said Police Chief Darin Schindler. “This free event will support a great, local cause while providing quality time with our residents.”

The majority of contacts Ventura Police Officers have with the public often happen during emergencies or extremely emotional incidents. Those situations are not always the most effective time to have a friendly conversation with officers. Coffee with a Cop breaks down barriers and allows for a relaxed, one-on-one interaction.

Residents unable to attend to donate a toy are encouraged to drop-off toy donations for the Castro Family Toy Drive at the Ventura Police Headquarters, located at 1425 Dowell Drive.

For additional information, please contact Emily Graves, Community Outreach Specialist with the Ventura Police Department, at [email protected].

In 2008, Corey Castro was seven years old and was treated for Gorham’s Disease at VCMC, a rare bone disease. As a patient, he was asked if he wanted to pick a toy from the center’s toy box. Corey discovered the toy box needed more toys. Corey and his sister Paige asked their family if they could help fill the box for other children receiving treatment. The Castro Family, in partnership with the Ventura Police Department and the Ventura Police Community Foundation, worked to make that dream a reality and has since provided toys and gifts to more than 2,500 patients and their siblings. The 2020 toy drive kept the toy box full through August, 2021.