Achieving our Vision -- Two year progress report

In a diverse community, finding common ground is always a challenge. Some people are very focused on just one local issue, particularly if it directly affects them. Others take a broader view and want their community to be on the cutting edge of global issues from global warming to ending homelessness. Some pay close attention to city government, others only pay attention when a project is proposed near where they live or an issue makes them angry. Some people think government can solve every problem, while others hate the very idea of government.

All of which makes Ventura's General Plan such a remarkable achievement. In a community where growth is the one issue that gets practically everyone worked up, it represents a broad consensus about how the citizens of this community want to see their community develop over the next twenty years.

Next month marks two years since the City Council unanimously adopted the plan in August 2005. The broad outlines have held up well:

The community remains supportive of NOT sprawling outward and paving over surrounding farmland and hillsides. It has generally supported the alternative of infill in older parts of the community as well as pockets of farmland surrounded by existing development. Our Downtown is seeing many new businesses as well as groundbreaking on several new projects envisioned in the new Downtown Specific Plan.

There has been a surge of support for the City's "green initiative" to conserve energy and water and implement environmentally sustainable practices in our homes, businesses and neighborhoods.

There is even stronger support today for pursuing high wage jobs and new business for Ventura to compete with surrounding communities and ensure that we have a prosperous future. We've seen more than half a million square feet of new commercial office/industrial space come on line since the plan was adopted.

There is widespread involvement in improving our schools, parks and local arts scene to enrich our quality of life.

The focus on public safety is addressing long-term concerns with six new police officers added to the force and an innovative new three-person fire crew added to reduce emergency response times.

Has there been a dramatic change in Ventura? No. This frustrates some people who are unhappy with the pace of development. They are impatient for more new homes and new stores to generate additional resources to beef up our public safety staffing and fix our streets. There are others, of course, who see too much change too soon and who are circulating a petition for a two-year moratorium on most development in the city. So, as usual, you can't please all the people, all the time.

But as we prepare a two-year report to the community on what has been accomplished to implement the Plan -- and what remains to be done -- I think we can all take pride in the overall progress that's been made. Achieving a long-term vision is not accomplished overnight. But Ventura is working successfully together on a shared effort to ensure that Ventura continues to be a great place to live for decades to come.