AOV E-Newsletter Jan. 24, 2008
In this issue:
- State of the City: Mayor Presents to Community Feb. 11
- Presentation to Public: LEED and Green Neighborhood Design on Jan. 30
- Council Passes Final Draft of Plan for Victoria Avenue
- Tax Time: City Offers Free Tax Preparation for Elderly and Low Income Residents
- Discover Ventura: Sign up for Tours Online
- City Manager's Blog: Hunkering down - and continuing our progress
State of the City: Mayor Presents to Community Feb. 11
On Monday, Feb. 11, Ventura Mayor Christy Weir will present the annual State of the City address in Council Chambers. The address will begin at 6 p.m. A brief reception will precede the regularly scheduled 7 p.m. Council meeting. Light refreshments will be served.
The address, titled "Achieving Our Vision," will focus on how Venturans can work together to implement the vision that has been laid out in the City's General Plan. The mayor will outline goals for the coming year, touching on the areas of historic preservation and adaptive reuse, higher standards for neighborhood design guidelines, improving the physical and cultural landscape of the city, economic vitality of the downtown, mall and Auto Center areas, and increased maintenance to make Ventura cleaner and greener.
The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. The State of the City address will be broadcast live on Channel 15 in Ventura city limits, and re-broadcast thereafter. It will also be available online at www.cityofventura.net/video.
Mayor Weir will present the State of the City Address at the Ventura Chamber of Commerce breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, February 15. This event takes place at the Pierpont Inn, and advance registration is required. Those interested may register online at www.venturachamber.com or by calling 805-676-7500.
Presentation to Public: LEED and Green Neighborhood Design on Jan. 30
The public is invited to attend a presentation on green neighborhoods, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) neighborhood development, an overview of the LEED neighborhood development (ND) categories, and next steps for LEED ND. A question and answer session will follow.
The presentation will take place Wednesday, January 30 from 10 a.m. to noon in Ventura City Hall's Community Meeting Room.
Blake Murillo, the CEO of Psomas - Los Angeles, and Sean Vargas, P.E., the organization's vice president of Land Development Services, will present a case study of a pilot program on 124 acres of studio backlot on Universal City property. This project was highlighted in the Urban Land Institute's Urban Land Magazine in August 2007 ("Green Neighborhood Design"). Mr. Murillo will also discuss other pilot projects in which Psomas is involved.
Murillo is the chief executive officer of Psomas, one of the top-ranked design firms in the nation. The consulting engineering firm specializes in the transportation, water/wastewater, and land development markets across the Western United States. Psomas' 860 employees provide services to the public and private sector in civil engineering, land surveying, planning and entitlements, GIS, natural resources and program/construction management.
As CEO, he oversees the strategic direction of the firm, including external growth through mergers and acquisitions, and expansion of the firm into new geographic and service offerings. He is the firm's leader in sustainability and participates in many sustainability organizations including the U.S. Green Building Council and the corresponding committee for the development of the LEED ND guidelines.
Vargas is a vice president in Psomas' Land Development Services group. He directs complex public and private development programs with sustainability as core focus.
Council Passes Final Draft of Plan for Victoria Avenue
On January 7, the City Council unanimously approved the final draft for the Victoria Corridor Plan, which will now be subject to environmental review prior to coming back in final form by the end of this year.
The plan, which earlier evoked significant controversy, had widespread support from such disparate groups as the Chamber of Commerce and Livable Ventura. Having scrapped the option of revamping the streets eight lanes to create a more efficient traffic flow, the new plan envisions modest improvements over time to make the corridor more pedestrian- and transit-friendly. The main emphasis is to promote more first class office space to house the "high value, high wage jobs" that is the number one priority in the City's 2005 General Plan.
The Council also added a size limit for new retail stores of 100,000 square feet to meet the General Plan goal of "eliminating 'big box', mega-block, auto-oriented strip development, and the traffic patterns it generates."
City of Ventura Offers Free Tax Preparation for Elderly and Low Income Residents from February 5 to April 15
The City of Ventura Community Services department will sponsor free tax preparation services for both federal and state income tax returns for elderly and low-income people starting February 5 through April 15 at these locations, days and times:
Ventura Avenue Adult Center (VAAC)
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 to 11:30 a.m.
550 North Ventura Avenue 805-648-3035
Senior Recreation Center (SRC)
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 3 p.m.
420 East Santa Clara Street 805-648-2829
To receive help at both centers, residents should bring relevant paperwork, such as last year's tax return, W-2s and 1099s, bonds, etc., as well as year-end summaries from Social Security. Volunteer tax assistants at both centers have the capability of doing electronic filing online and having refunds direct-deposited, provided that those seeking tax assistance bring in a deposit slip or voided check with their name and address.
This free tax preparation service is offered at the Senior Recreation Center courtesy of The Community Action Agency of Ventura County, and courtesy of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) at the Ventura Avenue Adult Center.
People wishing to use this free tax preparation service at either the Senior Recreation Center or the Avenue Adult Center may drop in on a first come, first served basis. No appointment is necessary.
Contact Doug Reed at 805-648-2829 or Kathryn Torres at 805-648-3035.
Sign up for "Discover Ventura Tours" for Spring 2008
Discover Ventura Tours take you, your family and friends on a memorable Saturday Adventure.
Entertaining guides lead you on historic and culinary adventures on foot or by bus throughout the heart of the city. This spring, the City offers four fabulous teas with local Victorian expert Glenda Jackson. Learn about history and traditions of Valentine's Day, bridal customs and antique lingerie. Other tours include mystery, hauntings and architecture. Advance tickets are required, as many events sell out.
Reserve through the Community Services office (room 226) in City Hall, 501 Poli St., by phone at 805-658-4726 or on-line through eRecreation.
City Manager's Blog: Hunkering down -- and continuing our progress
City Manager Rick Cole gives immediate insight into breaking news. His latest post discusses the local impacts of the global economy, and what steps the City of Ventura is taking to address these challenges.
"Yesterday, the Federal Reserve stepped in to halt a global sell-off, announcing its biggest rate cut in 23 years. That slowed, but did not halt, the slide -- the Dow Jones is down again this morning. Locally, the LA Times reports today that fourth quarter foreclosures in the Southland are at an all-time high -- more than double the previous record.
Some economists maintain that we are talking ourselves into a recession -- that the fundamental economy remains sound. But the voices of optimism have had to consistently revise their forecasts over the past nine months -- always downward.
The "business cycle" remains a part of our economic way of life, even though people always seem to forget that when the markets are rising and jobs are being added. For 150 years, California real estate has ridden an even more extreme roller coaster. While each boom surpasses the previous one, it often takes a decade to recover from the bust.
Mainstream economists are still predicting only a "mild" recession, with recovery in 2009. But we are in uncharted waters now. Not since 1929 have the global financial markets been so vulnerable.
City of Ventura eNews: Achieving Our Vision
If you would like to receive Achieving Our Vision via email, please click here.
Current and past issues of Achieving Our Vision can be found online at http://www.cityofventura.net/enews/smartgrowth.
Masthead Art: katherinemcguire.com
