SANTA PAULA : Students Draft a Tourism Blueprint

Seen through the eyes of 13 graduate architecture students, downtown Santa Paula could be transformed into an inviting tourist destination.

Invited to visit by the Chamber of Commerce, fifth-year students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo spent a long weekend in Santa Paula last month.

After the field trip, the students gave the chamber’s design committee a preliminary report on how the city might implement the chamber’s vision of Santa Paula as a tourist mecca. A more detailed report is due this month.

In its instructions to the students, the design committee described downtown Santa Paula as “Hometown, U.S.A.” and Santa Paula itself as “the symbolic heart of Ventura County.”

Composed of merchants, architects, builders and city planners, the chamber committee called for tourist-oriented businesses to replace the local service stores now on Main Street.

“The downtown area would be ideal for a variety of quaint middle- to upper-end shops, art galleries, antique stores, and unique and varied dining establishments,” the committee said.

Given their marching orders, students responded with sketches and written descriptions of how planners could emphasize the 10th Street entry corridor into Santa Paula. They recommended the use of lighting, signs and other design elements to slow drivers and direct their attention to the Main Street shopping area.

Following the chamber’s lead, the students suggested that Main Street be made more friendly to pedestrians by reducing the number of traffic lanes and converting to angle parking. They recommended building a small square in front of the Odd Fellows lodge to enhance the street’s identity.

The proposals have stirred the enthusiasm of some building owners, said gallery owner John Nichols, head of the design committee. “There’s a lot of pride of ownership surfacing that hadn’t been noticeable before,” he said.