Proposal Would Loosen Business Restrictions : Ventura: Meeting parking and permit requirements will be easier if council approves. Mayor says changes could save city money.

Ventura businesses would not have to provide as much parking for customers and some businesses could open with less red tape under a proposal the City Council will consider this month.

In an effort to quell criticism that City Hall is unfriendly to commerce, city planners have overhauled 75 pages of parking and permitting restrictions.

Currently, restaurants must provide one parking space for every 45 square feet of dining area. In addition, restaurants must provide a parking spot for every 250 square feet of other floor space. Under the new law, restaurants would have to provide only one parking space for every 100 square feet of business space.

Parking restrictions for other businesses have been similarly eased under the proposal.

Furthermore, a whole range of businesses that now must apply for special permits before they can set up shop would be free to open their doors in a commercial district with only a business license.

Most retail businesses are free to do that already, but the city makes certain establishments, such as churches, day-care centers and veterinary offices, slog through a lengthy and expensive permitting process. Depending on the type and size of business, permits can cost more than $1,000 and the processing of those permits can take two to three months, said Karen Bates, a city planner.

“The purpose of this is to make the process more business-friendly, and more streamlined, and to shorten things for people,” she said.

Pastor Leonard DeWitt at Ventura Missionary Church said the changes could save his church significant amounts of money.

Currently, the church is applying to build a classroom building and a youth center, and to expand a counseling center on its property on High Point Drive. Traffic mitigation fees alone--required for the church to receive a conditional use permit--will cost about $40,000, he said.

The proposed permit changes would not affect the church’s plans for the facility on High Point Drive because it is in a residential rather than commercial neighborhood. But Ventura Missionary officials are considering opening another site in a commercial area in downtown or midtown to serve the city’s youth. There, the proposed changes would probably mean a large savings of time and money.

“It sounds almost too simple,” he said. “I’d sure be interested in seeing the details. It sounds wonderful.”

Mayor Tom Buford said the proposed changes--which the Planning Commission approved last month and the council will consider on June 20--will also save the city money.

“We recognized a couple of years ago that with the budget cutbacks, we needed to simplify restrictions at City Hall,” he said, adding that streamlining means the city spends less to enforce myriad rules and regulations.