VENTURA : Merchants Say Line Street With Palms

California Street in downtown Ventura would be lined solely with queen palms instead of alternating palms and honey locust trees under a plan to be considered by the City Council next week.

Although plans call for the three-block stretch between Thompson Boulevard and Poli Street to be lined with 60 queen palm and honey locust trees, downtown merchants have proposed using only palms, planner Patrick Richardson said.

The honey locusts already have been planted along California Street but could easily be moved to another site, he said.

Richardson said it would cost about $20,000 extra to plant only palm trees along California Street but that the money was included in a contingency fund adopted when the council approved the renovation.

“We haven’t ordered all of the trees along Main Street yet, so we would just switch the order,” Richardson said.

The city began a $3.5-million renovation in March in an effort to revitalize the downtown area. It also includes new street lamps as well as wider sidewalks and some road repairs.

Merchants on Tuesday liked the idea of planting only palm trees along California Street.

“It would give it more of a boulevard appearance and would enhance our entrance to town,” said Virginia Mendoza O’Neil, who owns a business downtown. “But the changes they’ve already made have surpassed anything I could have visualized.”

The project is scheduled to be completed in mid-July. The council is scheduled to consider the change order next Monday.