Scenic Route Aims to Drive Up Business : Coast: Not all of the proposed 16-mile thoroughfare is worthy of a postcard. But officials from three cities hope it will lure tourists from major commercial arteries.

The typical scenic route usually features mountains towering against a pale blue sky or sandy beaches bordering an ocean dotted with sailboats.

But the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce is looking to designate a 16-mile scenic thoroughfare in a very different environment.

The route has its share of marinas, beaches and strawberry fields. But it also circles a naval base, passes through industrial complexes and is frequently lined by strip malls and highly noticeable power lines.

Stretching from Hueneme Road in Port Hueneme to Harbor Boulevard’s intersection with Seaward Avenue in Ventura, the route is seen as a way to lure business and tourists from the major commercial arteries to the more remote coastal area.

“The idea behind the scenic route is to get people off the highway and to keep them near the coast,” said Tom Henry, an architect who is president-elect of the chamber. “It will showcase the city to people from the outside.”

The chamber is working with the cities of Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Ventura, as well as with County Supervisor Frank Schillo, to develop the route. It plans to mark the area with signs, advertise it in travel literature and include a bike path to foster tourism.

Proponents of the route say they will first seek a county designation, and then perhaps pursue state approval. They also plan to seek official sanction from the three cities involved.

State scenic highway designations, however, are granted by the California Department of Transportation, which in 1994 rejected in a 6-5 vote a 21-mile stretch of the Ventura Freeway between Calabasas and Thousand Oaks. Field inspectors said the area “rated low visual quality since it had a high amount of development,” including power lines, billboard blight, shopping centers and fast-food establishments.

Currently, Ventura County has no scenic routes and no criteria for establishing such a route. But Schillo said he believes the development of this route would lead to standards for “commercial scenic routes.”

“We don’t know what all the problems could be,” he said. “We’ll find them out as we go along.”

The designation, according to Schillo, would be different from Caltrans’ state scenic highway designation, marked by poppy-decorated signs.

“It would not qualify as a state scenic route,” Schillo said, citing the large amount of development along the roadways. “This would direct people on bikes and people who might want to take a Sunday drive but don’t know where they’re going off the highways.”

Henry said he would also like to see the route receive a state designation, and that he does not believe the high level of development would keep tourists away.

“People think of trees, but it’s also to showcase the development of the communities,” he said. “We have a good mixture.”

Pat Zanuzoski, executive director of the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce, said the idea came from a consultant hired to examine options for economic development.

“Everyone is desperate to get some business down in this area,” Zanuzoski said. “It’s a well-kept secret and I think the secret should get out.”

She said people attracted by scenic route signs might stop to shop or have lunch and bring needed dollars to the towns’ businesses.

“People drive up the 1 [Pacific Coast Highway] and the 101 [Ventura Freeway] and they don’t believe there’s an ocean here. I don’t know where they think it goes between Malibu and Ventura, but they don’t know we’re here,” she said.

The chamber plans to take formal proposals to the councils of the three cities next month. A proposal will also be made to the county.

Grace Hoffman, management and budget officer for Oxnard, said she favors promoting the business and commerce of the city regardless whether the route is officially designated.

“The concept of the scenic route is appealing to us because it does bring people off the highway and gives them a familiarity with the city of Oxnard, as well as Port Hueneme and Ventura,” she said. “It’s not that important to us whether it gets designated or not. We could do our own signage.”

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Scenic Route Proposed

Local officials are pushing to designate a stretch of road through Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Ventura as a county scenic route to encourage commerce.