Citizen Councils Expected to Grow in Influence

The west side was first--pulling together to form the city’s first community council in 1994.

Then came eastern Ventura--forming a group of its own in 1995. Midtown held its first community council meeting in June. And downtown formed a group this fall.

In the past year, Ventura’s fledgling community councils have burst onto the political scene--receiving grants from the city, meeting with developers and, in the most recent election, weighing in on political campaigns.

As the city marches into 1998, the role of community councils will continue to grow, city and neighborhood officials predict.

Nowhere will their role be more prominent than in grass-roots efforts to revamp the city’s Comprehensive Plan--a blueprint for development. The plan was drafted in 1989 and already lags behind the times. Officials say the redrafting process should begin in the coming year.

“This is not just an anomaly,” Mayor Jim Friedman said. “I think we have yet to see the strength and the influence of the community councils. I know that I personally will be depending on the community councils to help the city implement some of its plans.”

Each community council was formed by people who had specific concerns for their given areas. But it is the west side group that has served as a model and inspiration for the rest of the city.

When gunfire shattered the peace of a residential neighborhood on the west side in 1994, neighbors decided they had had enough. After decades of perceived neglect by the city and police, they formed the city’s first community council.

Three years later they boast an impressive record. A representative from City Hall attends virtually every meeting.

They received a $25,000 grant in 1996 to develop a plan of what they wanted their community to become. That vision now serves as a guide for city investment and projects in the area. As part of a west side revitalization plan, the city last spring awarded $321,000 to the area for landscape improvements and the rehabilitation of buildings.

City officials are now recommending that the Avenue be designated a redevelopment area, to funnel even more money and resources into the community.

Emissaries from the east, midtown and downtown have all attended west side meetings. West side chairwoman Lauri Flack--dubbed the “Johnny Appleseed of Community Councils”--helped all three of the other councils set up bylaws and articles of incorporation. She also offers advice on how to take proposals to the city, how to appeal to residents and how to set up a broad, long-term agenda.

“Success breeds success,” said Everett Millais, director of community services. “As the west side formed, they were able to get some political attention. They went at it in a collaborative way rather than a confrontational one, and that was very successful.”

Added city planning and redevelopment manager Tom Figg: “The west side has shown that there is a value they bring to their neighborhood. By having that kind of organization, there is a sense of empowerment--and we acknowledge it.”

Many point to this fall’s campaign as an example of the increasing political clout of community councils.

Councilman Sandy Smith was the first candidate to recognize the influence of community councils and to tap into them.

His attention paid off. Smith emerged as the top vote-getter in the Nov. 4 council election.

Learning from Smith’s success, several council candidates from the November election have thrown their energy into local community councils.

Former candidate Paul Thompson is now chairman of the east side council. Mike Osborn and Carl Morehouse both attended the most recent meeting. And ex-candidate Doug Halter now sits on the revitalization and redevelopment committee of the Historic Downtown Ventura Community Council.

“They [community councils] will become not just community entities, but eventually political entities which will foster candidates,” Flack predicted.

City staff members say working with community councils is becoming like second nature. When a new project is proposed for an area, staff members talk to community councils. When developers propose construction, the city staff members direct them to community councils. When there is funding, city staff members work with community councils.

“It’s not a legal obligation, it’s just become part of the standard operating procedure to stay in touch, and exchange information,” Figg says.

Each of the community councils is at a different point in its development. But all have ambitious agendas for 1998.

The west side has laid out a vision that includes fixing up the imposing brick Casa De Anza building on Ventura Avenue and transforming it into low-income housing; building a new, more centrally located Avenue library on the ground floor of the Casa De Anza; and placing underground the electrical wires that mar the Avenue skyline.

The Historic Downtown Ventura Community Council is still in the formative stage, according to chairwoman Loretta Merewether. The group plans to focus on homeless issues in 1998, developing strategies to discourage panhandling downtown as well as working to find shelter for those who need it, she said.

The Midtown Community Council, chaired by Bill Barbee, will continue efforts to open an office in a mini-mall at 1700 Thompson Blvd., where police officers can also visit or write reports. Property owner John Greene has already agreed to donate the space.

Barbee said his council plans to go to the City Council in January to ask for funding to do workshops similar to those conducted by the west side group. The aim would be to develop a plan to revitalize the commercial corridors along Main Street and Thompson Boulevard.

If funding can be found, Barbee hopes the community council can complete that process by the end of 1998.

The east side is the largest and most unwieldy of the areas, and is still working on coming up with a broad agenda, chairman Thompson said.

He said his council will also work closely with the city in trying to select which of three sites would be best for an east end park. City officials have said they would like to pick a final site by June.

But it is in the area of city planning that officials expect community councils to play the strongest role in the coming year.

Several council members have said they intend to start the process of drafting a new Comprehensive Plan for the city in 1998. Councilman Smith said he expects to set up a task force on the issue as early as next month.

Smith and others hope the community councils will provide city officials with ideas about future development.

“They can be a real avenue for getting grass-roots community input about what the community is going to look like in the future--and how we are going to get there,” Flack said.

In addition, those who lead the community councils say they intend to form a confederation to coordinate their efforts and jointly present their views to the City Council.

It will not all be easy. Most community councils form around a specific issue, and must struggle to broaden their agenda if they want to survive in the long term, Flack says.

The newest councils will face challenges, too, as expectations are heaped upon them in the coming year.

“Community councils are going to have to be savvy--to get involved when it fits into their interests,” Flack says. “There is a danger that when you become a political entity you can be used for other issues as well.”

City planner Figg said he is just curious to see what happens next.

“There are a lot of different models out there,” he observed, noting that Oxnard has an elaborate system of neighborhood organizations recognized by the city.

“Is that what we see coming to Ventura?” he asked. “We are definitely in this formation/transition stage. Now where are we going to go with it?”