VCOG Should Oversee Tough Job of Implementing Measure A

I agree that the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiatives are only a beginning (“SOAR, the Process, Is Just Beginning,” Ventura County Perspective, June 13).

Effective agricultural protection requires the development and implementation of a complex set of strategies. The recommendations put forth by the Agriculture Policy Working Group, along with the measures approved by the voters in November, provide us with a blueprint for the future.

Ventura County has been asked to embrace a “land use ethic,” one that values agriculture as an industry and encourages that new development occur within existing communities at higher densities.

Measure A called for strengthening of greenbelts, adding new greenbelts, public education and a regional sphere of influence study. If Measure A is implemented in a piecemeal fashion, our citizens’ hopes for “CURBing” urban sprawl will be unrealized.

The tough issues that we must address require coordination of efforts, cooperation and understanding among communities. Currently, our fragmented decision-making structure neither encourages nor values these activities.

The Ventura Council of Governments (VCOG) is the appropriate body to oversee the implementation of Measure A. VCOG is the only existing regional body that includes representation from all 10 cities and the county. VCOG has undertaken work in the areas of sustainable communities and in-fill development, both essential to the successful implementation of urban growth boundaries. VCOG is involved in the design and implementation of other regional programs that must recognize Measure A and interface with such boundaries.

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VCOG has not yet made its mark on Ventura County, and the reason is up for speculation. Its critics say that VCOG is ineffective. I believe that perception exists because we ask and expect so little.

VCOG is rarely asked to take on the projects its members really care about. Furthermore, VCOG is not well known to the citizens of the county. As a result, VCOG has not been required to take and pass the accountability test. How many citizens know that their council member or supervisor serves on the Ventura Council of Governments?

Clearly, the message coming from the APWG town hall meetings was that citizens wish to be educated and to participate in the critical decisions facing this region. This message was further validated and amplified by the passage of Measure A.

The VCOG structure presents a challenge because it does not engage citizens in the decision-making process. However, this challenge has a template to follow. Twenty-five years ago, tough challenges faced the elected leaders of this county, and they responded by establishing the Countywide Planning Program. This citizen participation process provided a number of benefits: citizen input to elected leaders, an opportunity for open dialogue and the development of mutual trust.

Somewhere along the way we lost this valuable dialogue, which in part explains the success of the APWG town hall meetings. The citizens want, and have voted for, a more active role in the decision-making process. Citizen input energized and validated the APWG process and can bring the same energy and validity to VCOG.

Entrusting VCOG with the oversight of APWG and the implementation of Measure A would be healthy for VCOG and would place the responsibility for regional programs where it belongs: with this regional organization and the citizens.