Visioning Process

* On behalf of the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), I would like to applaud the city of Ventura for undertaking the Seize the Future visioning process.

The goal of the process is to enlist those who live or work in Ventura in shaping a collective image of our community’s future and to incorporate this image into future city planning decisions.

The city has shown its commitment through a number of key accomplishments: It formed a citizen outreach committee; facilitated meetings with numerous community groups; conducted public opinion surveys; held public meetings and organized a large-scale public event, the Future Fest at Ventura College in January.

The EDC has participated in the visioning process in a number of ways. The city approached us early in the process to solicit our ideas for who should serve on the citizen outreach committee. Eric Werbalowsky, along with Roma Armbrust, have done a terrific job in meeting with a number of groups and taking information back to the city. We hosted a booth at the Future Fest and were impressed by the high public attendance and level of participation. We attended one of the public workshops held at Buena High School, which was very effectively facilitated by the city’s consultants.

Although the outcome of Seize the Future remains to be seen, we are encouraged that the data are at least reflective of the public’s wishes thanks to the city’s efforts in building a solid foundation of citizen participation.

KIM UHLICH

Environmental Analyst

Environmental Defense Center

Ventura