I LIVE IN THE UNFASHIONABLE East End of Ventura. It's an area of newer tract houses bordered by older tract houses and dotted by the occasional gas station and mini mart. In short, it's a cultural wasteland. It's a great place to raise a family but if you want a good meal, you have to drive a long way to find it.
In a town being revived by the idea of Smart Growth with walkable neighborhoods meshed with business areas and tree-lined boulevards, we are in the Stone Age. So I was intrigued when I read the report on the city's new Saticoy Wells Community Plan from Economics Research Associates:
Presently, the "Saticoy Village" on the southeast corner of Wells Road and Darling Road, already within the City's jurisdiction, could go forward. It has a letter of interest from TESCO (Fresh and Easy) and further intentions and has been exploring a wide variety of potential tenants. Some 30 possible tenancies are shown on the Concept Plan, dated September 5, 2007. The mix includes TESCO, a drug store, a hardware store, potential restaurant, and a coffee shop. Indeed, the concept demonstrates three restaurants, if the market is there.
I say BRING IT ON!
I believe I can speak for all of us out here in the East End when I say we are starved for attention. TESCO opened its first Ventura County Fresh & Easy store recently in Simi Valley. The stores, about the same size as Trader Joe's, offer prepared foods with a minimum of processing, plus regular grocery items. (I have added a video tour of the Simi Valley store above. Click on the arrow to play it.)
According to Maggie Ide, from the city's planning department, there is a "high probability" that TESCO will open a store in the Saticoy Village location. I am looking forward to this and the three new restaurants, if they are forthcoming.
With Oxnard's RiverPark (a short drive for us East Enders) opening a new retail center and a Whole Foods Market, I hope the City of Ventura can jumpstart this project as well as other retail projects planned for the Saticoy Wells area. We need to keep our tax dollars in Ventura.
The City Council will take up the Saticoy Wells Community Plan tonight in a joint session with the Planning Commission.
It had better not be a "big box" like the new Target.
Ooooh, I'd like to see a Tesco store open at the East End! I drive through it/by it all the time.
Arms and mouth open wide to embrace this one!
Imagine the reality of a Whole Foods and a Fresh and Easy ? Be still my heart.... Let's hope this food fantasy will become more than a "high probability".
Marie Marie Marie !!!
how can you call East Ventura a Cultural wasteland? Yes it's the sleepy end of town, no doubt, but I don't know that a supermarket (Fresh and Easy, Ralphs, Vons, Whole Foods or otherwise) is going to really move us up the scale in this respect.
Smart growth, tree -lined boulevards ......... ? Sell that to the good people who live on Decatur. This street is lined with BEAUTIFUL mature Ficus Trees, soon to be cut down by the city because the roots are damaging the pavements. What a shame that these trees (and the neighborhood) have to suffer because of the potential risk of someone suing the city because they trip over a piece of broken concrrete. I say resurface the walkways. Presumably just as feasible, less damaging to the enviroment and the same net result of safer sidewalks on that street. So what, they have to be resurfaced again in ten years, I bet you the residents of Decatur wouldn't be overly upset with this minor inconvenience.
Rant number two ...... we got some "culture" about 18 months back when the developments on the north corner of Telephone and Petit was opened. We are lucky enough to enjoy an Auto Zone now. That is culture for you ! Oh yeah. And that ugly edifice where the Bank of America once stood. I think we were better off having an empty bank building than the ugly Taco Shack/Coffee shop/Sandwich joint that is there now .... only occupying a small percentage of that building I hasten to add.
This is a residential area. We (I apologise to those for whom I do not speak --- you being one !) don't want a big development with 30 stores. For what ? If we want local convenient groceries we've got Ralphs on Petit and Telephone or the Albertsons on Kimball and Telegraph. For many (me included) the Ralphs is often referred to as "crappy Ralphs" because it's not quite as pristine as the store on Victoria but it'll do !
..... the “Saticoy Village� could include TESCO, a drug store, a hardware store, potential restaurant, and a coffee shop. Indeed, the concept demonstrates three restaurants, if the market is there.
May I suggest that dining out in one of the "boutique" buildings of Main Street is a more romantic and pleasurable affair that going out to a Red Lobster, Carrows or chain restaurant that would fill the gaps at the Saticoy Village but surely we have enough of these corporate eateries in town (all within a very convenient 5 to 10 minute drive !).
Tesco (Fresh and Easy) is not doing so well. The video you include on the blog tells the story from Tesco's point of view but please read the numerous articles written by the Perishable Pundit (http://www.perishablepundit.com/) on the successes of Tesco to date.
We have a lovely quiet neighborghood. Some might suggest boring. For me the charm about East Ventura is that we DON'T have commercial buildings and shopping malls in our midst. I don't want to see the Neon Glow of a shopping mall at night. I don't want the extra traffic it will cause. I enjoy your blog Marie, but this time I tell you you are SO wrong. You say BRING IT ON ! I say keep the heck out.
If we want attention build a nice library. You want the traffic, the litter, the graffiti that a shopping precinct will attract ? You want that kind of attention ? I need to smoke whatever it is that you're on because if you think this is a good thing then it's some great weed ! I think that perhaps Maggie Ide should send a questionnaire to the homes in this area and poll the residents. Apparently she'll get a glowing "yes" from the Lakin but I couldn't disagree with you more, Marie.
....... With Oxnard's RiverPark (a short drive for us East Enders) opening a new retail center and a Whole Foods Market, I hope the City of Ventura can jumpstart this project as well as other retail projects planned for the Saticoy Wells area. We need to keep our tax dollars in Ventura.
I couldn't agree more that we need to keep our tax dollars in Ventura. I buy from a local business whenever I can. I go to Vic's Plumbing to buy supplies rather than Lowes / Home Depot, I will get business cards printed at a local company rather than Kinko's / Office depot and often at more cost to me. I support Ventura. I love this town but I think that putting a shopping center in this part of town is going to be the beginning of the end, it's going to detract from our charm. We may not have the "culture" you're seeking but we got charm baby !
Three blogs so far, one nay sayer (hear hear !) and two people who are excited ..... man, they have to be on the same stimulant as you !
Please, the east end has been dead on the vine since I lived on Topaz Street 30 years ago. My kids go to St. Augustine Academy so I've been over there almost every day for six years. The current program isn't working. The east end has no charm.
The TESCO store could be a good fit - very intriguing concept.
A library would also be good. Didn't there used to be one in Saticoy? Or maybe I'm thinking of the Avenue area.
Hi Dean,
Who needs more charm out in East Ventura when we have you? (Honestly, I thought Karen had you on a shorter leash than this...) :-)
What I should have also mentioned is that the Saticoy Wells Plan also includes two new housing communities which are in the pipeline now. One is rather large. This new retail will serve the needs of these communities as well as those on the East End.
We will also be getting a new school ... eventually.
I wasn't suggesting that new stores and restaurants would bring us culture. My comment on culture was a side comment. But, yes, I would like more retail choices out here.
And I do cherish our new Auto Zone.... I really do.
I like the Saticoy Wells Plan. It holds great promise for the east end. With the economy we're in now, I'm curious as to when a lot of it will take off, but, eventually, it will be something for Ventura to be proud of.
Please just give us a Peet's, Starbucks or Coffee Bean out on the East End... at the very least
At one time there was a plan to put a Royal Bakery with a drive-through coffee kiosk where that gaudily-painted stucco conglomeration of fast-food eateries is on Telephone and Petit. I am not sure what happened. I love Royal Bakery and eat lunch there a lot.
Marie assures me that this blog is read by council members, people who decide on the fate of our (East) Ventura.
This Fresh & Easy thing worries me. Follow this link to yet more bad news about the British retail chain who plan on building a store out in East Ventura.
http://www.perishablepundit.com:80/index.php?date=3/20/08
Great so we get a store, Fresh & Easy pull out, we have YET ANOTHER empty building on the East end. We can't support a big development, Ventura ! Wake up. We don't have the "culture" people are looking for but it's not a million miles away. It's a 2.5 miles jaunt down Telephone to the centers around Vons and Ralphs. We DON'T NEED retail out here, we can't support ! DON'T PUT UP UGLY BUILDINGS THAT WILL REMAIN EMPTY attracting all sorts of unsavory characters. You're going to KILL OFF THIS PART OF TOWN. Put up more homes (that won't sell !) or just wait another decade or so, there's really no rush to tear up those fields.
Can someone let me know if this development has been given a green light ? Are there any more town meetings in respect of this project ? I want to voice my concerns to a panel, not just write them on a blog.
Mean Dean, don't you agree that we need some development to sustain our local economy, particularly the type of development (i.e., retail & commercial) that generates tax revenue for the City.
I was reading in the Star the other day that Ventura's crime rates are all on an upward trend. How do you expect us to pay for additional police and fire resources to deal with these trends if we aren't creating new ongoing revenue sources for the City?
Flamer !! ....... I don't have an immediate / clever answer on how to fund additional police. As a city we could HELP the police with neighborhood watch type schemes. see post script# We had an "undesirable" on our street the other day SLASHING someones front door with a utility knife !?!? Dude ! The cops came, they said that they couldn't do anything. They have a good idea who it is. We need more police, I don't like crime. Build that mall, get some income from taxes, fine. Let's say we GET a new Tesco on Wells .... I CAN ALMOST GUARANTEE YOU that Tsco will be pulling out of th USA within another 24 months. They have invested $600million in to the USA so far and it's not working. So the mall could be built but there won't be a tennant. SO another tennant is found but THIS END OF TOWN CAN'T SUPPORT THAT LARGE A DEVELOPMENT. I really don't think so. I don't have the "real" answer but building that development is no good in the long term. Might plug the hole in the leaky boat for a bit but not long term.
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE
post script # is there a neighborhood watch system in Ventura ? If not someone should consider starting one. They work very well in Europe.
Dean, I like your style. You and I may be the last true rebels posting on this blog (and I almost lost my privilege recently due to the blog Nazi). But, be that as it may, I just wanted to let you know I enjoy your comments and your free-form writing style. You are definitely the Allen Ginsberg of bloggers.
BTW, there is a Neighborhood Watch program in Ventura. It seems to be pretty well organized and utilized throughout the City, especially in some neighborhoods. Laura Robinson, with the Police Department, is the one who runs the program. She can be reached at 339-4403. Happy blogging!
Mongo braucht einen Bewahrer.
Thanks for that
Ich kann Deutsch ein bischen (not spoken it regularly for 20 years)
But what does Bewahrer mean ?
I'll call the neighborhood watch people.
Nice one pal
Allen Ginsberg ...... I'm not at all like him
Much more attractive for one
Secondly I'm definitely hetro, dude !!
And 'c' I just ramble.
Dean, I don't speak German very well, but my guess is it means "beware". Am I right, Marie? Wow, I guess Easter is over, huh?
Roughly translated, it means Mongo needs a Keeper. :-)
See ... I do have a sense of humor! Ask Dean.
Mongo, dear, I know you can behave yourself, you just don't always choose to.
Wow, was Ginsberg gay? I never knew...
All we need on the East end is a nice small-business coffee shop (no Starbucks, thank you!) and another down-home restaurant like Cafe 126. I agree that we don't need a large grocery store like Fresh & Easy, but I must say, their concept is a good one that other businesses could learn a lot from (i.e keeping prices down by reducing energy usage and making employees jobs easier so they can get more done in a shorter amount of time.) I enjoy our quiet neighborhood with clear streets. Ralphs and Albertsons are just fine, and Trader Joes isn't too far away. I agree that Saticoy does need a face lift, but I don't believe that another unsightly strip mall w/ corporate stores is the answer. What happened to all the beautiful fields that I grew up next to?
I'd just take a nice restaurant out here. I'm not picky.
Katie, it may be "dead on the vine" as you so characterize it, but maybe, just maybe the people that live here enjoy this setting; I moved from Santa Paula, back in '84, & have always lived here in the East End & this is the speed I like it; had I wanted to live where mit's alive on the vine, so to speak, I would have moved elsewhere.
Yea, after 25 years here, I think I'll stay.