WHILE THE STATE ELECTORATE may be in no mood to pass Prop. 1A and thus extend the taxes used to balance this year's budget, Downtown Ventura's property owners just voted to assess themselves a little more to pay for a cleaner, safer business district with better marketing efforts for merchants and other special programs designed to draw visitors to the area.

The Property-Based Business Improvement District (PBID) will add a small percentage to the property tax bills of landowners in the Downtown core. Those in the central areas who will receive the most benefits from the PBID will be assessed more than those in outlying areas.

The plan had the full backing of the Downtown Ventura Organization and the Chamber of Commerce.

While the plan was conceived, executed and drawn up by a citizen's committee, the City Council had final approval on the deal and officially gave it its blessing last night on a 5-1 vote, with only Councilmember Jim Monahan voting against it.

"Despite a year of city-imposed fees, declining investments, and weak consumer confidence, it was very reassuring to see that a majority of property and business owners Downtown have confidence in the work of the DVO," said Executive Director Rob Edwards.

I'VE REALLY BEEN ROOTING for this plan to pass. Our unique Downtown is a thriving entertainment center which sets us apart from the cookie-cutter retail in nearby cities. Most of the businesses are locally owned and operated. The city gave the DVO some seed money from its redevelopment agency to hire a director and jumpstart activities, but those funds are nearly gone.

Since its inception over three years ago, the DVO has become a dynamic, nationally-recognized organization. In the past year it has won multiple advertising awards and was named Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce. The passage of the PBID will keep this momentum going.

The assessments will be collected by the county and turned over to the non-profit PBID board of directors for use. This group, made up of both property owners and Downtown business owners, will decide how to spend the money per the management plan that was approved by the council in March. In five years, the PBID will sunset and it is up to the property owners to determine if it is working and whether or not to renew it.

"Those that have been paying attention to the incremental, but positive changes Downtown realize that our work needs to continue to stabilize property values. And that would not happen without a funded operation with one full-time director," Edwards said.

"This is a very modest budget in a very small district but we will certainly deliver even more upgrades to the neighborhood than we have in our start-up phase these past two years."

Congratulations to the DVO on their hard work in laying the groundwork for this plan and helping to nurture an economic center for our city

THE STORE BELOVED by Generation X and Y is headed for Downtown Ventura. Urban Outfitters will move in right next door to my favorite coffee and gelato spot, Palermo, at 327 E. Main St.

Kudos go to Mark Hartley, who owns the building and brokered a tough deal with the national clothing retailer to get them to sign on the dotted line. It will be a big boost to our Downtown, which is quickly becoming a favored shopping destination. Hartley, along with business partner Jim Rice, also owns the new Watermark restaurant. Hartley's partner in the Urban Outfitters building is Mike Hernandez of Real Investments. We are very lucky to have citizens like these who have invested heavily in our local economy and have played a large part in the renaissance of our Downtown.

As a big proponent of the "shop local" motto, I must admit that my occasional forays out of town to shop have usually been to the Urban Outfitters in Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara. My daughter loves their clothing and can poke through the bins and racks of this uniquely merchandized establishment for hours.

Luckily, they have comfy couches for tired moms and silly books to read.

I texted my daughter this morning to let her know the news and I got back an obviously excited "Yessssssssss!"

I think she's happy.

In this down economy, it doesn't take a lot to perk us up.

THE DOWNTOWN VENTURA ORGANIZATION has easily sprinted over the first hurdle in its efforts to establish a Property-Based Business Improvement District. According to DVO Director Rob Edwards, more than 50 percent of the Downtown property owners have already returned petitions indicating they are in favor of the idea, the threshold needed to proceed.

As I explained in an earlier entry, a PBID allows a group of property owners to assess themselves a little more through their property tax bills. The money is collected by the county and returned to the non-profit group formed by the stakeholders to oversee expenditures in the district it covers.

It could be put to a myriad of uses such as security, clean-up, street plantings, signage, group marketing efforts or even special events designed to attract more customers Downtown. While the city provided one-time redevelopment agency money to the DVO for start-up costs, an ongoing funding source is needed. Since its inception three years ago, the DVO hired a director and has become a dynamic, nationally-recognized organization. In the past year it has won multiple advertising awards and was named Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

Our Downtown has blossomed under these efforts which are helping us gain a reputation as a tourist destination and not just a quick stop between Malibu and Santa Barbara.

Next up are public hearings on the PBID and ratification by the City Council. It then goes through a ballot process and Downtown property owners make the final decision. The PBID sunsets after five years at which time the stakeholders can choose whether or not to renew.

The plan has the full backing of our Chamber of Commerce.

Although it is not a done deal yet, Edwards said the quick and positive response from property owners is a good sign.

THE IDEA OF PARKING METERS Downtown didn't thrill me at first. It brought to mind the time I raced through downtown Monterey dragging two small, cranky children only to find the meter had expired and a ticket was already sitting on my windshield.

But today's high-tech parking meters are a little different. The new WiFi-enabled, solar-powered variety allow you to pay with a credit card for unlimited time or you can remotely put extra time on your parking spot from any meter in the network. Some of them even call your cell phone if your time is expired.

The idea behind the meters Downtown is to allow turnover and provide spaces to people who need to get in and out of the coveted nearby slots quickly.

The idea grew on me the day I needed to get a surfboard worked on at Wet Sand Downtown and had to park nearly in Oxnard because it was so crowded. As I walked blocks and blocks with a longboard, taking down pedestrians in my wake, the idea of being able to find nearby parking seemed quite appealing.

The Downtown Ventura Organization is gung-ho on this idea. Not only will it allow turnover, but any net revenues could go to extra police, maintenance, landscaping, a new parking structure, benches and signs Downtown.

The City Council voted Monday night to officially establish a plan to install the meters on spaces on Main and side streets which are currently 85 percent utilized. Residents would receive special permits. The parking structure and lots would still be free.

Interestingly, the plan is being paid for indirectly by the City of Oxnard. Ventura is paid traffic mitigation fees from the River Park development and a loan will come from this fund.

AND ON ANOTHER FRONT: The council ended the rental housing inspection fee brouhaha quickly last night with a vote to simply shift building inspectors from the city's Construction Permits program into the City's Code Enforcement program with the goal of reducing substandard housing in general. This is a good idea, since building has slowed across town due to the bad economy. Cost recovery for the program would be paid through an already established fine system for rental code violators.

Landlords packed Council chambers in December complaining about several of the alternatives of a plan to regulate one- to three-unit rentals, which are now entirely exempt from taxes. I covered this issue in more detail in a past entry.

City staff acknowledged their lack of finesse in handling this matter, which brought out 47 speakers to a recent meeting, including the usual suspects who this time accused city staff of trying to force senior citizens out of their houses through the proposed program.

"SHOP LOCAL!" The cry goes out every holiday season from chambers of commerce and city officials everywhere. And the reasoning is sound. By spending your money locally you are not only investing in your city's infrastructure through your tax dollars but also keeping your friends and neighbors employed.

It seems like a no brainer to me. But I recently read a letter to the editor which quibbled with that bit of wisdom. "It's a tough economic world out there right now, and while merchants' struggles to compete are hurtful to watch, we are all guarding our money and looking for the best deals," the writer said.

Are we all really that cavalier about our neighbors' business establishments? Is the Mom and Pop becoming an endangered species in a world of big retail chains and Internet discounts? Two local retail fixtures in our town, Adventures for Kids and Bonnie's, have recently called it quits and the owner of at least one of those stores said the Internet and a large chain store contributed to her store's demise.

ON THE OTHER END of the spectrum are the shoppers who don't mind traveling to Thousand Oaks or Santa Barbara for a more upscale and decidedly wallet-thumping experience.

Not long ago, several friends and I went on a road trip to worship on the altar of the new Nordstrom in Thousand Oaks. The opening of that store has generated much excitement among the retail therapy crowd. Nordstrom's shoe department, especially, is spoken about with hushed reverence among some women I know.

It was a good female bonding experience. And while we greatly admired the $495 pair of Burberry shoes, the $1,200 fox-and-cashmere sweater and runway-styled fitting rooms, only I left with a purchase and it was under $75.

I haven't been back.

Many Nordstrom fans wondered why it didn't instead open in Ventura in the space now occupied by the new Target. The issue is demographics, said Alice Love, the mall's marketing manager. High-end stores look at the average incomes of the local residents, she explained. "We just haven't hit their mark."

Target decided to open at Pacific View after seeing the success of the Main Street store, Love said. Both stores are doing well, she added. The Pacific View Target carries more household items and is fashion-oriented. The Main Street store has a garden center.

Long vacant, the north end of the mall is being actively shopped to several retailers, Love and city officials have all confirmed, but they remain tight-lipped on just who. "I can't say until the lease is signed, sealed and delivered," she said.

And how has retail traffic been this holiday season? "Compared to last year, it's been pretty flat," Love said. "But retailers have new strategies to deal with this economy." Shopping local keeps your neighbors employed, Love said. And many franchise businesses at Pacific View are locally owned and operated, she reminded me.

MORE OFTEN THAN NOT I find myself shopping at the unique locally owned boutiques Downtown. On a recent trip my daughter and I found bargains at the new Rag Doll on Main Street, where owner Alisa Hoganson showed us the feathered headbands she makes herself and sells at a fraction of what a pricey teen-age boutique in The Oaks charges. She also designs her own clothing which she soon hopes to feature in her store.

"Locally owned establishments probably make up well over 95 percent of the businesses Downtown," Rob Edwards, director of the Downtown Ventura Organization, told me. "We have just a few chain restaurants and only one nationally known retailer."

The DVO has spent a considerable amount of time and energy sprucing up the neighborhood for the season. Property owners chipped in to buy eight new benches and new holiday banners. They've installed new refuse and recycling bins.

"The streets are repaved after nine long months of construction and the icing on the cake is our new festival lighting -- festive strands of flame-tip bulbs that require very little energy but have a vintage European feel," Edwards said. They will remain on the palm trees year-round.

Shopping Downtown is a civic duty, the always-enthusiastic Edwards maintains. "These business owners live next door to you and donate to our local non-profit charities at a much higher frequency than corporations headquartered out of state," Edwards said. "Ergo, your dollars are recycled back into the community when you purchase your holiday gifts from the locals -- and the service is usually much more attentive in my experience," he added.

Saving local jobs, bargains, one-of-a-kind gifts, and better service to boot. So, to our Scrooge-like letter-to-the-editor writer I ask: Why would you go anywhere else?

Special note: I've been asked by a friend to add that the Christmas tree lot Downtown at California and Thompson is donating part of their proceeds to the Police Activities League, a very worthy cause. Happy holidays!

WE'VE TAKEN ONE MORE big step toward shedding our image as a "cow town," as one former local politician once dubbed Ventura. We now have our own Film Festival. And it's shaping up to be quite an event.

The event will run March 27-29, 2009 at the reconstituted Elks Lodge in Ventura, a venue which is part of Project Encore's efforts to revitalize both our Downtown and enhance our local arts scene. Two screening rooms will be set up there.

"We're trying to elevate this concept of home-grown festival, but it's not an amateur thing," explained festival organizer Lorenzo DeStefano, who is himself a filmmaker. "It's trying to blend local voices with global visions," he said.

I've posted a preview on top from one of the festival's featured filmmakers, Andrew Huang, a Los Angeles video artist. It's a nice piece of work. He's a USC film school graduate and hugely creative. "Doll Face" has received more than 2 million hits on YouTube. He'll be on hand to explain his vision along with the other featured filmmakers.

Another interesting entry is a film called "The Women's Kingdom," about a matriarchal society in China. Now this one really caught my attention!

THE FESTIVAL IS ALSO giving local filmmakers a chance to showcase their work, DeStefano said. The work of Brooks Institute students will be featured, plus "we're encouraging other people who aren't filmmakers to tell their stories on film," he said. These folks will be working with CAPS-TV's production capabilities.

The event has a pretty stellar lineup of locals behind it, too, people who are very good at getting things done in our town. I wish them much success and hope it becomes an annual event. DeStefano is also hoping to launch a Ventura Film Society from it.

As with any other event, it takes money to put it on, so the Ventura Film Festival is planning a fundraiser for this Sunday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. at the Candlelight Kitchen & Bar, 211 E. Santa Clara St., in Ventura. A $20 suggested donation will be taken at the door. Students with I.D. are $10. The event will feature previews of the festival lineup, guest directors and speakers, food, drink and a silent auction. Ojai/Ventura singer songwriter Emy Reynolds will entertain. For more information please visit www.venturafilmfest.com

"People are really geared up," DeStefano said, "I think Sunday's going to be something else."



I'VE BEEN AN ENTHUSIASTIC supporter of the Working Artists Ventura (WAV) Project Downtown since I went to the first fundraiser for the development several years ago. It encompasses everything Ventura needs right now: a tourist attraction, a cultural center and performing arts space, both affordable and upscale living, new retail plus aid for homeless families -- all in one green, innovative, and beautifully designed package. It's just plain cool.

So I was really happy yesterday to trail along on the project director's first official tour since the West Ventura development began construction. Wearing hardhats and dodging construction debris, we listened to Chris Velasco excitedly rattle off some of the development's amenities.

"This artists' community is one of a kind," Velasco said. "There's nothing else like it anywhere on earth as far as I know." The project is generating worldwide interest, Velasco said. (As an aside, today I talked to Jerry Breiner, the broker handling sales of the project's market-rate penthouse condominiums. He is also finding interest is high in the WAV. "Every day I get at least two to three inquiries," he said.)

Among the tidbits I picked up on the tour:
• A fiber optic system will run through the complex with cameras hooked up to various artists' studios, allowing them to be filmed while working. The video will be shown in the ground-floor cafes.
• An enormous solar-collection sculpture will be placed on the roof which will provide energy to the building as well as shade for theater patrons.
• The 99-seat performing arts theater will have retractable seats which can be adjusted for smaller audiences and folded up entirely for large art exhibits.
• The outdoor area will have a garden and Wi-Fi plus space for artists who need to do their work outside. The artist's quarters near this area will have garage-like doors which will roll up and down to allow studio access.
• If all goes well, the first residents will move in Sept. 1 with the rest in by mid October.
• There will be 15 residences for homeless families. "We're trying to do something to help end homelessness and like everything else we have a state-of-the art solution," Velasco said. The rents will be offered on a sliding scale and Project Understanding will coordinate all social services. Some space will be reserved for young people just emerging from the foster care system.
• The non-profit in charge of the project will ensure the rents remain fairly stable and affordable. The retail rent will also be below market, Velasco said. "We want to go out and hand pick who we think will be a good fit for this project."
• Construction was slowed by the tremendous amount of water that flowed beneath the project, Velasco said, which added to the project's costs. A million gallons of water a day were pumped out from beneath the project for four months. This water was treated and released.

I will continue to provide updates on the WAV as it progresses.

One of my favorite rules to live by: Unless you go out of your way to spend time with those whose experiences and opinions are very different than your own you will never truly broaden your perspective on the world.

This concept is also the theme of the upcoming One City Family Thanksgiving Celebration this Thursday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Ventura. It's a commingling of people from all walks of life merged in one spot to pass the gravy and share camaraderie and turkey legs.

Designed to put a spotlight on the city's homelessness issues, it is more than the traditional Thanksgiving "soup kitchen" approach where community leaders typically don aprons for the day to serve an underprivileged population.

"We're reaching beyond the local homeless population and into the community as a whole. We sit together. We share a meal. We share a table," said Jesse Giglio, the event's coordinator.

The day is being planned by the Faith Communities Subcommittee of the Ventura Social Services Task Force (VSSTF). Ten different churches have stepped up to help and another 20 are in the network, Giglio said. The VSSTF is a community-based organization with a goal of ending homelessness in the city of Ventura. It's a big task, no doubt, as the economy worsens, jobs are lost and social services are cut and stretched.

The faith-based and greater volunteer community will be called upon to do even more. But finding the dollars and manpower to help is not easy unless the great need is communicated. And this is an effort to do just that, Giglio said. "It's an awareness and education event as well as a celebration event."

IF THE OUTPOURING OF HELP for "One City" is any indication, Venturans are up for the task. "It's spread to the far reaches of the community," Giglio said. In addition to the churches and local temple, many individual businesses and families have contributed money and food. The new Watermark restaurant Downtown is cooking and serving all the side dishes.

Giglio said he and his volunteers are preparing enough food to feed 600 people. The day will also include live music, a communal art project, plus inflatable jumpers and craft activities for children.

It's clear this group intends to make its efforts last beyond just one day of thanks. The group's next event is "One City, One Weekend, One Fund" set for Feb. 14-17. Details will be forthcoming.

Everyone in the city of Ventura is invited to the free first annual One City Family Thanksgiving Celebration as long as the food lasts. It will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 36 Figueroa St. (behind Pierano's/Jonathan's at 100 Main Street). Interested volunteers and other helpers should call Jesse Giglio, Community Life Pastor, Ventura Missionary Church, at 642-0550 ext. 376, or email jessegiglio@gmail.com.

IN THE ANNALS OF Ventura history, there is likely nothing odder than the back-story of Cemetery Park on Main Street Downtown. Established in 1862, the cemetery once sat on the very edge of town before the city sprawled eastward. The site is the final resting place of more than 2,000 people.

You'd never know that by looking at it today. It now functions as a public park with only occasional small, flat markers indicating it was ever a proper cemetery. It's become a gathering space for families and lots of Frisbee-tossing dog owners. I often drive visitors by the spot and point out that while the headstones are gone, the bodies still remain in the ground, a tidbit which nearly always elicits a look of disbelief.

How the resting place of some of Ventura's founding fathers and mothers got to this stage probably ranks as one of the city's more controversial decisions. The church-owned cemetery, filled to capacity in the 1940s, began falling into disrepair over the years, much to the dismay of nearby property owners. A large hedge, planted to cover up the spectacle, did little to appease neighbors.

Years of vandalism took its toll until 1963 when the city, by now the owner of the property, decided -- with only a bit of public outcry -- to convert it to a public park. Bodies resting in mausoleums were moved underground, relatives who could be located were give the option of moving their deceased ancestors and/or collecting the headstones. Flat markers were placed at the request of some family members.

The monuments were unceremoniously moved to a city storage yard and arranged in alphabetical order for relatives to collect. But over the years it became a popular high school prank to steal the headstones and cart them off as grim trophies. Now, many years later, they still pop up from time to time in odd places.

Finally, the unclaimed stones were ground up and used to fill a levee near the Olivas Park Golf Course.

GIVEN THIS CHECKERED history, it is no wonder local residents have clamored for a respectable ending to this resting place for people who have Ventura streets named after them. Finally a plan has emerged that may appeal to everyone, but paying for it in these tight financial times is the difficult part. The city is hoping for help in the form of grants and private donations, Mayor Christy Weir said.

"Since most grant funding will only pay construction costs -- and not design fees -- the city has taken the initial steps necessary to become eligible for available funding by designing a plan for improvements to the park," she said.

But neighbors, who now enjoy the open, restful spot, have complained about the addition of perhaps 2,000 flat brass markers to the site and wonder how recreation and memorials can co-exist. Others in the community say it never should have been made into a public park in the first place and should be fenced off and restored as a cemetery. A map to the gravesites with names still exists.

The new plan also includes refurbished landscaping and repairs to the historic WPA cobblestone retaining wall, a veterans' memorial path and flagpole, original headstones inset into a memorial wall and a memorial garden, which will make it a more pleasant public space.

"The plan is to gather whatever headstones still exist to use them in the memorial wall," Weir said. "We're trying to restore the history and dignity that was lost when the park conversion took place."

The city is hoping to get more public input on the plan on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, 1555 Poli St. The proposed plans are posted at the park, and are also online at the city's Web site.

GRANT PARK, HIGH ABOVE Downtown Ventura, has to be one of the most underutilized and picturesque parks in the city. Many people visit the Father Serra Cross area for its scenic views and religious significance, yet there remain vast areas of the park which are undeveloped. The city's plans for Grant Park have languished for years and now in these fiscally conservative times have been put off indefinitely.

But if the volunteers of the Ventura Botanical Garden, Inc. get their wish, Grant Park could be a showplace. The group, which has 200 charter members, has spent the last few years getting their 501 (c) 3 non-profit status together and shopping for a site. They settled on 10 acres of Grant Park just recently, said the group's spokesperson Midge Stork.

"It's going to be a showplace for Ventura if we really get it right," she said.

The project is just in its conceptual infancy, Stork said, but the plan is to lease the land from the city and build it in phases. The garden could eventually include redwoods, native and exotic species, a tram, gift shop, amphitheater and a site for weddings.

"These things aren't going to happen overnight but they are on our dream list," Stork said.

The new botanical garden will tie into the beautification effort already planned by the non-profit Serra Cross Conservancy, which maintains the acre of land surrounding the Cross. An ambitious project is already planned for that spot with a scenic walking and strolling area and a tree-shaded seating area with a fountain.

BOTH PROJECTS WILL NEED eager private benefactors. And both will feature numerous naming opportunities with plaques and other memorials. The next step will be to come up with conceptual drawings and present the plans to the various city commissions and eventually the City Council. Nearby neighbors will also be consulted, Stork said. "It's better to be proactive."

In the mean time, the group has a smaller project in mind: the seeding of an area above City Hall late this month to encourage a carpet of wildflowers in the spring. Donors to that project are being sought.

These public-private partnerships with volunteer elbow grease may be the best way to tackle underfunded civic projects in a down economy. Luckily Ventura has no shortage of enthusiastic volunteers.

Note: If anybody would like to donate to or volunteer for the Botanical Garden effort, send an email to my address at top and I will forward your contact information to the group.