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| Ventura
County Civic Alliance
Livable
Communities Newsletter |
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2010 4th
Quarter, Number 16
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November 2010 |
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Quick
Links
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See the New FW Focus
6 Minute Film on the Compelling Reasons for Building Sustainable
Communities
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Welcome to
Our Fall 2010 Livable Communities
Newsletter!!
We think that you
will find this edition of our newsletter one of the best yet for
clearly bringing a vision of livable communities into
focus.
We start
our articles with a fascinating presentation by guest
writer Anthony Perez of Raimi + Associates that focuses how
to understand the fit of a new project into an
existing neighborhood in clear and common sense language and
concepts. This is a powerful work of simplification in a very
confusing area of planning that needs to be read from beginning to
end!!
Next, through
description and renderings, Dao Doan of Main Street Architects
gives us an exciting glimpse of a Thousand Oaks Boulevard of the
future. After decades of failed attempts, the City
of Thousand Oaks is confident that something is going to happen
this time to significantly improve Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Now
you can see why!
In our third report
Stacy Roscoe shares convincing data from the 19th Annual Ventura
County Housing Conference which indicates that the
shift from sprawling single family housing to mixed use and higher
density might be what the market place of the future needs and
wants, not just a
necessity to sacrifice and cut-back for the benefit of society and
the environment.
Finally, Bob Warnagieris
updates us on the progress of the developing Ventura City Bikeway
Master Plan that is intended to be an identifiable and sustained
component of the City's efforts to promote a "green" philosophy, to
reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, and to lessen the costs
of devoting more funds and real estate for automobile
parking.
Let us know what
you think about this quarter's coverage and what you would like to
see discussed in future editions.
Stacy Roscoe and Dao
Doan
 
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That Building doesn't fit!
By guest writer
Anthony Perez
Buildings do more than contain
area and provide space for their occupants. How a building is
designed and where it is located on a lot have much to do with
whether or not the building is a good or not so good neighbor. But
the current rules, including the allowed density, height limit,
building envelope and the floor-area-ratio, don't help the building
to be a good neighbor because those regulations don't know what
that means. Such regulations are focused on measuring
quantity.
There is a need to think more practically
about how to make buildings of the appropriate size to fit in to
their particular settings. How do you do that? You start by
identifying buildings of the scale, not simply height,
that fit in with the neighborhood. 'Fitting in' means simply that
the building fits the characteristics of what will be its neighbors
or it doesn't.
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There
is a future for Thousand Oaks Boulevard
By
Dao Doan
Over time, Thousand Oaks
has evolved into a large satellite suburb of Los Angeles, about
forty five minutes north of its center. Many
residents commute daily to work in the LA region.
While very affluent, Thousand Oaks is one of the few cities in
Ventura County without an "old" downtown to serve as civic "heart",
the way Ventura Blvd in Old Town is to Camarillo, Main Street is to
Ventura, 'A' Street is to Oxnard, and Central Ave is to
Fillmore.
 
A town center with strong civic
character provides residents with a key place to gather for formal
and informal occasions. It is where they come to
enjoy eating out or to catch the latest theater show.
The City has Thousand Oaks Blvd instead serving as its main
"artery", a thoroughfare that all residents can quickly identify by
name. It dissects the city's center through its
east-west direction. Yet in lieu of a 'Main Street'
type boulevard, a mismatch of strip commercial developments fronted
by parking lots currently lines much of the length of the
Boulevard. With fast traffic, it is hardly a
pedestrian or bike-friendly environment.
However, faint traces of an earlier
urban time, albeit on a very small scale, can still be found
scattered along the Boulevard. One can see commercial
buildings here and there bearing forms and patterns of an earlier
village-scale urbanism: low buildings coming right to the back of
the side walk, and old fashioned storefronts with attractive
displays of merchandise trying to invite customers in for a
look. However, those remnants of a past "urban glory"
have been taken over by the onslaught of commercial strip
development.
See what changes are envisioned
with a proposed new Specific Plan
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 Doesn't
Everyone Really Want the American Dream
Single Family
Home?
By
Stacy A. Roscoe
For
years we have been talking about livable communities as a solution
to problems caused by suburban sprawl. There have been very good
arguments offered as to why the single family home that we know
today should be displaced as the primary form of housing in the
next decade. In spite of the soundness of these arguments, I sense
that many of us wonder if this discussion is based more on a
perceived need to sacrifice and cut-back rather than a legitimate
market response to what people actually prefer for their place to
live. After all, doesn't everyone really want the American
dream single family home? After attending this year's Annual
Ventura County Housing Conference, I walked away understanding that
the shift from sprawling single family housing to mixed use and
higher density might truly be what the market place of the
future needs and wants.
Here are some facts from the
conference that help shed light on this issue.
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Ventura
on Track to Become a "Bicycle Friendly" City
By Bob
Warnagieris
The
City of San Buenaventura is nearing completion of its 2010 Bikeway
Master Plan. Approval by the Planning Commission and the City
Council will be the final steps in a multiyear effort to develop a
plan for improvement of a bicycle pathway network that will serve
all classes, from the casual rider to the commuter.
The
Bikeway Master Plan will be an identifiable and sustained component
of the City's efforts to promote a "green" philosophy, to reduce
the emissions of greenhouse gases and lessen the costs of devoting
more funds and real estate for automobile parking. The
comprehensive plan provides for additional bikeway lanes,
facilities for bike parking and storage, educational and
recreational programs.
Read more about the benefits of
Ventura's Bikeway Master Plan.
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 The Southern California Gas Company Supports the Civic
Alliance
The
Ventura County Civic Alliance recognizes Southern California Gas
Company as our latest Visionary Sponsor. We appreciate their
support for our Compact Phase II project which combines the efforts
of VCOG, VCTC, VCAPCD, SCAG and the Civic Alliance to look at
long-term sustainability issues in the region. Thank you!
Look for a full report on the status of Phase II of the
Compact in our February 2011 edition of the Livable Communities
Newsletter
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