Ventura County Civic Alliance > Projects > Compact Phase 2

Compact Phase 2

The goal of Phase 2 is to create a set of Principles of Agreement that will shape the future of the region.

A Proposed Agreement of the Compact Principles, please contact us for comments or questions.

a. Solicit community input about Ventura County’s future and prepare a series of scenarios that reflect the range of that input. In September of 2009 a series of “Map the Future” workshops were conducted around the County attended by interested residents and a few non-residents who work in the County. The basic premise that all groups were given was the assumption that one day Ventura County will reach a population of 1,000,000 persons, and that we have the opportunity today to decide how to accommodate the additional 170,000. Participants worked in small groups, each group preparing a map that reflected their collective ideas for where housing and jobs should locate, which open space and agriculture should be preserved, and what transportation facilities should be constructed. Over the next few months, the consultant digitized each of the 47 small group maps, organized and digested the information into a series of 3 scenarios, each of which had the same population and same number of housing units and jobs, and had SCAG run its transportation model for each scenario.

b. Educate stakeholders and residents about the implications of the scenarios, and gather and compile more refined input. Each of the three scenarios was presented along with critical background information at a series of public forums and in meetings with community groups. (Mass media, social media, and interactive web-based tools were also used to inform and engage.) The scenarios were presented not as competing alternative futures, but as representatives of different principles and values about how Ventura County should develop from today forward. After essential background information was presented on population trends, jobs, congestion, energy use, oil depletion, etc, participants were asked a series of carefully crafted survey questions about the values that they hold with respect to open space, transportation, jobs, housing availability, and the financing of improvements. At the forums participants used keypad polling devices to vote their preferences; participants at community meetings may have filled out written questionnaires and online participants submitted their survey answers electronically. The use of keypad devices allowed participants to vote anonymously, but also to get immediate feedback on how the room voted as a whole.

c. Define which policies and actions will achieve the vision and are publically-acceptable. Input received at the forums, community meetings, and online, is now being used to establish the key policies and standards that will form the basis of the Principles of Agreement. A compilation of the survey results from the forums, community meetings and website was presented to the Steering Committee, along with the first draft of the Principles of Agreement.

More about Phase II Compact

Phase 2 began in mid-2009, and will wrap up in Fall of 2010. Funding for this phase has again been provided by SCAG, and has been augmented by new grants to the Alliance for public outreach from Common Sense California and Southern California Gas Company, along with core support for the Civic Alliance by the Community Foundation. In Phase 2, the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) have joined VCOG, SCAG, and the Alliance as partners in the project and as Steering Committee participants. The Steering Committee’s work has been assisted by VCTC/VCOG staff and by the City-County Planners Association (CCPA). The consultant leading this effort is Ted Knowlton of The Planning Center.

AB 32

A large impact in this process was the passing of AB 32.  There was great discussion and resolution of concerns about the relationship of the Compact to the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) required by AB 32. This discussion resulted in a rewrite of the Phase 2 Scope of Work.

Ted Knowlton, AICP of the Planning Center (second from top of photo) is providing professional services in the effort to build a long-range vision and agreements for Ventura County. Mr. Knowlton was heavily involved in similar efforts around the U.S.: the “Chicago Metropolis 2030 Plan”, “Blueprint Denver”, and “Envision Utah”, where he remained as planning director for five years after the compact (or agreement) was forged.

County Supervisor Linda Parks, (second from left), and Ventura Mayor Pro Tem Bill Fulton, (far right), were among the elected and appointed officials and Civic Alliance members who rolled up their sleeves to plan for citizen and stakeholder involvement at the April 30, 2009 Compact Phase 2 organizational meeting.