Compact for a Sustainable Ventura County

1
Compact for a Sustainable Ventura County

• A project of the Ventura County Civic Alliance
  and the Ventura Council of Governments

2
What is the Civic Alliance?
The mission of the Ventura County Civic Alliance
is to promote a healthy and sustainable future
for the Ventura County region
3
3
About the Civic Alliance

• Initiative of the Ventura County Community
  Foundation
• Launched in 2001
• Participants from throughout Ventura County
• Blends 3Es Economy, Environment, Social Equity

4
Strategies to Create a Better Future

• Promote Livable Community Models
• Prepare Ventura County Workforces for a
  Knowledge Economy
• Build a Compact for a Sustainable Ventura County

5
What is a Compact?

• A process by which citizens, governments, and
  stakeholders identify collaborative solutions to
  shared challenges
• A statement of goals, policies and standards
• Collectively negotiated
• Voluntarily adopted by the jurisdictions in a
  region

6
Ventura County has already benefited from
regional thinking and planning

• 1969 Guidelines for Orderly Development
• 1970s Regional Land Use Program
• 1980s Countywide Planning Program
• 1980s 1990s Six greenbelt agreements
• 1995 2001 SOAR initiatives in 8 cities and
  the County

7
Why a Ventura County Compact?

• Need for a long-term vision
• Foster a sense of shared responsibility
• Develop a spirit of regional cooperation
• Build trust and understanding across diverse
  sectors
• Establish a process of continuing dialog
• Develop a commitment to action
• Help create a sustainable future

8
Learning from others Process leads to results.
9
The Compact will be a tall challenge, but we can
do it

• Process needs to be
• Inclusive
• Engaging
• Efficient
• Productive

10
Its all about whats right.

• Better balanced housing choices
• Future for agriculture
• Improved transportation options
• Clean air and clean water
• Protected open space and wildlife habitats
• A healthy economy and improved economic
  opportunities for all citizens

11
Compact Guiding Principles

• Sustain agriculture
• Maintain adequate and affordable housing at all
  income levels
• Build an effective multi-modal transportation
  system
• Protect open space and natural resources and
  conserve energy and other nonrenewable resources
• Develop a diversified and competitive economy
• Stimulate public education and action on
  sustainability issues

12
Four Key Questions

• Where are we now? (Phase 1)
• Where are we going? (Phase 1)
• Where do we want to be? (Phase 2)
• How do we get there? (Phase 3)

13
Phase 1 Identifying alternative futures

• Collect data and develop range of plausible
  future scenarios
• Identify goals and policy options
• Gather and analyze public input on preliminary
  scenario options
• Identify areas of convergence and divergence in
  defining a preferred future scenario

14
2007 Phase 1 Workshop

• 135 participants
• 19 visions mapped
• Identifying key goals and principles
• Locating housing, jobs, and transportation for
  projected 2030 population growth

15
Each map was digitized
Composite Map
16
And a composite map created
17
Recurrent themes from workshop

• Minimal SOAR boundary expansion
• Focused town or city centers surrounded by
  compact neighborhoods
• Focused around existing transportation and
  transit infrastructure
• Emphasis on open space and habitat preservation

18
Trade-offHousing Mix
Future growth more dense than existing
19
Survey Findings

• Survey results
• Respondents overwhelmingly preferred to focus
  growth in existing urban areas
• 48 said convert some vacant commercial areas to
  housing

20
Survey Findings

• Overwhelming support for creating and
  publicly-funding a county-wide Open Space
  District (78)
• Water Quality and Wildlife Corridors Habitat
  were ranked as the highest priority issues for a
  Open Space District

21
Project Priorities

• 4 Main Issues of Regional Concern

• What to do with future Ventura County growth
• Protection of its environmental and agricultural
  heritage,
• Preservation of housing affordability and choice,
  and
• Maintaining an efficient and equitable
  transportation system.

22
Options for Managing Growth

• Renewal of SOAR boundaries
• General plan density adjustments
• Infrastructure concurrency requirements
• Land capacity monitoring and management
• Expansion of growth boundaries

23
Options for Protecting Agriculture and the
Environment

• Direct purchase of land or conservation easements
• Transfer of Development Right (TDR) system
• Regulatory protections, e.g., agricultural
  buffers, habitat restoration requirements, storm
  water management requirements

24
Options to Address Housing Needs

• Inclusionary housing zoning ordinances
• Jobs/housing linkage fee
• Adjustments to city zoning regulations to allow
  well-designed medium-density infill and mixed-use
  housing
• Density bonuses
• Expedited entitlement and permitting for
  affordable and workforce housing projects

25
Meeting Transportation Needs

• Land-use/transportation connection
• Guiding Principles
• Accessibility vs. mobility
• Policy options

26
Phase 2 of the Compact Project

• In-depth regional discussion of four key topics
• Development and analysis of policy options
• Drafting of a collaborative regional agreement on
  vision, principles, goals and actions
• Continuing partnership with VCOG, broadening
  involvement of cities and county, businesses and
  community organizations

27
Regional challenges demand a collaborative
approach

• A Compact is
• Negotiated
• Comprehensive
• Voluntary
• Responsive to local and regional needs

28
We need your help

• Advisory and working group members
• Staff support for data collection, policy
  analysis and review
• Outreach
• Fundraising

29
Getting to Sustainability

• The Compact is only a start
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Cradle to grave recycling
• Sustainable agriculture and regional food
  systems
• Green building, green neighborhoods
• Green business development
• Environmental justice and social equity

30
Compact for a Sustainable Ventura County

• A project of the Ventura County Civic Alliance
  and the Ventura Council of Governments