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Why
we’re here: Our Mission Statement
The
goal of the Downtown Ventura Organization is to create a vibrant
commercial/cultural district with strategic capital improvements,
enhanced maintenance and security, effective marketing and promotions,
education and administration.
Who
we are
Downtown Ventura Organization (DVO) started as a small
group of concerned community members holding weekly meetings with
the hope of developing a long lasting Downtown Organization; an
organization that will bring merchants, property owners, residents,
developers and city staff together to do what’s best for Downtown
Ventura.
This
small group conducted an in-depth survey, which was sent to over
500 downtown business owners. Once the survey was completed, a town-hall
type meeting was held to discuss the survey results and the future
of Downtown Ventura. The two major concerns that came out of the
survey and meeting were the issues of cleanliness and safety. What
followed was a renewed interest to make those improvements downtown.
A representative group that formed out of that meeting elected a
Board of Directors from those who showed interest in moving this
group forward.
The
Organization and What We Want to Accomplish
The
Main Street Approach™ is a downtown management program developed
by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It has been implemented
in historic downtowns across the country. The DVO is using this
approach, and has developed Main Street’s™ four recommended
sub-committees:
- Administration
and Organization
- Promotion
-
Design and Operation
- Economic
Restructuring
Establishing
by-laws, a three-year work plan and budget has been a priority for
DVO. It is clear one of the first issues that must be addressed
is hiring a full-time director to help DVO continue to develop a
successful organization. Using the existing volunteer board and
others, the director will help develop a membership base, work on
funding sources and begin to implement the goals of the organization.
DVO
has already received approximately $25,000 in donations to help
fund ongoing Downtown activities including the Downtown Police Storefront
rent, new rope lighting on palm trees, Christmas decorations and
enhanced landscaping. We have also sponsored two well-attended public
meetings and a downtown Clean-Up Day.
DVO’s goals for the future are:
- Create
a cohesive, proactive and sustainable organization.
-
Improve the appearance, security, design and overall operation
of downtown.
-
Strengthen and expand the economic vitality of downtown.
-
Promote a positive image of downtown through marketing and events.
For
more information, or to volunteer for a committee, please email
us here.
To
achieve the vision cited above, development of a sustainable community
based management organization to guide Downtown's revitalization
has been a goal of Ventura's Redevelopment Agency (RDA), the new
Downtown Specific Plan, and a focused General Plan economic development
strategy established by the City. In a major step towards realizing
this goal, On October 9th, the RDA approved funding the Downtown
Ventura Organization (DVO) in the amount of $150,000 in the first
year, $250,000 in year two, and $100,000 in year three. The monies
come from the DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT TAX INCREMENT AREA
and under California Redevelopment Law are restricted solely
for RDA planning and implementation activities within the Downtown.
The funds cannot be used to provide City services like Police, Fire,
or Public Works. In that light, the DVO is perfectly poised to use
the restricted RDA funding only to provide services to facilitate
Downtown RDA Projects and to implement Downtown Specific Plan Actions.
The DVO will hire full-time staff and establish permanent sources
of funding to carry their work forward. The full text of the Memorandum
of Understanding as well as our work plan, proposed budget and bylaws
can be found here
at the City Site.
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