Highlighted Tenet: Foster “Walkable” Close-Knit Neighborhoods - Walkable neighborhoods offer more than just the opportunity to walk—sidewalks are a necessity—but somewhere to walk, whether it’s the corner store, the transit stop, or a school. A compact, walkable neighborhood contributes to a sense of community because neighbors get to know each other, not just each other’s cars. In developing “neighborhood livability”, the central goal of any plan is the quality of the neighborhoods where we live. They should be safe, convenient, attractive, and affordable. Sprawl development too often forces trade-offs among these goals. Some neighborhoods are safe but not convenient. Others are convenient but not affordable. Too many affordable neighborhoods are not safe. Careful planning can help bring all these elements together and offer alternative choices to the use of cars once many community elements are within walking or biking distance. Planning can also capitalize on public transit corridors so that people don't have to walk too far between destinations and transits. Lastly, walkable, close knit neighborhoods develop into more economically diverse neighborhoods, allowing people of different means to live near each other, and make various services more available and affordable.

As an arterial, Ventura Road stretches from the edge of North Oxnard all the way to the southern border of Port Hueneme. Its busy traffic traverses numerous neighborhoods that are composed of mostly older non-descript subdivisions interspersed by strip malls at major intersections. Once past Channel Island Blvd, however, Ventura Road takes on a different character: rows of beautiful leafy eucalyptus trees line its borders, softening its edges and casting warm shadows on the asphalt paving. Just past Pleasant Valley Road, one is caught by another pleasant surprise between B and Clara Street: out of one short city block emerge new homes fronting on Ventura Road. Although new, they remind one of the traditional neighborhoods of old, with porches or stoops behind lush landscape that beckon visitors from the sidewalk. The most remarkable thing about these houses is none have garages facing the street. A quick look around the back reveals that all the garages are discreetly tucked behind the houses along common alleys. Unlike alleys of yore, these garage entrances are beautifully landscaped, rivaling even the frontage of homes in more conventional subdivisions. These alleys are well designed with a strong sense of security and safety: most have livable spaces above the garages with windows overlooking the alleys, and at night they are all well lit. This relatively new development was planned and designed according to many of the tenets that the Ventura County Civic Alliance has adopted and promoted: they are very “walkable”, not simply because the existence of sidewalks, but without garages fronting the street, they are very pedestrian friendly. Two developers, the Olson Co. and John Laing Homes, were able to provide within this small block a variety of housing choices: Olson has smaller handsome homes on narrow lots, averaging about 35 feet wide, while John Laing homes are slightly larger on wider lots. Both projects present well appointed exteriors. A drive back north to Pleasant Valley Rd, between Ponoma and 3rd Street, will reveal two short blocks of another development with similar character: traditional homes with alley loaded garages. Each dwelling comes with an accessory unit over the garage, providing the owner with a choice of a potential affordable rental unit, a separate studio, or a granny flat. These units contribute to the sense of security along the alley by providing the proverbial “eye on the street”. As in-fill development, these projects clearly have challenges. The scale of development is such that some key ingredients to form a complete compact development are missing, such as nearby mixed use commercial services to enhance the walkability, a central green where residents can gather, or more diverse home types such as courtyard homes, live/work homes, etc. However, considering the built-out nature of the surrounding neighborhood, the City of Port Hueneme deserves a loud applause for these recent efforts to promote compact and livable developments.

Public transit in Southern California may not be an impossible dream after all! The Washington Post reports that Los Angeles is on the road to fashioning one of the best public transit systems in the nation. Los Angeles is No. 2 in the nation in bus ridership and No. 3 in light rail, according to industry statistics.

Messenger Investment claims their proposed development would transform the aging industrial and commercial property into a mixed-use community of high-density housing called the Village. The updated European-style village design seeks to encourage walking, interaction among neighbors and use of mass transit.