More facts...
It seems some of the city council and staff members are working to upset the community regarding the Referendum.
I hope the following will help everyone understand what’s happening with the process.
The General Plan Land Use Element for the North Fillmore Area changed the use of the land from 76 acres of low-density residential and 23 acres of industrial/commercial mix to ALL 99 acres being low-density residential development, which is now the base zoning for the North Fillmore Area.
The city has an Overlay District for the North Fillmore Area which says that if they council wants, they can approve an Ordinance which would allow up to 894 homes in that area and that the development would be governed by a master plan. So, on July 11 that’s what the council did. They approved an ordinance okaying a master plan that would not allow more than 700 homes to be built.
What the Referendum did was to nullify that ordinance.
On September 12 the council will need to decide if they want to accept the Referendum and revert back to the base zoning of ALL 99 acres being low-density for the North Fillmore Area or do they want to hold a special election to see if you want them to go forward with the master plan and 700 homes.
Patti Walker
posted by Gayle Washburn @ 12:49 PM
22 Comments
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22 Comments:
I've noticed that stores like Target and good restaurants such as TGI Fridays are usually not found in towns with small populations. You have made it clear that you oppose large developments in Fillmore. Do you ever see stores like Target coming to Fillmore and if so, what will you do to make Fillmore an attractive market for these types of corporations?
Marc,
Welcome to Fillmoreblog! Have you been to El Pescador? They are doing great and are always packed. That is the kind of restaurant we need for Fillmore. It's owned by locals and worked by locals. Hopefully, it will produce sales tax revenue, keep local people employed and keep money in Fillmore.
I doubt that we have the size for a big box store like Target or a chain like TGI Fridays. A small town can't support the store or restaurant AND the corporate overhead.
I can't remember what the population of Santa Paula was when the Kmart went in. I would like to find out how much sales tax revenue it generates and if the city had to give them incentives.
When a Target or TGI Fridays comes in they do bring in sales tax and service jobs. But the corporation takes the biggest chunk and does not put it back in to our community.
Read more about Target here; http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-8-17/45040.html
I will post a couple of articles with links to studies that have been done showing the different economic impacts between chains and local merchants.
I do oppose the large developments in Fillmore and there are a lot of reasons. One reason is that Fillmore only has about 5 square miles of area(2.5 before SOAR). We are constrained geographically by Sespe Creek and Santa Clara River, Los Padres National Forest and greenbelts. We have one of the highest population densities in Ventura County - second to Oxnard. I don't think we need to crammed in together like sardines.
The large developments have not solved any problems for Oxnard and I believe we have a higher sales tax revenue per capita than they do. I'll have to track down the data and post it here.
Thanks for your response. And if you are elected, I hope to see more apartments in Fillmore seeing that many people like me can't afford a home. And, I pray that this election doesn't get ugly as in previous years especially in the local papers. We all don't have the same vision for the future but we all seem to love this town just the same. Thank you Gayle and I wish you the best!
Thanks for the good wishes. I wish everyone could have their own home. There are entry level homes available in Fillmore. I know they are expensive but they are still the least expensive in the County. Oxnard is building like crazy and their entry level market is still higher than ours. You know what; Oxnard does not have a community pool. I don’t know what they’ve done with the incremental tax revenues and sales tax revenues from all that growth and commercial/retail they have, but they still have lots of problems with crime, traffic and affordability.
My son lives in Denver because he can’t afford to move here. I wish he could. Having lived in another state for several years, when I hear about “affordable housing” it almost makes me laugh. It’s absurd to think that we can engineer housing to be more affordable by subsidizing with our tax dollars and asking the developers to subsidize.
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Gayle,
Wow. It sounds like you'd rather have people travel to another city to shop at Target and take all the revenue with them rather than share the revenue with Target. Is this an anti-corporate sentiment on your part or just a case of soup grapes? Please help me to understand.
Welome anonymous, I appreciate the opportunity to help you understand.
I suppose if that was the only alternative, that I would choose to share the revenue with Target, but my first choice would be for a local merchant to have the support and subsidies that most communities extend to the corporate/big box stores.
Who doesn't love to shop? I enjoy it but I don't think that is the right identity for Fillmore.
Denver - yes...the BEST shopping(if you're ever there go to Cherry Creek), but that didn't make me want to stay there. We currently don't have the demographics to support a big retailer.
Look at Ojai's per capita sales tax compared to ours - they don't have big box retailers.
Ojai $132
Fillmore $ 92
Gayle,
I understand what you are saying in theory. However, we all know that people are creatures of habit.
For someone who is used to shopping at Target (or somewhere else) it is going to be difficult to convince them that another alternative is just as good. Especially when they have the means to go to a Target in a nearby city.
How many of us have gone to several grocery stores just to get those brands that we HAVE to have?
I actually have been to Cherry Creek, and I must say that there is a HUGE difference between Cherry Creek and Target.
I guess if someone wants to shop at Target they will have to go elsewhere.
Bottom line is we don't have the population or income for a large retailer. We're going to have to make do with what we have or hope that some local entrepreneur(like Mirage) can expand.
I don't think people will move to Fillmore for the shopping. They move to Fillmore or choose to stay because it's a small town.
You are absolutely correct Gayle.
In 1978 my husband and I visited this town. We both grew up in the Los Angeles Area. Large Cities lots of Traffic, Smog and Cemment Buildings.
We both fell in love with the Small Town atmosphere of Fillmore.
So many here want to keep Fillmore this way.
As far as big Stores. We have always traveled to Target, Penney's etc.
Also we all do support our local Merchants too.
Gayle,
I'm tired of driving to the Ventura Target to buy household items at a low price compared to my only alternative (rite aid)in Fillmore. Does this mean that if you are elected, I will have to continue to drive or take the Vista bus to Ventura or take a taxi to Valencia to purchase toilet paper at the bulk rate? Just a question.
Yes, anonymous. That is probably what you will have to do.
Whether I'm elected or not I doubt that Target will ever come here. We don't have the population or the income to support a Target.
Just go to Costco and get a long term supply. I can usually find everything I need here in town. Or else I can order on the internet. Amazon.com...what we need in Fillmore is a bookstore!
I definitely agree with the bookstore idea. However, seeing that Fillmore doesn't have the demographics "right now" to support a much needed store like Target, why are you working so hard to keep these demographics unchanged? I realize that orange groves are pretty to look at and small towns can be charming, but the reality here is that their are hundreds of native origin Fillmore families who haven't left Fillmore because of strong family ties in Fillmore and close built relationships with friends. Those are the people who are waiting for jobs, large stores like Target, a multiplex movie theater, a large sporting goods store, a clean local nightlife without having to drive an hour after a night of dancing while still having the option to walk home afterwards and Yes, even a good bookstore like Barnes and Noble. The everyday "Norms" of Fillmore don't have time to fiddle with local politics. The people that seem to want to keep Fillmore unchanged are people who come to live in Fillmore from other cities. They see Fillmore as this charming little fantasy village, get involved with local politics and try to scare the pants off its citizens with the idea that "Growth is the BIG BAD MONSTER". Many of the people that were "local activist" during the last election who strived to keep Fillmore down have moved on to the next town. Will Fillmore ever get the chance to prosper?
Multiplex theatre, chains, Target...I don't think that is Fillmore. And, it's not just newcomers who want responsible growth - there are a lot of people in the group who have been here for generations.
It is my understanding that Vision 2020 was supposed to represent what the City was supposed to look like and it says "slow, controlled growth...without losing the character of the community...small town atmosphere" So was that entire process just a sham? I think that the vision you have is a lot different than Vision 2020 or what the people in Fillmore were led to believe. Maybe that's why there has been such a strong reaction from the community.
thaks gayle,
but from I've read in the papers, vision 2020 is not a legal document like the general plan. vision 2020 from what I can remember was written by very few people many years ago, many or most of those people have probably left town since then. I certainly did't participate in it's creation because I was probably too young. The good thing about vision 2020 is that it is simply guidelines and it can be re-written at any time. I would love to give my input on the new vision 2020. Times are changing and so are the demands for Fillmore. But again, others might like it the way it is and I completely respect that.
Marc o: Vision 2020 was adopted by resolution in 1999. It was driven by city staff and citizen groups that are still meeting.
It states: "...it is intended to serve as a set of guiding principles and goals for our community"
A new version will be distributed in the next couple of weeks. The City puts a lot of effort into convincing the public that it DOES matter until it conflicts with the new fast growth - buildout agenda.
I truely appreciate the info, I never knew much about vision 2020.
I can't help but think there are conflicting thought patterns here. We all know that the majority of Fillmorians must commute in order to go to work, and that IS a major problem for Fillmore because when people prefer to shop at places like Target or some other discount store, they are forced to do it out of town, because all the family stores in Fillmore do not carry certain brands, or their prices aren't within the "discount" store pricing guidelines.(or both) Fillmore can use the business, but that's NOT going to get any better by bring more housing with not enough business to keep the new folks in Fillmore to shop and work. We don't need new housing if we can't grow our new business/industrial end equally to balance our structure. But then...there goes our small town atmosphere...and the start of that is the construction of all those homes. The only way it's going to "balance" things out if a lot more business comes to Fillmore, and I for one, seem to be stuck in between the better of the two evils. I would love to have a local job, but my skills can't find a one locally that is worth my pay, and then, I love the "small town atmosphere", but I would love to not have to drive so far to do so, due to the gas crunch. Now, I feel that the increase in traffic due to the new construction, will take away that "small town feeling" completely. So much for progress!!
With all the car shows we have locally, we should have a better car wash than we do. And what's wrong with a Steak House? Santa Paula has a discount clothing store...why don't we?
Anonymous, I agree that we need more jobs locally and better businesses. But at the momnet our problem is that good paying companies and corporation wont step foot in Fillmore until we reach a certain population level. At 15,000 we will never get the good companies to invest on our land, it's a known fact. A population boost at the same time will also attract the good stores like Target. It starts with a housing boost, like it or not.
If you want a Target store so much why don't you move to Moorpark?
I choose to stay in Fillmore to stay close to my friends and family. And it doesn't have to be a Target, at least a store that sells something as simple as a bicycle would be nice.
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