The Santa Paula City Council on July 2 adopted the Santa Paula Master Plan for Aging, a locally focused roadmap based on eight community conversations, a bilingual survey and an analysis prepared by California State University Channel Islands.

The plan, recommended by city staff and CSUCI researchers, organizes recommendations under the state’s Master Plan for Aging framework and stresses health care access, affordable and age-friendly housing, caregivers’ supports and digital/civic engagement. Michael Shouten, an administrative analyst in Parks and Recreation, said the report "reflects the voices of our residents, their needs, their hopes, and their visions for aging well in Santa Paula."

Why it matters: Santa Paula’s population is aging and the council said it wanted a targeted, evidence-based set of actions the city can advance locally while aligning with county and state plans. The plan is meant as a “living document” to guide budget and program choices over the next decade.

What the plan found and recommends: CSUCI’s analysis and the survey results showed health was the top single priority for respondents, with housing close behind. The draft includes recommended actions such as partnering with affordable-housing developers to encourage elder-friendly units, establishing geriatric-focused primary-care access locally, launching a community health navigation program to help older adults enroll in Medicare/Medi-Cal and creating multilingual caregiver resources and basic caregiving training. "The number 1 priority was health, followed, closely, by housing," CSUCI’s Dr. Ronald Borkowski summarized during the presentation.

How it will be used: Staff told the council the plan’s recommendations will inform future budgeting and program development and be reviewed alongside county and state master-plan updates. The plan also identifies outreach and training actions — for example, digital-skills training to help older residents use new transit or telehealth tools — that can be started through existing departments and community partners.

Process and next steps: City staff said the effort included eight community conversations (six in English, two in Spanish), a citywide bilingual survey and a CSUCI report produced in June 2025. Council members asked that the Senior Advisory Committee be engaged in implementing specific tactics. The council voted unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 7576 to approve the master plan.

The council directed staff to publish the plan, begin follow-up with the Senior Advisory Committee and return with implementation steps tied to future budgets.