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Council adopts revised parklet standards, creates Main Street ad hoc after months of debate
Summary
The council adopted amended parklet design standards including a lower-cost non-ABC parklet option and extended the temporary-parklet transition deadline; to address deep divisions over whether to keep Main Street closed, council formed an ad hoc to gather stakeholders’ input and asked staff to return with options for a multi-year license term.
After a months-long public debate over Main Street Moves, the Ventura City Council on June 23 approved amendments to the citywide parklet design guidelines intended to align standards with updated fire-code and state requirements and to broaden options for businesses.
Staff’s changes add a new ‘non-ABC’ parklet category for businesses that do not serve alcohol, simplify certain prescriptive details, and extend the deadline for temporary parklets to be removed or replaced with compliant installations. A.J. Bernhardt, project manager for Main Street Moves, said the new non-ABC type was intended to help retailers and quick-service businesses create simpler, lower-cost storefront activations.
The meeting featured extended public comment with sharply divided views. Several restaurateurs and business owners urged multi-year license terms (a common request was three to five years) so private operators could reasonably amortize costs and invest in compliant parklets. Others, including a petition from many downtown proprietors, urged reopening the street and argued that the closure has reduced weekday access and harmed some businesses. At least one contractor-provided cost estimate submitted to the council suggested fortified parklets could cost tens of thousands of dollars to build, a figure several speakers said exceeded staff’s earlier rough estimates.
To resolve the disagreement and produce more specific guidance, the council directed staff to form a Main Street Moves ad hoc subcommittee representing the downtown council districts, meet with property owners, business owners and residents (both supporting and opposing the closure), and return findings in time for the November 10 discussion. Council also asked staff to return with options and a recommendation on multi-year license terms to provide greater investment certainty.
What this means for businesses: the new non-ABC parklet classification lowers some design and material requirements for retail and non-alcohol vendors, and the council’s direction to explore multi-year license terms is intended to reduce investor risk; the ad hoc will gather stakeholder input before the November discussion.
Representative quote: "A parklet should be a business decision, not a leap of faith," said Alyssa Gutierrez, a downtown business owner advocating for a multi-year term.
