Ventura
A community surrounded by breathtaking vistas, fertile agricultural land, and bordered by the Pacific Ocean and two rivers, Ventura is intimately connected with its natural environment. This connection to our local resources is reflected in the community’s environmental ethic and the City’s environmental sustainability programs.
In 2007, the Ventura City Council passed the “Green Initiative”, an environmental action plan designed to reduce environmental impacts from the City’s municipal operations. The initiative included reducing energy and vehicle fuel use, developing a green purchasing policy, educating employees about green practices, and forming a green team to help implement these programs.
Since putting these green practices into action, the City has enjoyed much success, including reducing municipal electricity use by 15%, reducing vehicle fuel use by 20%, and reducing carbon emissions by 16%. These efficiency efforts have saved over $2.1 million in four years, clearly demonstrating that environmental sustainability makes financial sense and reflects a smart, efficient government.
Ventura is pleased to partner with California’s leading green communities to serve as a positive example for other local governments and to strive towards the common goal of moving our communities towards a sustainable future.
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Certification Status
Certification is awarded when cities complete at least one (Silver), two (Gold) or all three (Platinum) activities in their Action Plan in each of the 10 challenge areas and upon peer review by other participating cities. Ventura’s self-reported progress in each challenge area is shown below.
Action Plan
| Energy Efficiency & Conservation | ||
|---|---|---|
Silver | City Streetlight – Energy Efficient Retrofits Utilize Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant and CEC low-interest loan funding to convert 500 highpressure sodium streetlights to LED. Public Works | |
Gold | City Facilities – Energy Efficient Upgrades Use CEC low-interest loan funding, conduct HVAC upgrades at City Hall and conduct energy efficient lighting upgrades at City parks and facilities. Public Works | |
Platinum | Community Non-profit Energy Efficient Lighting Program Utilize EECBG funds to provide free energy efficient lighting retrofits to 20 nonprofit organizations in Ventura. Public Works | |
| Water & Wastewater Systems | ||
Silver | “Smart” Irrigation Meters in Parks Upgrade park irrigation systems to “smart meters” that use weather based information to maximize watering efficiency and calculate annual savings. In addition, all new developments and capital improvement projects overseen by the Parks Division are required to install smart meter irrigation systems. Community Services and Parks | |
Gold | Stormdrain Trash Excluders Install 50 stormdrain trash excluders per year on Ventura’s Westside to eliminate all trash and litter flowing directly into the Ventura River from the City’s stormdrain system. Water | |
Platinum | Water Conservation and Low Water Use Partner with local environmental non-profit organizations to facilitate Watershed Education and Ocean Friendly Gardening classes that promote water conservation, including the use of native low water use plants. Water | |
| Green Building | ||
Silver | Green Business Code Promote “Smart Growth” Community Development | |
Gold | Energy Star Recognition for Ventura City Hall In recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Ventura City Hall, obtain Energy Star certification to highlight the energy efficiency improvements (lighting upgrades, HVAC improvements) made to the century old building, such as. These improvements resulted in over 80% of the energy used coming from renewable energy. Public Works | |
Platinum | Property Assessed Clean Energy Pending federal approval, participate in California First (AB 811) PACE program to fund residential and commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Public Works | |
| Waste Reduction & Recycling | ||
Silver | Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Require all new construction projects to develop a solid waste management plan. Work with contractors to increase diversion rate to at least 60% of construction and demolition waste from the landfill. Public Works | |
Gold | Business Assistance Program Expand/enhance free environmental assessments to businesses to help them reduce solid waste, increase recycling, properly dispose of hazardous waste, purchase green, reduce energy use, and conserve water. Public Works | |
Platinum | Commercial Food Waste Composting Pilot Program In partnership with the City’s franchise waste hauler and local composting facility, develop a pilot program to collect and process food waste from local businesses. Public Works | |
| Climate-Friendly Purchasing | ||
Silver | Fleet – Closed Loop Used Oil Program Used oil is recycled and then purchased from the same supplier, thus closing the loop on oil procurement process. Public Works Office Supplies – Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Continual implementation of Green Purchasing Policy (October 2009) by working with City staff to purchase only 100% post-consumer recycled paper, remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, and general office supplies, etc. Purchasing / Public Works | |
Gold | Green Seal Certified Janitorial Supplies Custodial contract requires only Green Seal environmentally friendly cleaning products for use in facility buildings. Public Works Office Supply Company Partnership Partner with office products supplier to identify “green” alternatives for commonly purchased office products and promote the consolidation of purchases resulting in fewer deliveries (saving fuel) and less packaging. Purchasing / Public Works “Warm Mix” Asphalt Utilize “warm mix” asphalt in City paving projects, which decreases the emission of harmful fumes and reduces the energy used to heat traditional “hot mix” asphalt. Public Works | |
Platinum | Partner with Chamber to Promote Green Businesses Partner with the local Chamber of Commerce to create a directory to identify all green businesses in the city and provide resources to encourage local businesses to purchase environmentally friendly products. Public Works / Community Development | |
| Renewable Energy & Low-Carbon Fuels | ||
Silver | EV Charging Stations and Electric Vehicles Install 11 public accessible electric vehicle charging stations. Also, purchase 3 plug-in electric City vehicles and install 3 additional electric vehicle charging stations for municipal fleet use. Public Works | |
Gold | Renewable Methane Production at Wastewater Plant Develop project at wastewater plant to accept fats, oils, and grease (FOG) and food waste to increase methane production and energy production from co-generation unit. Ventura Water Hydropower Study Conduct a study to determine the feasibility of generating electricity by using hydropower from water output from storage tanks. Ventura Water | |
Platinum | Community Pool Solar Thermal Project Install a solar thermal water heating system at Ventura Community Pool. Public Works | |
| Efficient Transportation | ||
Silver | Purchase Alternative Fuel and Fuel Efficient Vehicles Implement the INVERS online motor poor reservation system. Reduce fuel usage and vehicle miles traveled by 5% annually. Public Works | |
Gold | Update Bicycle Master Plan Updated Bicycle Master Plan, including the following features: Create a bike route system with trailblazing signage. Require new bike path connections with new development. Include bike racks and lockers with new development. Improved connection of community to regional bike trail. Public Works | |
Platinum | Efficient Transportation Programs Develop a community-wide car and bike share program. Promote and participate in bike to work and school days and bicycle mentoring program. Public Works Downtown Parking Management “Un-bundle” parking from new developments to encourage the use of public transportation, ride sharing, biking and walking. Require new mixed-use developments to provide common transportation amenities such as transit passes, bicycles, personal mobility devices, scooters, neighborhood use vehicles, and shared cars in proportion to the size of the development. Public Works | |
| Land Use & Community Design | ||
Silver | Increase Usage of Bioswails Detecting funding to retrofit city streets to treat stormwater with bioswales. Public Works | |
Gold | Green Street Demonstration Project Use up to 18% of paving budget to develop “green streets” and develop a “green streets” demonstration projects. Public Works | |
Platinum | Complete Community Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Study Develop and complete study that evaluates how land use, buildings, and transportation contribute to community GHG emissions. Public Works | |
| Urban Forestry & Carbon Offsets | ||
Silver | Set Goal for Tree Planting Increase the number of trees planted in public parks and open spaces to 250 annually. Parks, Recreation, and Community Partnerships | |
Gold | Quantify Carbon Sequestration from City Trees Conduct a study to quantify the amount of carbon sequestered by public street trees. Parks, Recreation, and Community Partnerships | |
Platinum | Develop Community Tree Planting Program Develop programs to incentivize and encourage residents and businesses to plant trees on private property. Parks, Recreation, and Community Partnerships | |
| Promoting Community & Individual Action | ||
Silver | Recognize Community Environmental Leaders Recognize outstanding businesses and schools through the City’s green business Environmental Excellence Award in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, and the Green School Award program. Public Works | |
Gold | Support Chamber Green Task Force Partner with Chamber of Commerce to develop a Green Task Force to support and promote green business practices. Public Works / Community Development Develop Green Business Certification Program Develop a Green Business Certification Program to recognize local businesses that incorporate environmentally friendly practices in their operations. Public Works | |
Platinum | Community Environmental Workshops Provide community classes and workshops for Ocean Friendly Gardening, stormwater pollution prevention, composting, recycling, water conservation and other environmental topics. Public Works / Ventura Water Develop Environmental Social Media Campaign Maintain a variety of social media outlets to highlight upcoming events and other environmentally related information, including Facebook, Blog, Twitter, Community Access Programming (CAPS) local TV, and website. Public Works / Ventura Water | |
