Vista City Council to redo vote on committee aimed at downtown revitalization

VISTA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — City leadership in Vista is looking into strategies to improve the historic downtown area, but some councilmembers are divided on the best way to achieve that goal. 

After three out of five city council members voted last week to form a committee that would be in charge of exploring possible changes, the council is set for a redo at their next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

“It’s great downtown. There are always people walking around. Always fun things to do. We’re getting more businesses coming in. We got a couple more restaurants coming in,” according to Inzane Brewing Co., Michael Zane.

Since opening his doors on Main Street in downtown Vista two years ago, it’s been a learning experience.

“You do kind of need to drive your own traffic. Have events. Almost every day to kind of drive a little bit of traffic,” Zane explained.

While plenty of folks find him on foot, it’s parking that’s sometimes a problem. The city council is considering forming a committee made up of residents, business owners and others. They would be tasked with identifying potential for expanding things like community spaces, such as the gazebo, across the street from Inzane Brewing Co. Plans to revitalize it in 2019 didn’t get far. 

Other areas of interest for revitalization include walkways, bike paths and parking. 

“There was one proposal I heard a long time ago, about turning Main Street and Broadway into one-way directional streets, which in that proposal it added somewhere I believe about 80 parking spots to the downtown area. I think that’s an interesting idea to look at, ” Zane said.

Councilmember Corinna Contreras, who represents District 1, explained that she’s trying to answer to the community.

“I think we need to speed it up. Let the people come in, share their talents with us. We have so many skilled people here in Vista that have been asking ‘Hey, I want to get involved in this.'”

Mayor John Franklin said he doesn’t have a problem forming a committee. He stated, “my contention is only the expenditure of more than $100,000 of public money to engineer a new concept before we’ve even taken a sketch of the idea to business owners to get their input.”

Now, it’s about striking a balance, and finding room for the new, and at the right pace.