VISTA — After several months of discussion and researching ways to invigorate Vista’s historic downtown, the City Council reviewed a set of recommendations from the Downtown Committee for improving circulation, parking, and walkability.
The council agreed last fall to establish a Downtown Committee that would explore ideas for enhancing the historic Vista Village area, and to commission landscape and traffic studies to inform their decisions.
Councilmember Corinna Contreras chairs the 11-person committee, which includes business and property owners, residents, the Vista Chamber of Commerce, and planning and traffic commissioners. The committee met six times between March and September, reviewing data from engineering firm Rick Engineering and crafting recommendations that the firm then incorporated into a report.
The main recommendations, supported unanimously by the City Council on Oct. 28, include creating a new downtown park at the current gazebo site, adding street parking by creating two one-way streets, temporarily closing South Indiana Avenue for special events, and adding features like improved lighting, shade structures, signage, art, and more.
The total estimated cost for the proposed improvements is just under $10 million.
Contreras said that while Vista’s downtown is a magical place, improvements are needed to make it easier and more enjoyable for people to spend time downtown. This, in turn, will help to support downtown businesses.
“It is a long-term project, and we know that our downtown needs to continue to be enhanced, that businesses in our downtown can’t survive on just having a good Friday and a good Saturday,” Contreras said.
One primary need is increased parking. To improve traffic and circulation and increase parking spaces in the downtown area, the committee reviewed three options from Rick Engineering, including changes such as one-way streets and temporary and permanent street closures.
They chose an option that will make Main Street and East Broadway into one-way streets, and allow the temporary closure of a one-block stretch of South Indiana Avenue from Main Street to East Broadway for special events. 
Rick Engineering estimated that this option will add 55 street parking spaces, due to the increased space on the one-way streets. Council members said that increasing street parking is more feasible than building a parking structure, which would be significantly more expensive.
“I’m just not sure how we’re gonna fund it, but we do need more parking down there,” Mayor John Franklin said. “Every night of the week, it seems like we’re having these issues.”
While business owners agree that more parking is needed, some are concerned about unintended adverse effects from the project.
Moneca Shelhoup, owner of Mosaique Fabrics on East Broadway, expressed major concerns about converting the road outside her business into a one-way street. She said it’s already difficult for older customers to reach her business, and she said it would be even worse during a prolonged construction period.
“I can guarantee you, if you’re going to rip up my street in front of my business, you’re going to kill me,” Shelhoup said. “That’s something you need to think about, and it’s not just my business. It’s other businesses also.”
Councilmember Jeff Fox asked if the city could hold a town hall for business owners to figure out ways to mitigate some of their concerns.
“They’re some of the main stakeholders in this, so I want to make sure that we take care of them and there’s as little adverse effects as possible,” Fox said. “We want it to be a boon, not a bane.”
City Manager John Conley said the city can plan to hold a town hall for businesses at the Avo Playhouse in the near future.
The proposed park would be situated at the current site of the Vista Village Gazebo, located at the intersection of South Indiana Avenue and Main Street. A modified design for the park, reviewed by the committee, includes a new gazebo and amenities such as a green open space with trees, seating areas, space for events and vendors, public art and a playground. 
“Adding a ¾-acre park in downtown would set Vista apart from every other downtown in the county and the region, getting a lot of attention and elevating it as a destination,” said Lev Gerschman, managing partner at Tideline Partners and a member of the downtown committee.
Sharon Larimer, a Vista traffic commissioner and one of the downtown committee members, suggested that the city raise funds for the park by offering plaques recognizing donors that would be displayed at the park once it’s finished.
Councilmembers noted that park space, in addition to trees and shade structures in the event parking lot along South Citrus Avenue, is crucial during the hotter months.
“As we get into April, May, it becomes unbearable, and we want people to linger in our downtown,” Councilmember Katie Melendez said. “We want to build it for us, for our community that lives and works and enjoys and and spends our hard-earned money in downtown, but we also want to build for people who are visiting, and we want to create a hospitable environment as well.”
Setting goals
Because these improvements will likely take several years, the committee divided the different plans into short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals.
Short-term goals to be completed by 2030 include developing one-way circulation on Main Street and East Broadway to increase parking availability, reviewing all available on-street parking opportunities, and providing ride-share drop-off zones at Main Street and East Broadway.
Following these top priorities, other short-term goals include allowing temporary closures of South Indiana Avenue for special events, improving lighting, adding bike racks, identifying sites for public art, providing wayfinding signage, installing shade sails, and adding speed humps in alleys.
Medium-term goals to be completed by 2035 include creating the park at the gazebo site and adding design elements to the northern portion of South Indiana Avenue to emphasize it as a gathering space.
Lastly, long-term goals that will likely be completed after 2035 include covering the Buena Vista Creek channel near the Pepper Tree Frosty and creating a pedestrian plaza and walkway — an effort expected to cost at least several million dollars.
These plans are tied to a larger project proposed for the 1.5-acre site known as Peppertree Corner. Tideline Partners is partnering with the Villasenor family, who have operated the Pepper Tree for decades, to replace all the current on-site buildings with a five-story building featuring 109 residential units and commercial space.
Looking ahead, city staff will bring back the Downtown Plan to the City Council for final review. This will include recommendations for specific Capital Improvement Projects, budgeting, and required environmental clearance.
