Oxnard Plan for Downtown Would Exclude Large Shelters : Revitalization: Project’s consultant says any facility like the Zoe Christian Center would scare away business. Homeless advocates call the proposal coldhearted.

A team of Oxnard consultants unveiled an ambitious plan Thursday night to revitalize the city’s central business district that includes a proposal to prevent any homeless shelters from locating downtown.

Andres Duany, the chief consultant in the project, said he had the Zoe Christian Center in mind when the plan was drawn up, but that any homeless shelter of that size would scare away business.

The Zoe Christian Center announced on July 15 its intention to move into a 12,500-square-foot building in the heart of downtown.

“The problem is with the size of the clinic,” Duany said. “Homeless in small numbers don’t hurt retail. It’s when the numbers are overwhelming that it creates a real problem. Downtown Oxnard can’t take any more of the social crises of the county,” he said.

Duany and other consultants hired by the city outlined the downtown redevelopment plans at a meeting Thursday night sponsored by the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

While local retailers hailed the new proposal as a positive step toward revitalization, homeless advocates criticized it as “coldhearted.”

“It’s totally ludicrous,” said Mike Angelette, who volunteers at the Zoe Center and used to be homeless. “I think Zoe should have a right to exist just like any other store or agency,” he said.

“These people are making the assumption that the homeless are no good,” said Fred Judy, Zoe’s director. “These are families with children that are going through hard times.”

The redevelopment plan was not the only blow Thursday to Ventura County’s only year-round shelter for the homeless. The announcement about being excluded from downtown coincided with a Superior Court decision to dismiss the majority of Zoe Center’s lawsuit against the city.

Zoe Center’s suit argued that the city was obligated to help finance the center. But Judge Edwin M. Osborne, who dismissed eight of 10 actions against the city, said Zoe faced a very difficult battle to prove the city owes the center money.

Judy said Thursday that he believed the city’s latest proposal was simply another attempt to drive the homeless shelter from the city.

“They’ve been doing this for years,” he said. “It’s nothing new.”

Matthew Winegar, a city planner involved in the redevelopment project, said the final proposal would also recommend alternative sites for homeless shelters.

“We want to look for alternatives,” he said. “The homeless don’t have to be downtown.”

Retailers in the downtown area said they too support the plan.

“I think it’s a terrific idea,” said Angelique Estrada, who runs downtown’s Cafe Ole. “It seems like the whole 5th Street has turned into a recovery home.”

Chuck Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Television and Radio, said he agreed. “Let’s face it,” he said, “This is not a fit environment for a homeless shelter.”

The plan’s other proposals, while less controversial, were met with skepticism by a crowd of about 40 Oxnard residents and business owners at Thursday night’s meeting.

Consultants suggested creating a hub of movie theaters and other centers of entertainment and recreation, adding a children’s play area at Plaza Park, and using incentives to draw business into the city. The idea drew a mixed response.

The redevelopment is aimed at luring small businesses to relocate downtown, and attracting a mix of shops that complement one another as they do in shopping malls, Duany said.

The total public investment for the plan to be successful would be in the tens of millions of dollars and it would come both from enterprising retailers and from small housing developments, Winegar said.

“The ideal situation would be to have both housing and retail come together at the same time,” he said.

June Yanaginuma, who owns commercial property downtown, said she was trying to keep an open mind, but that it was difficult. “They’ve tried (redevelopment) so many times,” she said. “It just doesn’t work.”

Oxnard resident David Romans added, “If it works it’s great, but no one’s going to believe it until they see it.”

“It’s going to be ferociously difficult,” Duany said of the project. “All the consultants think this. But we’re hoping we can get lots of people to make small investments in the downtown to make this thing work. “

The concept for downtown renewal is far from its final form.

In coming weeks, the plan will be distributed to every city department for review and suggestions. Planners expect to present the final draft to the Oxnard City Council for approval by Christmas.

Times correspondents Sara Catania and Jeff McDonald contributed to this story.