-Visioning Program For 2020-
Chapter 2
Creating a Self-Sufficient City

Pride in their city also played a role in making the city more self-sufficient in other ways. Many West Covinans had been unhappy to see some of their favorite retailers leave the city. With the support of the City's increased emphasis on economic development, many residents organized a citizens campaign to bring back some of these retailers and to attract other new ones. An early success was the opening of a major new supermarket and the return of a favorite gourmet market. This success was soon followed by a variety of other popular retailers that had previously overlooked the growing market potential of West Covina.

Momentum really began to take off as the emerging central gathering place proved an irresistible magnet for retailers and other businesses searching for a unique venue upon which to build their own economic fortunes. This process fit well with the City's program to build a more diverse economic base and with it a growing revenue stream to fund city services and community development plans. Even as new businesses were being drawn to West Covina, the City worked hard to support existing small and large businesses to ensure they too would flourish in this new economic environment. Given an ever-widening array of shopping, dining, and entertainment choices, residents increasingly had less reason to leave the city. As a result, they were spending more of their incomes within the city, supporting local businesses, and so further enriching the tax base that supported city services.

As a result of the growing diversity and scope of the city's economic base, more and more residents were able to both live and work within the city. A larger proportion of the population was able to avoid the long commutes to work outside of West Covina that had previously soaked up so much valuable time. Parents now had more time to spend with their children after school. The number of latchkey kids actually declined. There was also more time to devote to the community at large in volunteer activities, town hall meetings, and other public participation forums. The overall level of civic activism grew and with it the ability of the overall community to serve the needs of all its residents.

The neighborhoods flourished as never before. People now had more time to maintain the appearance of their homes and yards. More people came home for lunch and had time to get to know their neighbors. Many people even opted to use the expanded community shuttles to get around town rather than use their cars. Largely financed by the increase in city revenues brought about by the expansion of the local retail tax base, these low-fare, ever present shuttles were always only a few minutes away. This meant that people could avoid the hassle of having to find a place to park their car.

Neighborhoods became a little quieter because fewer people were using their cars to run everyday errands or to chauffer their kids. Young people now had a safe and readily available means of getting around town to access and enjoy the many new activities and opportunities created by the revival of the city's center and other neighborhoods. To complement the community shuttle, a bike path network was also created linking neighborhoods throughout the entire city. This enabled residents who worked in the city as well as young people to leave their cars behind and use their bikes to get to the central urban village and other important destinations.

Neighborhoods also flourished because the youth partnership and other residents made sure that the new economic development was compatible with the many neighborhoods of the city. This was done in a variety of ways. The City's economic development programs targeted the type of businesses and industries they felt most likely to enrich the city without negatively impacting neighborhood life.

In addition, much of the new business and redevelopment activity was restricted to specific districts to keep it away from neighborhoods. These districts included areas along the I-10 corridor such as the central gathering place and the Eastland Center or other places such as the old BKK landfill site. The latter became, in part, the site of a new business park but most of the BKK site became a recreational park, including a sports complex and a nearby nature preserve. This new park acted not only as a natural buffer between this new economic center and nearby neighborhoods, but given its location in the geographic center of the city became an urban oasis of gardens and footpaths enjoyed by young and old alike.

Finally, the construction of a new north-south artery along a pre-existing city owned right-of-away enabled the city to steer traffic generated by economic activity away from neighborhoods that previously had been impacted by drivers seeking quicker and easier routes through the city.

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