The Salinas Californian - October 3, 2007 

 

Experts: Salinas must create a clear identity, vision

By Dawn Withers

If Salinas wants to grow and change, it must find its identity and embrace it, said a panel of planning experts Wednesday.

They joined local business leaders and city officials at the Steinbeck Center for the city’s daylong Urban Revitalization Action Summit, hosted by the city and the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“Part of your problem is an image problem,” said Joel Kotkin, an urban scholar who has been working with the chamber for more than a year on improving Salinas’ economy.

Salinas residents need to create a vision for their city in the coming decades, Kotkin said, along with ideas on how to achieve — and pay for — their plans.

Sales tax is the city’s primary source of money for its general fund.

The keynote speaker, David Hidalgo, a Los Angeles-based architect, offered examples of projects he’s designed throughout California to create city centers and revitalize major retail areas.

One example was Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, which involved renovating the façades of 11 retail buildings on an old Montgomery Ward parking lot, drawing on the traditional colors and architecture of Mexico.

Fountains, a city center, mosaic tiles and religious iconography adorn the walkways. Since the project’s completion in 2005, more people go to the area to shop, dine out and spend time with their friends and family, Hidalgo said.

“Every aspect of this place has excelled more than anyone imagined,” he said.

In line with Hidalgo’s projects, a panel of experts said Salinas needs to consider its history and culture when establishing its vision for the next few decades.

“You have to play to your strengths,” Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue agreed.

Donohue said the action summit is the first step in a master planning process for the city. It will help capitalize on the growing economy of east Salinas, he said, and provide economic opportunities to better serve the city’s Latino community.

* * *