Downtown consultant offers Carlsbad advice

By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Saturday, March 24, 2007 10:54 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- A national consultant who focuses on downtown renovation will discuss her thoughts Wednesday on what Carlsbad can do to make its quaint Village area with its many small retail stores more attractive to shoppers.

In a recently produced, 30-page marketing plan, consultant Kennedy Smith offers suggestions ranging from encouraging merchants to change their window displays at least once a month to creating a fall festival called "Oktoberfiesta" to celebrate the city's German and Hispanic heritage.

On Wednesday, she'll give two free presentations covering her suggestions ---- one at 11:30 a.m. and one at 1 p.m. ---- at City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive.

Ted Owen, president and chief executive officer of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, said it's the perfect time to consider making changes in the Village area. The city's big shopping mall to the east along Highway 78 also is considering a major renovation, while the Carlsbad outlet stores along Interstate 5 and The Forum shopping center at the city's southern end are so busy they have little vacant retail space, he said.

"It's now or never ... for the Village to step forward, to have a new face and a new mission," Owen said.

Business died at noon

Cindi Adair, owner of the clothing store Kobo, said her shop already follows many of Smith's recommendations. She rewards frequent shoppers with special discounts, changes her window displays once a week and keeps her shop open until 7 p.m. on summer nights, she said. Adair hopes Smith will encourage other merchants along State Street and Grand Avenue --- the heart of the Village area ---- to stay open beyond 5 p.m.

"A lot of shops here still close early; they don't think it's worth it," Adair said, adding that she would stay open until 8 p.m. if more shops would join her.

But some downtown merchants say Smith's ideas won't work for them.

Lone Jensen, owner of Carlsbad Danish Bakery on Roosevelt Street, said it is tough for her to keep her shop open beyond its current business hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

"We have tried Sundays and it really wasn't worth it," she said. "(Business) just dies at noon."

They also tried staying open Saturday nights --- the period when downtown's bar scene is hopping ---- but it was a huge disappointment, she said. The few customers who did come in were so drunk they were a hazard to the shop's plate glass windows, she said.

Who will do what?

One the key challenges facing any effort to change the business climate in the Village is how it would be managed.

The city of Carlsbad, which is paying $95,000 for Smith's consulting work, hopes her presentations Wednesday will result in existing downtown merchants volunteering to try some of the easier-to-implement proposals, said Debbie Fountain, the city's housing and redevelopment director.

"It's an opportunity for people to step up and say that's something I'm interested in," she said.

For example, she added, a group of merchants could agree to try staying open in the evenings for six to 12 months to see how it worked out, she said.

Other aspects of Kennedy's proposals such as bringing more public art into the downtown area and enticing more businesses that serve commuters to locate near the Coaster train station, are likely to be much more dependent on the city's involvement.

"That's what we're going to be working on ... to see who's going to do what," Fountain said.

But that issue is already creating rift within the Village.

Not getting it done?

The city's Chamber of Commerce, the second largest chamber in the county, is pushing for the establishment of a new downtown organization to help make Smith's proposals a reality. This group wouldn't be a chamber committee, but a separate, independent organization, said Owen, the chamber leader.

This group could initially be funded by city redevelopment money and then later through special fees that downtown businesses would agree to pay, Owen said.

He argues that the existing group that focuses on downtown matters ---- the Carlsbad Village Business Mainstreet Association --- has been around too long and is "woefully underfunded" and ineffective.

"They're just not getting it done for whatever the reason is," Owen said, commenting that in his view downtown renovation has been talked about for years with little action.

Told of his comments, association president Perry Coles responded, "He's entitled to his opinion and that's just fine, (but) we're a very good voice for the businesses downtown."

The association, which has just under 200 members, organizes the weekly farmers' markets, organizes Taste of the Village events, produces a regular newsletter, and runs an art show/sales event in August, Coles said. The association is planning a month-long holiday festival in December that might even include snow, he added.

Instead of trying to "snuff us out," the chamber should take up the attitude of "rolling up your sleeves and doing what's best for the community," he said.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.

Business Development & Marketing Plan

Recommendations include:

- Encouraging services that "can be performed while someone is away at work," such as auto detailing or dry cleaning, to locate near the downtown Coaster train station. Also recommended are carry-out meal places, day-care, florists, card shops and athletic clubs.

- Improving signage, including public directional signs as well as storefront signs, in the beach zone area between Carlsbad Boulevard and the Pacific Ocean.

- Reducing the "harsh, suburban feel" of Carlsbad Village Drive by allowing structures to be built closer to the street.

- Adding food-related businesses to the area near the weekly farmers' markets on Roosevelt Street.

- Incubating art-related businesses in the "industrial and somewhat gritty" area south of Carlsbad Village Drive.

- Fostering an "insider" environment that encourages Village area merchants and residents to shop there.

- Creating a series of lunchtime and early evening activities for downtown workers.

- Changing storefront display windows "at least" monthly.

- Mapping out jogging routes in or through the Village area and publishing them on a Web site.

- Animating window displays. A small fan could be used to make clothing move, an ant farm could be placed in a children's toy store window, for example, the report notes.

- Launching one or two annual "signature" events such as a street festival that celebrates the area's German and Hispanic heritage.

- Developing public art opportunities, especially small-scale projects.