VISTA - A former Vista High School valedictorian took the reins of the Vista Chamber of Commerce board this month, promising aggressive recruitment in the south Vista business park and renewed advocacy for the revitalization of South Santa Fe Avenue.

In an interview Monday, chairman Bret Schanzenbach, 39, said there was plenty of membership potential in the business park, where the chamber has traditionally had "fairly low penetration."

Located on a broad swath of land south of Highway 78, and bordered by Melrose and Sycamore drives and Palomar Airport Road, the business park is home to hundreds of companies and thousands of employees.

Jim Baumann, the chamber's chief executive, said it's sometimes tough to appeal to the larger businesses in the park if they don't do a lot of business in Vista and don't see local networking as a high priority.

Schanzenbach, who is also a real estate broker, said he was working on new recruitment strategies but declined to elaborate.

Schanzenbach said he would also use his year at the helm to push the city to move forward with the sluggish South Santa Fe Avenue revitalization.

"We don't want to see (it) take 10 or 15 years like Vista Village," he said.

It has been several years since the city began working on plans to transform the blighted commercial district into a pedestrian showpiece with retail stores, restaurants and offices, as well as with town homes and other residential spaces, but so far, the area hasn't changed much.

Schanzenbach said he would like to have a broader dialogue with the city about the options for the area, including potentially reducing busy Santa Fe Avenue from four lanes to two.

"What you want is pedestrians to come in," Schanzenbach said. "Right now it's just a little mini expressway."

Mike Cavataio, who ended his tenure as board chairman on July 1, said he was excited about the efforts Schanzenbach planned to undertake.

"The board's in full sync with what he wants to do," he said.

Schanzenbach is starting his term during a period of relatively slow growth for the chamber.

In the past year, the chamber's net membership inched up from 502 to 519, officials said. The prior year, membership jumped by more than 100.

"It's still going in the positive direction," Schanzenbach said. "We'd love to see it at this time next year be 600 members. That could be a bit aggressive, but it's possible."

Baumann attributed the recent slow growth to the retirement of the chamber's recruiter at the end of the calendar year.

At one point, Baumann said, membership was about 550 members, but the number retreated after the recruiter retired, reducing the net gain, he said.

- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.