Over the course of the past 8 years, Sargent has been working with the Limoneira Company and the City of Santa Paula to prepare a vision plan and specific plan for a section of Limoneira’s holdings known as East Area 1. That 500 acre area is located on the north side of State Highway 126 at the east gateway to the City, designated as the City’s next major growth area and planned as new walkable neighborhoods, a mixed-use neighborhood center, and a civic facilities and employment district.
South of East Area 1 and flanking the highway as it enters town is East Area 2, which includes the only parcels in the City having direct frontage to Highway 126, the primary regional access corridor for Santa Paula. Working with Limoneira and the City of Santa Paula, Sargent Town Planning prepared a vision plan and Specific Plan for the development of a highway commercial and employment uses at this gateway, designed as a semi-rural transition from the rural environment of the Santa Paula-Fillmore Greenbelt to the small town environment of Santa Paula.
Simple rural roadscape elements, town-scale commercial buildings with native garden dining areas, and highway scale signage identifying the commercial center and the City of Santa Paula are composed to evoke a traditional California “edge of town” character and establish a strong sense of place at this small town’s front door, while providing for much needed local retail amenities.
