Port Hueneme City Council
August 18, 2025

Guidelines, and prepared a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis.

In addition to data gathering, PFM conducted substantial public engagement, which included a series of stakeholders’ interviews in-person and virtually. Stakeholders who were interviewed included all five City Council Members, Kristin Decas and other Port staff, Captain Kimnach and other staff from the Naval Base, executive City staff, business and shopping center owners, members of the HOA (homeowners’ association) Coalition, among others. The City also conducted a virtual community workshop and an in-person workshop at the Oceanview Pavilion, where additional ideas and input from the public were collected. Finally, an on-line survey ran for several weeks to allow an additional way for the public to provide input. The workshops and survey were conducted in English and Spanish.

The plan was prepared and presented to Council in July of 2024. Since the completion of the Economic Development Plan, broader economic uncertainty has further impacted the City’s economy and will present a short-term challenge to implementing areas of the plan.

Major store closures, such as Rite-Aid, Big Lots, and 99 Cent Stores across the country have added to the challenges caused by the local impacts to the City’s cannabis industry caused by increased competition in Ventura and Oxnard. Just as importantly, stores and events that staff worked to attract over the last year are indicating that they may be delayed or may not move forward at all due to broader economic uncertainty across the country.

For these reasons, over the last 6 months as these factors became clear, staff has focused on key goals and areas of the Economic Development Plan that are within the control of the City, and that do not require unreasonable resources during this period of economic uncertainty.

Several recommendations were developed and included in the Economic Development Plan. Several are long-term recommendations that will depend on funding to become available in future years, or the development of partnerships with key agencies – for these reasons staff has begun by focusing on the following recommendations that can realistically be implemented by the City in coming years (recent updates included in italics):
• Activate Hueneme Beach Park With More Events As Well As Retail and Food and Beverage Opportunities. The Economic Development Plan identified two steps for this goal, first to hold more events at the beach to increase visitors to the beach, and second, a long-term plan to develop plans to upgrade the current restaurant and other amenities at the beach. In the short-term, City staff worked with partners to activate Hueneme Beach for additional recreational and commercial type events, and will continue to work towards this. Although additional recreational opportunities have been successful in drawing visitors (such as the new “Kite Day” and “Memorial Day” Events, Copa Cabana Beach Soccer and the first LA Rams visit to Hueneme Beach, – proposed larger scale commercial events such as a summer concert series have fallen through due to broader economic uncertainty.

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August 18, 2025

Economic uncertainty over the next 12 months could impact economic development efforts.

However, a key opportunity to work towards the long-term goal in coming months is the opportunity to proceed with issuing a Request for Proposals for a Potential Operator of a Campground Facility at Hueneme Beach Park. This project was identified in the adopted City Parks master plans, but was not implemented previously. The Parks Master Plan identifies that the project could be a low impact project, utilizing airstream trailers, adapted shipping containers, and/or tiny homes, to increase the number of visitors to the beach and the total time spent at the beach, resulting in more visitors contributing to the City’s economy.

The City can determine if there is interest in development of additional amenities that will attract more visitors for longer periods of time by issuing an RFP to solicit interested vendors. Proposals would be reviewed by Council in the future, and the City would have the right to reject or accept such a proposal. Staff recommends that Council authorize staff to issue a Request for Proposals. • Use City-Owned Land Strategically for Economic Development Purposes. In addition to the project above which would utilize vacant city land for a potential campground, Staff reviewed vacant city-owned properties and identified an opportunity to partner with Habitat for Humanity on a project to utilize three currently vacant parcels near the Pleasant Valley Naval Base Gate for a future housing project. Although residential, these projects will bring more residents (and potential supporters of local businesses) to the City. This project is in process and will be presented to City Council at a future meeting for further discussion. One other area identified in the Economic Development Plan is consideration of future options at the Beach Restaurant/Snack Bar that could be discussed over the next few years as the current lease nears its end. A campground or other amenities to increase visitors to the beach for longer periods would likely result in expanded options as it relates to amenities at the beach.
• Continue to Stabilize the Cannabis Businesses. This has been a primary focus for the City since the adoption of the Economic Development Plan. Staff has made several efforts to help stabilize cannabis businesses, including reducing fees (such as audit fees and other operational costs) and other onerous requirements.

Additionally, staff is working on compliance reviews to ensure all businesses are following appropriate standards and ensuring a “fair” application of standards to businesses will help ensure fair competition. Even with such measures, broader economic conditions and increased local competition have resulted in closure of two dispensaries to date. Staff is continuing to work with local businesses to ensure City is aware of issues and making an effort to assist where possible. • Create Consistent Branding for The City. The City has been working to develop new sign options for wayfinding signage and identifying points of interest. A draft “sign program” is included as Attachment B. This has been discussed as a Agenda Item No. 19 Page 3 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
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August 18, 2025

potential project for Community Benefit Fund since the wayfinding signage will also highlight the Port as a partner. Along with wayfinding signage, updating city design standards and colors can also help to develop consistent branding and style for the City.
• Increase Both the City’s and the Business Community’s Capacity to Undertake Economic Development Efforts. The City attempted two approaches in the past year, appointing the Community Development Director as the “Community and Economic Development Director,” and attempting to connect this new position with the business community and specifically, the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce. These efforts had limited success, so staff is preparing additional efforts. A next step in the coming year will be identifying an opportunity for a partner representing the business community. Recent conversation has indicated potential opportunities such as the West Ventura County Business Alliance – staff will explore these opportunities and provide updates to City Council regarding potential opportunities.
• New Opportunity: Short-Term Rentals Transient Occupancy Tax: As will be presented separately on this agenda, a potential opportunity for economic development (and to potentially fund specific economic development projects) will be discussed as it relates to short-term rentals and impacts on transient occupancy tax. With transient occupancy tax relying on tourism, funds generated could be used to help accomplish economic development goals.

Over the last 18 months, the City made progress in finally developing a consistent economic development strategy, and in recent months staff has begun to make progress on working on some “low-hanging fruit” items, several of the goals will require dedicated staffing, resources, and time to make progress. However, with economic uncertainty, it is unclear how progress may be impacted in coming months and years, which increases the importance of having a logical and cohesive strategy. Overall, however, this Plan provides the City Council, and the community as a whole, the foundation for a number of economic development initiatives that may be pursued to enhance the City’s future potential.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None at this time, however future projects will be presented to Council for consideration including potential budget impacts.

STRATEGIC PLAN:

Primary Strategic Pillars and Initiatives:

Fiscal & Economic Excellence
• Explore the value of City rebranding as a strategy to attract tourism and increase economic investment
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August 18, 2025

• Consider the feasibility and long-term value of economic and physical development of the beaches and other high potential sections of the City Innovation & Opportunity
• Retain and maximize opportunities for local businesses as the backbone of our community
• Invest in new programs and technologies to strengthen our economy and attract innovation
Safe, Secure, & Beautiful Community
• Upgrade our beach, parks, City-owned facilities and structures to provide a better experience for our residents, employees, commuters, and visitors ATTACHMENTS:

A. Economic Development Plan
B. Wayfinding Signage Renderings
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City of Port Hueneme, California
Economic Development Plan
July 15, 2024
PFM Group Consulting LLC
555 West 5th Street
Suite 3500
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Attachment A
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 2
Contents
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Economic Context Study.............................................................................................................7 Section 1: Demographic, Household, & Workforce Indicators..................................................................7 Population and Demographics ..............................................................................................................7 Income and Wealth ...............................................................................................................................9 Housing and Homeownership .............................................................................................................10 Workforce/Talent Pool Characteristics................................................................................................12 Section 2: Land Use and Supply.............................................................................................................16 Section 3: Business & Industry Trends .................................................................................................178 Employment by Industry Sector ..........................................................................................................18 In-Commuting......................................................................................................................................18 Local Businesses ................................................................................................................................21 Cannabis Industry ...............................................................................................................................26 Port Hueneme Hotel Stock..................................................................................................................26 Office and Industrial Space .................................................................................................................28 Section 4: Visitor Trends and Beach Activity ..........................................................................................30 Hueneme Beach Park Visitor Trends..................................................................................................30 Chapter 3: Public Engagement .................................................................................................................334 Chapter 4: SWOT Analysis .........................................................................................................................43 Strengths .................................................................................................................................................43 Weaknesses............................................................................................................................................44 Opportunities...........................................................................................................................................45 Threats ....................................................................................................................................................45 Agenda Item No. 19 Page 8 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 3
Chapter 5: Recommendations ....................................................................................................................47 Strategy 1: Connect Local Residents to Local Jobs ...............................................................................48 Strategy 2: Incentivize Upgrade of Aging Commercial Centers and Hotels ...........................................48 Strategy 3: Encourage Local Business Startups That Link Opportunities at the Port and Naval Base..49 Strategy 4: Activate the Beach With More Events As Well As Retail and Food and Beverage Opportunities...........................................................................................................................................50 Strategy 5: Use City-Owned Land Strategically for Economic Development Purposes .........................50 Strategy 6: Continue to Stabilize the Cannabis Businesses...................................................................51 Strategy 7: Create Consistent Branding for the City…………………………………………………………52 Strategy 8: Increase Both the City’s and the Business Community’s Capacity to Undertake Economic Development Efforts................................................................................................................................52 Agenda Item No. 19 Page 9 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 1
Executive Summary
Introduction
The Port Hueneme Economic Development Plan is designed as a follow-up to the General Plan in order to provide the City of Port Hueneme with a roadmap of specific strategies and actions to stimulate and sustain economic growth within the community.

Using these priorities as a starting point, this Plan also includes a background report on the economic context of Port Hueneme, a summary of stakeholder and community engagement (which was conducted in conjunction with Arellano Associates), a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, and set of recommendations that includes specific actions the City and its partners should take, along with metrics for success.

Economic Context
Although the City is a pleasant and important residential community for more than 20,000 residents, its economy is dominated by Naval Base Ventura County and the Port of Hueneme. Naval Base Ventura County takes up 60 percent of the City’s land and employs more than 10,000 people, making it the largest employer in Ventura County, while the Port of Hueneme, the only deep-water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco, employs 3,400 people.

Unfortunately, at present these two large employers do not employ a large number of Port Hueneme residents. Most Port Hueneme residents who are employed commute outside the City for work, while most workers employed by the Navy and the Port commute in, mostly from other communities in Ventura County. (For example, the Port reports that only 11 percent of its workers live in Port Hueneme.) The rest of Port Hueneme’s economic activity consists mostly of small, locally owned businesses and chain retail and restaurant establishments. Only about 300 businesses located inside the City have City business licenses, including about 60 retail stores and 30 restaurants. The City has 10 retail shopping centers and four hotels. Although Hueneme Beach draws thousands of visitors per day, it generates very little direct business activity, as only one small restaurant is located at the beach.

A notable development is the presence of 15 cannabis businesses, located mostly along Channel Islands Boulevard, which were encouraged by the City as a means of raising revenue. While the cannabis businesses initially generated more than $3 million per year for the City, as other cannabis outlets have opened in Oxnard and Ventura that figure has dropped to $2 million per year.

Because the City is almost completely built out, there is little room for new commercial development. Not counting the Naval Base and the Port, fewer than 100 acres of land are designated for commercial or industrial development and only a few of those parcels are vacant. The City does own a few critical parcels near Market Street in the Downtown area, at Hueneme Beach Park, and near the Naval Base entry gate on Pleasant Valley Road.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 2
Because of the lack of land, little commercial development has occurred in recent decades. Virtually all of the City’s shopping centers and hotels were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Although a few of these commercial facilities have been renovated and expanded since then, most have not. The shopping centers in particular might provide an opportunity for mixed-use development.

Public Engagement
The project team conducted multiple stakeholder interviews between January and June 2024 to solicit local perspectives on Port Hueneme’s assets and challenges as an economic center, recreational destination, and place to live. These included public officials, representatives from the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County, and business owners and members of Port Hueneme’s HOA (homeowners’ association) Coalition. Additional outreach included two public workshops and an online survey. These outreach efforts heavily informed the plan’s recommendations.

Figure 1: Survey Results: What Makes Port Hueneme Special? SWOT Analysis
Port Hueneme’s economy contains strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is an appropriate approach to understanding how to craft the Economic Development Plan. These four terms are defined as follows:
▪ Strengths: Local advantages for economic growth and business attraction and retention. ▪ Weaknesses: Local disadvantages for economic growth and business attraction and retention. ▪ Opportunities: External trends and conditions that could positively impact Port Hueneme’s ability to capture future economic growth.
▪ Threats: External trends and conditions that that could negatively impact Port Hueneme’s ability to capture future economic growth.
55 35
24 12
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 Outdoor Recreation
(Beaches, Sights,
etc.)
Community History and Culture Local Businesses
and Restaurants
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 3
Strengths Weaknesses
• Naval Base Ventura
County
• Port of Hueneme
• Fathomwerx
• Hueneme Beach Park
• Local Workforce
• Cannabis Businesses
• City-Owned Property
• Weak Economic
Connections to Port and
Naval Base
• Out-Commuting
• Lack of Proximity to
Freeway
• Retail Leakage
• Little Available Land
• Lack of Recent Investment
• Weak Business Support
Infrastructure
Opportunities Threats
• Increased Hueneme
Beach Park Activity
• Additional Events to
Attract Visitors
• Revitalizing Aging
Shopping Centers
• Leveraging Fathomwerx
to Attract Startups
• Oxnard College
Logistics Program
• Leveraging City-Owned
Land
• Competition From
Cannabis Businesses In
Ventura and Oxnard
• Ongoing Competition From
Oxnard-Based Businesses
• Retail Uncertainty
• Continued Deterioration of
Commercial Properties
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 4
Recommendations

1. Connect Local Residents to Local Jobs
The City should work with the Navy, the Port, Oxnard College, and the Ventura County Workforce Development Board to connect Port Hueneme residents to the logistics program at the College, as well as other programs the College offers, and jobs at the Port and on the Naval Base.

2. Incentivize Upgrade of Aging Commercial Centers and Hotels The City should institute incentive programs to owners of older retail centers and hotels to encourage upgrading of their facilities and, in the case of retail centers, the attraction of upgraded retail stores.

3. Encourage Local Business Startups That Link Opportunities at the Port and Naval Base The City should work with Fathomwerx and other players to facilitate the creation of a storefront presence and a business innovation incubator and upgrade broadband capability to support such businesses.

4. Activate Hueneme Beach Park With More Events As Well As Retail and Food and Beverage Opportunities
The City should increase the overall amount of activity at Hueneme Beach Park and use that activity to create more retail and food and beverage opportunities there.

5. Used City-Owned Land Strategically for Economic Development Purposes The City should prioritize Downtown and Beach property that can help implement other parts of this strategy and seek developers who will carry out projects that will help meet the City’s goals.

6. Continue to Stabilize the Cannabis Business
The City should continue to work with cannabis businesses to stabilize revenue from those businesses, especially through branding and marketing.

7. Create Consistent Branding for The City
The City should create a consistent look and updated feel to all City signage and wayfinding through implementation of the Landscape Guidelines and Park Master Plan and by creating signage and branding that continues to give Port Hueneme an appearance and image that is unique to the City and separate from surrounding communities.

8. Increase Both the City’s and the Business Community’s Capacity to Undertake Economic Development Efforts
The City and other partners should Increase the capacity of both the City and the business community to implement this Economic Development Plan.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 5
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Port Hueneme Economic Development Plan is designed as a follow-up to the General Plan in order to provide the City of Port Hueneme with a roadmap of specific strategies and actions to stimulate and sustain economic growth within the community.

The General Plan identified five overarching Economic Development goals:

1. Encourage Fiscally Positive Land Uses

2. Redevelop Aging Commercial Centers

3. Create and Brand A New “Downtown”

4. Leverage the City’s Attractive Coastal Location

5. Expand High-Skill, High-Wage Employment Opportunities Using these priorities as a starting point, this Plan also includes a background report on the economic context of Port Hueneme, a summary of stakeholder and community engagement (which was conducted in conjunction with Arellano Associates), a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, and set of recommendations that includes specific actions the City and its partners should take, along with metrics for success.

Port Hueneme is an unusual city. Although the City is a pleasant and important residential community for more than 20,000 residents, its economy is dominated by Naval Base Ventura County and the Port of Hueneme. Naval Base Ventura County takes up 60 percent of the City’s land and employs more than 10,000 people, making it the largest employer in Ventura County, while the Port of Hueneme, the only deep-water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco, employs 3,400 people.1 Unfortunately, at present these two large employers do not employ a large number of Port Hueneme residents. Most Port Hueneme residents who are employed commute outside the City for work, while most workers employed by the Navy and the Port commute in, mostly from other communities in Ventura County. (For example, the Port reports that only 11 percent of its workers live in Port Hueneme.) The rest of Port Hueneme’s economic activity consists mostly of small, locally owned businesses and chain retail and restaurant establishments. Only about 300 businesses located inside the City have City business licenses, including about 60 retail stores and 30 restaurants. The City has 10 retail shopping centers and four hotels. Although Hueneme Beach draws thousands of visitors per day, it generates very little business activity, as only one small restaurant is located at the beach.

A notable development is the presence of 15 cannabis businesses, located mostly along Channel Islands Boulevard, which were encouraged by the City as a means of raising revenue. While the cannabis businesses initially generated more than $3 million per year for the City, as other cannabis outlets have opened in Oxnard and Ventura that figure has dropped to $2 million per year.

Because the City is landlocked and is almost completely built out, there is little room for new commercial development. Not counting the Naval Base and the Port, fewer than 100 acres of land are designated for commercial or industrial development and only a few of those parcels are vacant. The City does own a 1 The Port of Hueneme, “Port of Hueneme Update,” May 2024.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 6
few critical parcels near Market Street in the Downtown area, at Hueneme Beach Park, and near the Naval Base entry gate on Pleasant Valley Road.

Because of the lack of land, little commercial development has occurred in recent decades. Virtually all of the City’s shopping centers and hotels were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Although a few of these commercial facilities have been renovated and expanded since then, most have not. The shopping centers in particular might provide an opportunity for mixed-use development.

Including the introduction, this Development Plan is divided into five chapters, the remaining four of which are detailed below:

Chapter 2: Port Hueneme Economic Context
The second chapter provides an analysis of the economic context in Port Hueneme operates. This chapter entails four sections, each focusing on a different aspect of Port Hueneme’s economic position within the region:

Section 1: Demographic, Household, & Workforce Indicators presents key demographic, household, and workforce conditions and indicators in Port Hueneme, and highlights related socioeconomic trends.

Section 2: Land Use and Land Supply lays out the constraints and opportunities created by the fact that Port Hueneme is almost completely built out.

Section 3: Economic Overview: Business & Industry Trends identifies broad economic trends and existing industry composition (by jobs) in the City, as well as the current state of retail, office, and industrial real estate markets.

Section 4: Visitor Trends and Beach Activity highlights overall visitor activity in Port Hueneme with a special emphasis on visitors to Hueneme Beach.

Chapter 3: Public Engagement
The Public Engagement Chapter provides a description of the various outreach activities conducted through the process of developing the Economic Development Plan. It also provides the results of the inperson and virtual community meetings as well as the community survey.

Chapter 4: SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis details the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the City of Port Hueneme.

Chapter 5: Recommendations
The recommendations chapter provides seven recommendations for the City to meet the economic development goals outlined in the General Plan. These recommendations include action steps to provide a roadmap for implementation and metrics to define success.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 7
Chapter 2: Economic Context Study
Section 1: Demographic, Household, & Workforce Indicators Population and Demographics
Port Hueneme is a relatively small city by population and contains about 22,000 residents. Oxnard, which surrounds Port Hueneme, has a population of 200,000 and is Ventura County’s largest city by population.

Ventura County as a whole – which includes both Port Hueneme and the City of Oxnard – contains about 833,000 residents.

Most Port Hueneme residents (62.9 percent) are of Hispanic/Latino background, compared to 77.4 percent in Oxnard and 44.5 percent in Ventura County as a whole. About 27 percent of Port Hueneme residents are white. About 43 percent of the households in Port Hueneme speak Spanish at home.

Figure 2: Race and Hispanic/Latino Background, Port Hueneme, Oxnard, and Ventura County Source: American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates

62.9%

77.4%

44.5%

27.3%

13.1%

41.7%

2.9% 2.5% 1.7% 1.7%

5.7% 7.1%

3.7% 1.5% 4.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura Co.

Hispanic or Latino (Of Any Race) White Alone
Black or African American Alone Asian Alone
Two or More Races
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 8
Figure 3: Percent of Population That Speaks Spanish at Home Source: American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates Port Hueneme has a large percentage of one- and two-person households and relatively few large households. Only 28.1 percent of households in the City are comprised of four or more people. This figure is much higher in Oxnard – 42.1 percent – and marginally higher for all of Ventura County – 30.1 percent.

Figure 4: Household Size - Port Hueneme and Local Comparators Source: American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates Most Port Hueneme residents are working age. As Figure 5 shows, residents between 20 and 44 years of age make up 41.1 percent of the total population. Residents within the typical retirement age group, comprised of those age 65 and older, make up 14.0 percent of the total population.

43.0%

57.8%

29.8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura County

23.2%

18.4%

21.5%

34.1%

22.4%

31.2%

14.5%

17.1% 17.2%

28.1%

42.1%

30.1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura Co.
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 9
Figure 5: 2022 Share of Port Hueneme Residents by Age Category Source: American Community Survey, 2022 5-Year Estimates Income and Wealth
Compared to Oxnard and all of Ventura County, median household income is relatively low in Port Hueneme. In 2022, median household income in Port Hueneme was approximately $72,000, $30,000 less than Ventura County as a whole.

Figure 6: Median Household Income - Port Hueneme, Oxnard, and Ventura County Source: American Community Survey, 2022 5-Year Estimates 19 Years and
Under, 24.7%
20 to 45 Years,

41.1%
45 to 64 Years,

20.4%
65 Years and Older,

14.0%
$71,695
$84,941
$102,569
0 20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura Co.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 10
Port Hueneme also has a relatively low percentage of households that received some kind of investment income (interest, dividends, or net rental income). In Port Hueneme, 10.9 percent of households received investment income in the past this year, compared to 13.6 percent in Oxnard. The share of families receiving investment income is twice as high across all of Ventura County, at 24.7 percent.

Figure 7: Share of Households with Investment Income
Source: American Community Survey, 2022 5-Year Estimates Housing and Homeownership
Housing in Port Hueneme is less expensive than in Oxnard or Ventura County as a whole. In 2022, the median home value of Port Hueneme was 35 percent lower than in Ventura County as a whole. Owneroccupied housing units are relatively inexpensive compared to neighboring jurisdictions and make up a lower share of housing units than in Ventura County as a whole.

Figure 8: Median Home Value - Port Hueneme, Oxnard, and Ventura County Source: American Community Survey, 2022 5-Year Estimates

10.9%

13.6%

24.7%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura Co.
$529,700
$679,100
$822,800
$0
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$600,000
$700,000
$800,000
$900,000
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura County
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 11
Table 1: Occupied Housing Units by Tenure - Port Hueneme and Local Comparators Source: American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates The total number of housing units in Port Hueneme grew in the 2000s as the City engaged in heavy residential redevelopment and added additional single-family homes. Between 2000 and 2010, the total number of homes between increased by 3.2 percent from 7,866 to 8,122 total units. Little residential development has occurred since that time.

Figure 9: Historic Number of Port Hueneme Single and Multi-Family Homes Source: U.S. Census Bureau
4,325 4,490
5,019 5,068
3,112
3,376
3,103 3,218
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
1990 2000 2010 2020
Single-Family Multi-Family
Occupied
Housing Units
by Tenure
Port
Hueneme,
Count
Port
Hueneme,
Percentage
Oxnard,
Count
Oxnard,
Percentage
Ventura
Co., Count
Ventura Co.,
Percentage
Total: 21,028 197,943 819,913
Owner
occupied 10,692 50.85% 100,339 50.69% 536,204 65.40%
Renter
occupied 10,336 49.15% 97,604 49.31% 283,709 34.60%
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 12
Workforce/Talent Pool Characteristics
Resident Labor Force Characteristics
Educational attainment in Port Hueneme is lower than Ventura County as a whole. In Port Hueneme, 14.7 percent of adults age 25 and over hold bachelor’s degrees, compared to 23.7 percent in Ventura County.

Port Hueneme has a slightly higher portion of residents with bachelor’s degrees than Oxnard.

Figure 10: Percent of Adults (Age 25+) With a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Source: American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates Port Hueneme’s civilian labor force2is comprised of 10,700 individuals, of whom approximately 9,800 are employed. While these individuals live in Port Hueneme, most do not work there. Approximately one in six residents work in education, healthcare, or social assistance; one in eight works in manufacturing. 2 Labor force is defined individuals who are currently employed and unemployed but searching for a job.

14.7%

13.3%

23.7%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Port Hueneme Oxnard Ventura Co.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 13
In addition to the residents listed in the table below, the City is also home to nearly one-quarter of Ventura County’s armed forces personnel, with an additional 1,202 individuals in the armed services who live in the City.

Table 2: Port Hueneme Civilian Residents (Age 16+) Employed by Industry Industry
Number of
Civilian
Residents
Percent of
Civilian
Employed
Residents
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 1,594 16.3% Manufacturing 1,232 12.6%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services 1,020 10.5%
Retail trade 953 9.8%
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 881 9.0%
Construction 673 6.9%
Public administration 677 6.9%
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 594 6.1%
Other services, except public administration 572 5.9%
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 551 5.6% Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 420 4.3% Wholesale trade 325 3.3%
Information 264 2.7%
Total 9,756 100.0%
Source: American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates Inflow & Outflow Analysis
There is a mismatch between the jobs located within city limits and employed Port Hueneme residents.

96.3 percent of Port Hueneme residents commute outside of the City for work. According to the U.S.

Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) data, excluding civilian workers at the naval base, Port Hueneme has 10,2003 employed residents. However, only 3.7% percent of these workers have jobs that are located in Port Hueneme. As a result, approximately 10,000 residents leave Port Hueneme for their primary work. Conversely, 89 percent of Port Hueneme’s employed population lives outside of the City.
3 Different data sources estimate the work force and local jobs differently, so these numbers may differ from numbers elsewhere in this report. The important point is the share of workers in-commuting and out-commuting.

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Figure 11: Inflow-Outflow Analysis (Excluding Naval Base Civilian Employees)4 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics As a result, there are very few people who both live and work in Port Hueneme – only 381 people in 2021, according to LEHD data.5(Unfortunately, LEHD data does not include civilians employed on military bases. The number of in-commuters and the number of residents who work in the City is obviously higher if the civilian base personnel are included.) Table 3: In-Area Labor Force (All Jobs), 2021
Labor Force Flows Number Share
Living in the Selection Area 10,161 100.0%
Living and Employed in the Selection Area 381 3.7%
Living in the Selection Area but Employed Outside 9,780 96.3% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics In addition, there are approximately 3,500 workers occupying Port Hueneme-based jobs (excepting the Naval Base); only 11 percent of these individuals live in Port Hueneme. 5 Other data sources and estimates suggest that the number of Port Hueneme residents who work in the City is higher, but in any event the overwhelming majority of employed Port Hueneme residents leave the City for work.

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Table 4: In-Area Employment (All Jobs), 2021 (Not Including Naval Base employment) Employed Population Flows Number Share
Employed in the Selection Area 3,452 100.0%
Employed and Living in the Selection Area 381 11.0%
Employed in the Selection Area but Living Outside 3,071 89.0% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Remote Work
Census data from 2022 shows that 7.0 percent of Port Hueneme workers work from home, up from 1.5 percent pre-covid. This is approximately the same as Oxnard but much lower than the County as a whole.

The City of Port Hueneme commissioned a Broadband Master Plan in July 2023 to address lingering broadband deficiencies within the City that could affect the ability to engage in remote work. The Plan found that there are multiple areas in the City that are underserved with broadband. Some 22.7 percent of survey respondents, conducted as part of the study, reported that broadband services is often slow; 21.1 percent reported it is unreliable and often out of service. Approximately 19.1 percent of survey participants have low-speed broadband connections.

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Section 2: Land Use and Supply
Port Hueneme is a small and almost entirely built-out community, making new and economically productive real estate development difficult.

According to the 2045 General Plan, Port Hueneme’s land area includes 2,647 acres, or about 4.13 square miles. Naval Base Ventura County consumes almost 1,600 acres, or almost 60% of the City’s land, while residential development represents 672 acres, or almost 25% of the City’s land. Open space and public facilities take up 162 acres and the Port of Hueneme takes up 131 acres.

Figure 22: Land Uses, City of Port Hueneme (Acres)
Source: City of Port Hueneme
Outside of the Naval Base and the Port, the City only has 94 acres dedicated to commercial and industrial property – only 3.5% of the City’s land supply. Almost half of this land (42 acres) is contained in the City’s 10 retail shopping centers, which are described in more detail in the retail portion of this report. Three of these centers are at least 7 acres in size and represent significant redevelopment opportunities – especially the 99 Cents Only Store center on the northwest corner of Ventura Road and Channel Islands Boulevard, as the anchor store is closing and the City has redesignated the property for mixed-use development.6
In addition, the City itself owns several parcels of land. These parcels total only about 5 acres and are scattered in different locations around the City. However, some are strategically located and they could play an important role in the City’s economic development efforts. 6 Dollar Tree is seeking a permit to move into the 99 Cents Only Store space.

Naval Base, 1,569
Residential, 672
Open Space &
Public Facilities, 162 Port,
131
Commercial &
Industrial, 94 Other, 19
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These include:
▪ Three parcels on E. Pleasant Valley Road near the gate to the Naval Base. These parcels are left over from the City’s residential redevelopment of this neighborhood back in the 2000s. ▪ Two parcels on or near Market Street in the City’s designated Downtown area, including a large parcel at the convergence of Scott Street, Pomona Street, and Market Street that has been the subject of discussion between the Port and the City.
▪ Several parcels along Hueneme Beach, including two parcels at or near the end of Surfside Drive and two parcels along Ocean View Drive at Parking Lot C.

Figure 13: City-Owned Properties
Source: City of Port Hueneme
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 18
Section 3: Business & Industry Trends
Employment by Industry Sector
Port Hueneme is job-rich, with almost 18,000 jobs. The vast majority of employment opportunities in Port Hueneme are offered by the Naval Base and the Port of Hueneme. The Naval Base employs more than 10,000 civilians, representing almost 60% of Port Hueneme employment, while the Port employs approximately 3,400 workers, or about 20% of the total. The next largest private employer, by contrast, employs approximately 175 individuals (PAC Foundries).

Table 5: Port Hueneme Principal Employers
Employer Number of Employees
Naval Base Ventura County (Not Including Military Personnel) 10,800 Port of Hueneme7 3,451
Hueneme School District 703
PAC Foundries 175
Pacific Maritime Association 140
City of Port Hueneme 119
Source: Port of Hueneme, Port of Hueneme Update May 2024; City of Port Hueneme 2020 – 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
According to the Port of Hueneme, close to 25,000 jobs are directly and indirectly supported by Port activity in the region and generate $2.8 billion in economic activity. It reports a 150 percent increase in economic activity since 2013.8
In-Commuting
To further explore employee trends and opportunities within city limits, the project team utilized a foot traffic software tool, Placer Labs. Placer Labs9 aggregates cell phone data, and in some cases credit card data, to provide estimates of population and spending trends. As a result, counts of individuals, as described below, will differ from official census counts or counts from other sources due to differing data collection and definition methodologies.

Most notably, Placer Labs does not track any data related to any activity on the naval base. As a result, any visitor, resident, or employee count associated with Port Hueneme does not include individuals who live or work on base, nor does it count visitors to and from the base. 7 Port of Hueneme employment numbers are from 2023; all other employment numbers are from the most recent year available, 2019.
8 The Port of Hueneme, “Port of Hueneme Update,” May 2024. 9 Placer Labs creates an estimate number of employees in an area based on individuals’ typical movement. If an individual routinely stays in a certain location during the day that is not their home location, that person is counted of an employee working in that location. Placer Labs’ employee and resident estimates are typically higher than that of the U.S. Census Bureau’s as it captures individuals’ typical movement as opposed to what is self-reported to the government.

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Further, Placer Labs counts unique individuals over a time frame. As a result, one employment position in Port Hueneme may result in two people counted by Placer Labs if there was employee turnover during that time frame. Placer Labs does not count individuals who work from home.

Per Placer Labs, in 2023 18,300 unique individuals worked in Port Hueneme, a 22.7 percent increase from 2022. Oxnard is by far the most common residential location for individuals who work in Port, followed by Port Hueneme itself.10 Only 11 percent of Port Hueneme employees live within city limits. This analysis is consistent with data provided by the Port of Hueneme. About 11% of Port employees live in Port Hueneme, while half live in Oxnard.

Table 6: Top Ten Most Common Home Locations of Port Hueneme Employees Location Percent of All Port Hueneme
Employees
Oxnard 39.5%
Port Hueneme 10.5%
Camarillo 9.8%
Ventura 6.6%
Ojai 1.5%
Simi Valley 1.3%
Santa Paula 1.3%
Thousand Oaks 1.2%
Newbury Park 1.0%
Oak View 0.8%
10 This may also be indicative of higher turnover within jobs held by Port Hueneme residents, as Placer Labs counts the total number of unique employees during the entire calendar year, not the total number of positions located within city limits.

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Jobs located in Port Hueneme generally draw employees from the surrounding communities in Ventura County. The following heat map of employees’ aggregated, approximate home locations indicates that most employees live in western Ventura County.

Figure 14: Home Location of Port Hueneme Employees, 2023 Source: Placer Labs
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 21
Local Businesses
According to the City’s business license data, 314 businesses are located in Port Hueneme, including one gas station, two grocery stores, and two meat markets.11 One in four Port Hueneme businesses is either a retail store or a restaurant.

Meanwhile, 37.3 percent of Port Hueneme businesses identify as “professional occupation offering services,” defined as any business where are services are provided without the sale of physical goods.

This is a broad category that includes, for example, tax prep services, tree services, plumbers, childcare, windsurfing lessons, handyman services, cleaning services, consultants, and dog grooming.

Table 7: Number of Port Hueneme Businesses by Business Type Business Type Number of
Businesses Percent
Professional Occupation Offering Services 117 37.3%
Retail 59 18.8%
Restaurants 29 9.2%
Other Sale of Goods 28 8.9%
Residential/Commercial Property Rental(s) 20 6.4%
Hair Salons 15 4.8%
Massage Parlors 12 3.8%
Contractors 12 3.8%
Mobile Service Vehicles 8 2.5%
Grocery Stores 4 1.3%
Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents 4 1.3%
Vending Machines/Coin Operated Amusement Devices 3 1.0% Film/Photography 2 0.6%
Fortune Teller 1 0.3%
Total 314 100.0%
Source: City of Port Hueneme Business License Data
Retail & Restaurants
Port Hueneme has about 675,000 square feet of retail space. This includes 10 shopping centers within city limits that collectively hold 97 stores in a combined 512,000 square feet. (The geographical location of these stores is depicted in Figure 14.) Notably, there has been no new square footage added since 2009 and there have been no new shopping centers added since 1989. The current vacancy rate for these shopping centers is 7.6 percent, higher than the vacancy rate for Port Hueneme retail space as a whole of 5.4 percent.

The 99 Cents Only Store, located in one of the City’s major shopping centers at the northwest corner of Channel Islands Boulevard and Ventura Road, has recently closed due to the company’s bankruptcy. 11 These categories are associated with each business’s license; the four grocery stores listed in the table below include two “meat markets” and one liquor store.

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Dollar Tree has acquired most of 99 Cents Only Store’s Southern California locations and is seeking a permit to take over the former Port Hueneme 99 Cents Only store.

Retail is the second most common business type in the City, comprising close to 20 percent of all businesses with 59 registered retail stores.12 Locations of these retail stores is depicted in Figure 15.

Figure 15: Map of Port Hueneme Shopping Centers13
Source: CoStar
12 Cannabis businesses are included in the retail category. 13 Blue pins indicate the site is for lease or for sale as of May 2024; gray pins indicate the site does not have any current activity.

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Figure 16: Map of Port Hueneme - Retail Locations14
As Figure 16 shows, retail trade businesses are clustered along Channel Islands Boulevard to the north and on or near Ventura Road in the southern part of the City.

As shown with the blue highlighted symbols in Figure 17 below, there are 29 restaurants in the City.

Seven of these restaurants self-identify as fast food, fast casual, or dine-in casual, but according to Port Hueneme residents, none of these restaurants would be categorized as fine dining.

This breakdown of the types of restaurants in Port Hueneme aligns with what the PFM consulting team consistently heard during focus group conversations, which is that there are not enough high-end restaurants or casual bars in Port Hueneme to fulfill residents’ demand. 14 Highlighted red pins indicate private establishments in Port Hueneme that have the “Retail Trade” NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 24
Figure 17: Map of Port Hueneme – Food Services Locations15 Retail Demand Analysis
Placer Labs uses credit card expenditure data to capture where Port Hueneme residents spend money outside of town, otherwise known as retail leakage. According to Placer Labs data, there was approximately $216.1 million of retail leakage within a 50-mile radius of Port Hueneme in 2023. Notably, the only retail category in which Port Hueneme has a retail surplus is beer, wine, and liquor stores in town, with approximately $3.6 million in excess supply.

Conversely, there is a potential for additional grocery stores or gas stations. Retail leakage totals $37 million for grocery stores and $35.5 million in gas stations. Notably, these data were collected before the 15 Highlighted red pins indicate private establishments in Port Hueneme that have the “Retail Trade” NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code.

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Grocery Outlet opened, so retail leakage for grocery stores may decline. However, given the fact that average Grocery Outlet sales per store is approximately $7 million per year, the market may exist for additional grocery stores.

Significantly, the Placer Labs analysis also shows that demand for restaurants of all kinds exceeds sales by $30 million, suggesting that a market exists for significant additional food and beverage establishments – a finding that conforms to our community outreach and stakeholder results. In addition, the Placer Labs data does not take into account the potential spending of Port and Navy employees who do not live in Port Hueneme, suggesting that food and beverage potential may be even greater.

Placer Labs data also indicates Port Hueneme’s consumer base could potentially support additional building materials and supply stores, general merchandise stores, clothing stores, and health and personal care stores.

Table 8: Port Hueneme 2023 Retail Demand, 50 Mile Radius Category Unmet Need
Grocery Stores $37,286,503
Gasoline Stations $35,494,879
Building Material & Supplies Dealers $17,279,313
Other General Merchandise Stores $17,078,274
Clothing Stores $15,503,601
Limited-Service Eating Places $15,189,745
Full-Service Restaurants $14,514,865
Health & Personal Care Stores $11,717,999
Department Stores $6,172,242
Automotive Parts, Accessories, & Tire Stores $6,153,544 Other Motor Vehicle Dealers $6,031,287
Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers $4,699,211
Furniture Stores $4,422,233
Sporting Goods, Hobby, & Musical Instrument Stores $4,324,752 Home Furnishings Stores $3,866,575
Special Food Services $3,114,772
Lawn & Garden Equipment & Supplies Stores $2,741,266
Shoe Stores $2,271,237
Electronics & Appliance Stores $2,241,074
Office Supplies, Stationery, & Gift Stores $2,237,382
Bars/Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) $1,645,127
Used Merchandise Stores $1,421,879
Specialty Food Stores $1,282,001
Direct Selling Establishments $1,208,968
Book, Periodical, & Music Stores $885,413
Jewelry, Luggage, & Leather Goods Stores $757,639
Florists And Miscellaneous Store Retailers $198,579
Beer, Wine, & Liquor Stores -$3,630,934
Total $216,109,426
Source: Placer Labs
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 26
Cannabis Industry
Increasing competition within the cannabis market combined with declining cannabis-related tax revenues indicates there is a limit to local retail demand and further potential expansion.

As of 2024, Port Hueneme has 15 cannabis businesses within city limits, ten of which are located on Channel Islands Boulevard.

Table 9: List of Cannabis Businesses in Port Hueneme
Name Address
Bleu Diamond 501 W. Channel Islands Blvd, #202
Skunkmasters 233 E. Channel Islands Blvd
SafePort 353 W. Channel Islands Blvd
Tree Factory 437 W. Channel Islands Blvd
Emerald Perspective 100 W. Pleasant Valley Rd
Iheartcannabis 521 W. Channel Island Blvd, Suite 11
Hueneme Patient Consumer Collective, LLC. 501 W. Channel Islands Blvd, #301 - #304 Wheelhouse 521 W. Channel Islands Blvd, Suites 1-6
From the Earth 2675 N. Ventura Rd
The Fire Garden 2661 N. Ventura Rd
BB & SE INC. 2667 N. Ventura Rd
Element 7 455 W. Channel Islands Blvd
Tradecraft Farms - Port Hueneme 2597 Bolker Drive
ECOMEDS 521 W. Channel Islands Blvd, Suite 13
Tech Delivery Solutions 501 W. Channel Islands Blvd, Suite 204 Source: City of Port Hueneme
The City initially granted cannabis businesses licenses to increase City revenue through the attraction of customers from outside the City. Revenue from cannabis sales rose by 32.3 percent between FY 2020 and FY 2021 and peaked in FY 2022 at nearly $3 million. Since this peak, however, cannabis revenue has declined by nearly one-third in FY 2023 as other dispensaries have opened in the immediate surrounding area, financial relief due to COVID is no longer available, and consumer spending in general has declined.

This decline in revenue can be attributed to competitors entering the retail cannabis market, particularly in municipalities that are closer to the freeway and are therefore more convenient to outside visitors. For example, starting in March 2021, Sec. 11-456 of Oxnard City Code allows for a variety of cannabisrelated business permits. This includes a maximum of 16 retail dispensaries, 8 cannabis manufacturing sites, 5 cannabis cultivation sites, 3 cannabis distributors, and one cannabis testing lab. As of April 2024, 8 retail permits have been issued in Oxnard for retail dispensaries.16 Port Hueneme Hotel Stock
Port Hueneme currently has four active hotels within city limits with a combined total of 257 rooms.

Notably, the newest of these hotels, the Holiday Inn Express, opened almost four decades ago in 1986.

More than half of the hotel rooms in Port Hueneme are in the Holiday Inn. 16 City of Oxnard, “Commercial Cannabis Business Program,” accessed electronically at: https://www.oxnard.gov/communitydevelopment/long-range-planning-sustainability/cannabis Agenda Item No. 19 Page 35 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 27
Table 10: Port Hueneme Hotel Characteristics
Property Name Property Address Year
Built Rooms Quality Meeting Rooms
Holiday Inn Express 350 E Hueneme Rd 1985 134 Upper
Midscale 3
Casa Via Mar Inn
Ascend Collection 377 W Channel Islands Blvd 1978 73 Upscale 1 Americas Best
Value Inn 340 E Pleasant Valley Rd 1965 28 Economy None Seaside Inn & Motel 645 E Port Hueneme Rd 1950 22 Independent None Source: CoStar
As shown in Table 11, there is considerable seasonal variation in hotel occupancy. Over the past three years, monthly occupancy rates at Port Hueneme hotels peak between approximately 82 and 92 percent during the summer months. Occupancy is lowest in the winter, ranging between 57 and 62 percent.

Table 81: Port Hueneme Hotel Monthly Occupancy Rate
Source: CoStar

59.9%

82.7%

61.1%

82.8%

74.5%

56.9%

81.6%

69.6%

91.6%
0%
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 28
Office and Industrial Space
The City of Port Hueneme, given its smaller size in comparison to its neighbors, does not have a large amount of either office or industrial space. Further, most of these spaces are leased.

Office Space
There are currently 115,000 square feet of office space across 17 buildings in Port Hueneme, with a vacancy rate of 5.5 percent. There has been no new office construction since 1987; one building was renovated in 2007. Only three of these buildings are more than one story tall. The three-story Moll Plaza and the two-story Wheelhouse Plaza are both in a center on Channel Islands Boulevard and have cannabis locations among other tenants. The Hueneme Professional Building on N. Ventura Road near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road, is two stories.

Figure 18: Map of Office Space in Port Hueneme17
Source: CoStar
17 Blue pins indicate the site is for lease or for sale as of May 2024; gray pins indicate the site does not have any current activity.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 29
Industrial Space
Due to the City’s small size, industrial space (outside of the Port of Hueneme) is generally located in the southeastern part of the City, south of E. Port Hueneme Road and east of S. Surfside Drive. There are currently 289,000 square feet of industrial space across eight buildings in Port Hueneme. All of the industrial buildings in Port Hueneme are listed as fully leased, although two properties have been identified locally as vacant.
18 There has been no new industrial construction since 1982; none of these buildings are more than one story.

Figure 19: Map of Industrial Space in Port Hueneme19
Source: CoStar
18 Per the City of Port Hueneme, 250-260 S. Surfside Drive and 735 Industrial Way are currently vacant. If they are on the market this information, as of this report’s writing, has not been reported to CoStar. This can occur for various reasons, including if the owner is not working with a commercial broker.
19 Gray pins indicate locations of private-owned industrial properties within the city limits of Port Hueneme.

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Section 4: Visitor Trends and Beach Activity
Hueneme Beach Park Visitor Trends
According to Placer Labs, between January and December 2023, Port Hueneme had approximately 838,200 unique visitors who came to the City a total of 9.1 million times.20 They stayed within the City for an average of four hours and visited the City approximately 11 times each. Importantly, this visitor count includes individuals who stay in hotels for leisure or professional trips. It can also include people who own secondary homes in Port Hueneme and stay overnight during the weekend.

Hueneme Beach Park, a City-owned public park, is a major asset to the City and is a destination for visitors throughout the surrounding region. In 2023, there were approximately 218,100 unique visitors to the beach. These individuals came on average 3.2 times per year and remained for 42 minutes.

Saturdays and Sundays are the most popular days for individuals to visit Hueneme Beach Park, averaging more than 3,000 visits per day, compared to about 2,000 per day during the week.

Figure 20: Average Weekly Visits to Hueneme Beach Park, 2023 Source: Placer Labs
20 This does not include Port Hueneme residents, who are defined as individuals who remain in the City for over 30 consecutive nights, or individuals who work in Port Hueneme and remain in the city consistently each day. 2,061 2,103 2,087 2,022
2,244
3,326
3,105
0 500
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1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Agenda Item No. 19 Page 39 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 31
Most visitors to Hueneme Beach Park in 2023 were present during the afternoon. The most popular time for individuals to be at the beach was 5 pm. Presence on the beach begins to drop, on average, around the time the sun sets.

Figure 21: Average Number of Weekly Visits to Hueneme Beach Park by Hour, 202321 Source: Placer Labs
While the beach attracts a large number of people, most individuals come for a shorter period of time and do not linger. Most visits to the beach are less than 45 minutes in length. In particular, one-third of visits are between 15 and 29 minutes long.

This demonstrates there is potential to keep those individuals who come to the beach for a quick walk or bird watching to remain longer if there are other services offered to them, such as a coffee shop, café, or bike rental service.

Figure 22: Average Weekly Number of Visits to Hueneme Beach Park by Length of Stay, 2023 Source: Placer Labs
21 Counts of individuals are not mutually exclusive. The totals of each time represent the number of visits that occurred during each hour; therefore, if someone stayed at the beach between 5 pm and 7 pm, they would be counted for the both the 5 pm and 6 pm category.
868
1,077
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 32
The following visitor heat map for Port Hueneme shows the approximate home locations for visitors to Hueneme Beach Park.22 While the beach draws visitors heavily from the immediate surrounding area, it also indicates that Port Hueneme has a draw as far away as the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As previously discussed, individuals who own second residences and stay in town for a weekend are also counted as visitors.

Figure 23: Visitors to Hueneme Beach Park by Place of Residence, 2023 22 Port Hueneme residents and employees can be counted as visitors to Hueneme Beach Park.

Hueneme Beach Park / 250 North Ventura Road, Port Hueneme, CA 93041 | Based on Home Location, by Visitors | Min. Visits: 1 | Jan 1st 2023 to Dec 31st 2023 | Home locations are obfuscated for privacy and randomly placed within a census bloc. They do not represent actual home addresses. Data provided by Placer Labs Inc. (www.placer.ai) Source: Placer Labs
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Annual Events
Local groups host several public events in Port Hueneme throughout the year, which draw many visitors to the City, as shown in Table 12, below. Keeping track of these events, as well as knowing when in the year they happen, which groups put on the events, and how frequently events occur can help the City’s economic development efforts by understanding the City’s target visitor market and preferences more fully.

For example, allowing local businesses to set up food trucks or pop-tables to serve the visitors attending City events can create opportunities to generate business for local establishments. In addition, positioning the City as a reliable partner to organizations looking to host large events can bring more attention to local businesses. Leveraging Port Hueneme’s status as a well-known surfing destination, for example, can help the City to solicit more recurring events catered toward the surfing community, such as annual invitation-based gatherings or national competitions.

Table 12: Port Hueneme Recurring Events
Event Timing
Banana Festival (hosted by Port) September
Beach Soccer Tournament Four Times Annually in Spring, Summer, and Fall City Fun Run July/August
Hueneme Beach Festival September
Movies at the Park Five Times Annually, from June - October NAMI Walk May
Park and Recreation Touch-A-Truck Fall
Port Hueneme Police Department Car Show June
Run For Your Heart 5k February
Source: City of Port Hueneme
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 34
Chapter 3: Public Engagement
The project team conducted multiple stakeholder interviews between January and June 2024 to solicit local perspectives on Port Hueneme’s assets and challenges as an economic center, recreational destination, and place to live. These included public officials, representatives from the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County, and business owners and members of Port Hueneme’s HOA Coalition.

The complete list of interviews is provided below. The public engagement was carried out in partnership with Arellano Associates.

Table 13: List of Stakeholder Interviews
Entity Date
James Vega, City Manager
Tony Stewart, Community and Economic Development
Director
January 11, 2024
Mayor Misty Perez
Mayor Pro Tem Martha McQueen-Legohn
Councilmember Steven Gama
Councilmember Laura Hernandez
Councilmember Bobby Martinez
February 13, 2024
James Vega, City Manager
Lupe Acero, Finance Director
Jose Coyotl, Associate Planner
February 13, 2024
Michael Federico, Police Chief February 13, 2024
Christine Walker, Hueneme Elementary Superintendent February 13, 2024 Kendall Lousen, Naval Base Ventura County
Robert Kimnach, Naval Base Ventura County February 13, 2024 Port Hueneme HOA Coalition March 21, 2024
Virtual Public Meeting, 7 Participants March 28, 2024
Group Stakeholder Meeting, 6 Participants April 3, 2024 Kristin Decas, Port of Port Hueneme April 3, 2024
Steve Kinney, Economic Development Consultant April 3, 2024 Kristin Decas, Port of Port Hueneme April 10, 2024
In-Person Public Workshop, 14 Participants May 16, 2024 Elizabeth Arias, Port of Port Hueneme
Miguel Rodriguez, Port of Port Hueneme May 29, 2024
Kendall Lousen, Naval Base Ventura County
Eric Gould, Naval Base Ventura County May 31, 2024
Brenda Acomb Forbes, Oxnard College
Isaac Rodriguez Lupercio, Oxnard College
Luis Gonzalez, Oxnard College
June 4, 2024
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 35
Community Meetings
To receive the broadest range of insights possible, the project team held two community workshops to ask individuals what makes Port Hueneme special, what challenges the City has, particularly in terms of retail options, and what are viable options for further activity at Hueneme Beach Park. Both of these workshops were held in English with simultaneous Spanish interpretation. Arellano Associates conducted outreach for both of these in events in English and Spanish by providing email blasts and delivering flyers to local businesses. The City also provided information of the workshops on its website and via social media.

The virtual public workshop was held on March 28, 2024 and had seven participants. The in-person workshop occurred on May 16, 2024 and had 14 participants. Both were executed in partnership with Arellano Associates. Participants in both workshops expressed that Port Hueneme has a culture of being a quiet, residential community whose beach is a hidden gem.

Overall, participants acknowledged that the City’s reliance on sales taxes from cannabis is not sustainable as more cannabis businesses open in Ventura County. They generally expressed a desire for increased business activity in the City, such as increased dining establishments, that would not greatly alter the quiet nature of the community but provide more dining and entertainment options. Notably, many stated that even if the City has visitors, there are not many ways for them to spend their money once they arrive.

Suggestions for new businesses included ideas such as a café or gift shop at the beach, which would allow visitors to linger and spend their money, but would not necessarily greatly increase the City’s daytime weekday population. Multiple participants suggested cocktail or wine bars; others suggested art or music events. Several suggested the City host another athletic event to draw visitors, such as a windsurfing competition, although this would require additional resources to execute. While stakeholders and public workshop participants were supportive of additional events and business activity at the beach, they were not supportive of large-scale development there.

Participants raised the concept of branding and better marketing the City of Port Hueneme outside visitors, particularly given the City’s distance from the freeway and the potential for tourism from the beach or other events. While the question of whether to rename the City has been resolved, at least for the time being, the meeting participants stated the need for a proactive marketing plan, whether through events, new businesses, or otherwise to draw visitors to the City.

Notably, many meeting participants did not see connecting local residents to local jobs as a challenge.

They stated their perception is that Port Hueneme is a retirement community and that local residents are not as concerned about their ability to work in town as they are about the overall fiscal health of the City due to its reliance on the cannabis industry and small amount of vacant land. This contrasts with the community survey responses detailed below. The majority of survey respondents were under the age of 65 and nearly half of those who completed the survey indicated that attracting high-wage and high-tech jobs is a priority.

Community Survey
To further increase Port Hueneme residents’ and business owners’ participation, Arellano Associates posted a survey, with questions in both English and Spanish, between March 19 and May 31, 2024. 77 individuals responded to the survey, including 69 residents, 13 business owners, and 13 individuals who worked in the area.23
23 Survey respondents could select multiple categories.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 36
The survey consisted of eleven questions, including descriptive questions regarding applicants’ age, relationship to Port Hueneme,24 racial and ethnic identity, and income.25 The seven nondescriptive questions asked respondents to identify which activities they complete in and out of the City, what economic development goals were a priority, their attitudes surrounding the activities of the Port and Navy, what makes Port Hueneme unique, and what accessibility improvements are needed.

Most of the individuals who responded to the survey were working age; nearly one-third, 32.0 percent, were age 65 and above – a much higher figure than the City’s overall population.

Figure 24: Age of All Survey Respondents
Fourteen of the survey respondents identified as Hispanic, representing a much smaller percentage than the City’s population as a whole. Respondents who identified as Hispanic were a collectively younger group, with a larger proportion, 71.4 percent, under the age of 50. Although the number of Hispanic respondents was small, the results are presented here because they differ from the overall patterns. 24 Whether the respondent is a resident, business owner, or works in the area. Respondents could select multiple options. 25 The question regarding respondents’ annual income was optional.

Age 18 - 24,

1.3% Age 25 - 34,

8.0%
Age 35 - 49,

20.0%
Age 50 - 64,

38.7%
Age 65 or More,

32.0%
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 37
Figure 25: Age of Hispanic Survey Respondents
As was noted in the stakeholder interviews and public workshops, Port Hueneme’s beach is its primary attraction and one of the defining characteristics of the City. 71.4 percent of respondents indicated that outdoor recreation is what makes Port Hueneme special. This question also corroborated what was heard in the interviews and workshops regarding the City’s retail and dining options – Port Hueneme could benefit from having more restaurants and dining experiences that can accommodate the business lunch crowd or those interested in a more destination experience, such as a rooftop cocktail bar or a café on the beach.

Figure 26: What Makes Port Hueneme Special?
Age 25 - 34,

21.4%
Age 35 - 49,

50.0%
Age 50 - 64,

21.4%
65 or More, 7.1%
55 35
24 12
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 Outdoor Recreation
(Beaches, Sights, etc.)
Community History and Culture Local Businesses and
Restaurants
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 38
Notably, most respondents had either a positive or neutral view of the activities and operations of the Port of Hueneme and the Naval Base on the quality of life in Port Hueneme, demonstrating that these institutions are viewed as local assets. Less than one-fifth of respondents reported a negative view of these organizations. These results were similar for all respondents in aggregate and those respondents who identified as Hispanic.

Figure 27: View of the Impact of the Activities and Operations of the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County on the Quality of Life in Port Hueneme
When asked what activities survey respondents participate in both inside and outside of Port Hueneme, the majority of respondents indicated that they often leave the City to seek:
▪ Shopping
▪ Dining
▪ Entertainment
▪ Social gatherings outside of the City.

However, half of respondents say they stay in the City to seek outdoor recreation.

The biggest difference in activities completed in the City compared to outside were entertainment and social gatherings. Examples of activities respondents stated they seek outside the City are movies, wine tasting, and concerts.

Positive, 59.2%
Neither, 27.6%
Negative,

13.2%
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 39
Figure 28: Activities Outside Port Hueneme vs. Inside Port Hueneme26 Among respondents who identified as Hispanic, almost twice as many respondents left the City to shop and dine compared to all survey respondents. Results in other categories were similar to survey respondents as a whole.
26 Respondents can select multiple answers.
69 64
54 54 56
26 55
35 0
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 80
Shopping and Dining Entertainment Outdoor Recreation
(hiking, picnicking, biking
etc.)
Social Gatherings
Outside the City Inside the City
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 40
Figure 29: Activities Outside Port Hueneme vs. Inside Port Hueneme, Hispanic Respondents27 In the aggregate, most respondents indicated that of Port Hueneme’s previously defined economic goals, the City’s revenue enhancement is the top priority. While this is not explicitly linked or associated in the question itself, the high prioritization of revenue enhancement can demonstrate a desire or acknowledged need for increased and more diverse business activity within the City, particularly since according to the community survey residents are more likely to seek entertainment outside the City than in. This is also supported by Port Hueneme’s retail leakage in all but one spending category. 27 Respondents can select multiple answers.
14 13
8 8 8
6 10
6 0
2 4
6 8
10 12
14 16
Shopping and Dining Entertainment Outdoor Recreation
(Hiking, Picnicking, Biking
etc.)
Social Gatherings
Outside the City Inside the City
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 41
Figure 30: Which Economic Development Goals are a Priority?28 Notably, attitudes surrounding which economic development goals are a priority differ among those respondents who identify as Hispanic. These individuals were more likely to state that infill development, expanding tourism, and downtown branding were more important than enhancing the City’s revenue.

While in the aggregate respondents overall were least likely to state expanding tourism is a priority, those who identified as Hispanic were least likely to select creating high-wage and high-tech jobs. 28 Respondents can select multiple answers.
49 40
32 30
28 0
10 20
30 40
50 60
Revenue
Enhancement
Infill Development Downtown Branding Creating High-Wage and High-Tech Jobs
Expanding Tourism
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 42
Figure 31: Which Economic Development Goals are a Priority, Hispanic Respondents29 The majority of respondents indicated they would like to see improved sidewalks and crosswalks in Port Hueneme. Hispanic respondents also prioritized improved sidewalks and crosswalks, but slightly preferred accessible public transit to accessible parking.

Figure 32: Which Accessibility Services or Improvements Respondents Would Like to See Implemented30 29 Respondents can select multiple answers.
30 Respondents can select multiple answers.
11 8
7 6
4 0
2 4
6 8
10 12
Infill Development Downtown Branding Expanding Tourism Revenue Enhancement
Creating High-Wage
and High-Tech Jobs
51 30
28 20
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 Improved Sidewalks and
Crosswalks
Accessible Parking Accessible Public
Transportation
Paratransit Services
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 43
Chapter 4: SWOT Analysis
Like all cities, Port Hueneme’s economy contains strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is an appropriate approach to understanding how to craft the Economic Development Plan. These four terms are defined as follows:
▪ Strengths: Local advantages for economic growth and business attraction and retention. ▪ Weaknesses: Local disadvantages for economic growth and business attraction and retention. ▪ Opportunities: External trends and conditions that could positively impact Port Hueneme’s ability to capture future economic growth.
▪ Threats: External trends and conditions that that could negatively impact Port Hueneme’s ability to capture future economic growth.

Strengths
Naval Base Ventura County
Naval Base Ventura County, which is located in the City of Port Hueneme, is the largest employer and most likely the largest generator of economic activity in Ventura County.

Port of Hueneme
The Port of Hueneme, also located in the City, is also a major regional employer and generator of economic activity.

Fathomwerx
Fathomwerx is a nonprofit entity devoted to rapid innovation and which presents an enormous opportunity for the City. Fathomwerx holds the potential to strengthen the economic spinoff opportunities from both the Port and the Naval Base in Port Hueneme and seeks an off-Port location in the City to expand its reach.

Hueneme Beach Park
Hueneme Beach Park is a City-owned asset that is widely valued by both residents and visitors as beautiful, pristine, and peaceful.

Local Workforce
Although Port Hueneme residents have relatively low educational attainment, they do represent a large and strong that is willing and able to contribute to the community’s betterment.

Oxnard College Logistics Program
Working with the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County, Oxnard College is preparing to launch a logistics certificate program that could be of great benefit to Port Hueneme residents interested in working at either reemployment center. With grant funding obtained by the Port, financial assistance will be available to participants in the program.

Local Small Businesses
Although Port Hueneme has a relatively small business community, the City does have a wide range of locally owned service businesses and restaurants, most of which serve a local market.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 44
Cannabis Businesses
The City has a large contingent of cannabis businesses, with some of the dispensaries expanding by adding cannabis consumption lounges, and which provide a significant source of revenue for the City’s General Fund.

City-Owned Property
The City of Port Hueneme owns several strategically located parcels of land at the Beach, in the Downtown area, and near the Pleasant Valley Road Naval Base gate.

Weaknesses
Weak Economic Connections to Port and Naval Base
Although there are many advantages to the presence of the Port and the Navy, the economic connections to these major employers are not as strong as they could be. For example, only a small portion of the Port’s employees (and most likely the Navy’s as well) are Port Hueneme residents. In addition, although local food and beverage businesses do benefit from Port and Navy patrons, the lack of a wide range of options discourages Port and Navy employees from spending more money in Port Hueneme Out-Commuting
The overwhelming majority of employed residents commute out of the City for work, thus depriving the City of both their work skills and some of the money they spend on retail, food and beverage.

Lack of Proximity to Freeway
The City is located approximately 7 miles south of the Highway 101 freeway, discouraging visitors from making the trip all the way through Oxnard. In particular, it can be different for visitors to distinguish Port Hueneme from Oxnard.

Retail Leakage
Although the City’s 22,000 residents have considerable retail buying power, much of that retail spending occurs outside the City. It is estimated that the City loses approximately $216 million per year in retail sales leakage. Much of the leakage occurs because of lack of both retail and food and beverage options in Port Hueneme. Major categories of leakage include grocery stores (even with the recent opening of Grocery Outlet); restaurants, both full and quick service; and general merchandise stores.

Little Available Land
Port Hueneme is almost completely built out, with only a few vacant parcels located in the City. Although some parcels are underutilized and could be redeveloped, the overall situation makes it difficult to provide new real estate development opportunities.

Lack of Recent Investment
Little investment in non-residential real estate has taken place in recent years. Although some retail reinvestment has occurred, most retail and hotel properties have not been improved in several decades and thus, inhibit the attraction of high-quality tenants.

Weak Business Support Infrastructure
With such a small business community, it is difficult to maintain a viable Chamber of Commerce or other business or merchants association.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 45
Opportunities
Increased Hueneme Beach Park Activity
There is considerable opportunity for additional activity, including retail and food/beverage activity, at Hueneme Beach Park . Though large-scale development is not desired by the community, a beneficial increase in activity, in order to attract both local residents and visitors, would be widely accepted, according to the data collected at the stakeholders’ meetings, public workshops and the online survey.

Additional Events To Attract Visitors
A key component of a visitor strategy at Hueneme Beach Park and elsewhere would be an increase in the number of special events. Though Hueneme Beach Park is difficult for visitors to access because of its location seven miles from the freeway, special events have been successful in the past and an increase in events, along with additional retail and food/beverage options at the beach, would activate that location to the community’s benefit.

Revitalizing Aging Shopping Centers
The City has several aging shopping centers that represent opportunities for infill development. Some of these centers may continue successfully as shopping centers in the future, but others may be closer to transitioning to mixed-use development. In some cases the addition of residential development to these centers may increase the likelihood of successful retail establishments in those locations.

Leveraging Fathomwerx To Attract Startups
Fathomwerx is a technology-based collaborative that includes both the Navy and the Port as well as the Economic Development Collaborative and other economic/innovation players. It is currently housed on Port property. Fathomwerx has an interest in opening an off-port storefront in Port Hueneme, which also opens the possibility of an adjacent or nearby business incubator.

Oxnard College Logistics Program
The new Oxnard College logistics program, which both the Port and the Naval Base are partnering on, presents an excellent opportunity to provide local residents with good local employment.

Leveraging City-Owned Land
The City owns several significant pieces of land in strategic locations, including at Hueneme Beach Park, in the Downtown/Market Street area, and near the Pleasant Valley entrance to the Naval Base. This land could be leveraged in order to stimulate business and economic development in these locations. The Surplus Lands Act requires some properties to be made available for affordable housing before any other purpose, but properties of less than one-half acre and properties being leased for 15 years or less are exempt from this law.

Threats
Competition From Cannabis Businesses in Oxnard and Ventura Newly opened cannabis businesses in Oxnard and Ventura are already cutting into the City’s cannabis revenue and it is unclear whether the cannabis revenue will stabilize at a lower level.

Ongoing Competition From Oxnard-Based Businesses
Port Hueneme is completely surrounded by the City of Oxnard, which has a much larger and stronger business base than Port Hueneme, especially for retail and food and beverage businesses.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 46
Retail Uncertainty
Many of Port Hueneme’s retailers are discount stores, which are subject to unusual uncertainty. A good example is the pending closure of the 99 Cents Only Store, which is part of a chainwide decision. Dollar Tree may take over the store but that could trigger the closure of an existing Dollar Tree store in Port Hueneme.

Continued Deterioration of Commercial Properties
Most of Port Hueneme’s commercial properties, including both retail centers and hotels, were built several decades ago and have not been improved in recent years. If these properties are not maintained and improved, it could affect Port Hueneme’s competitiveness in the retail, food and beverage, and hotel sectors, as the cost of renovation could become prohibitive.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 47
Chapter 5: Recommendations
With Port Hueneme’s economic context and its opportunities and challenges in mind, this Economic Development Plan recommends goals and action-based strategies in eight specific areas. It should be noted that although some of the recommendations may be achieved completely within the City’s control, others will require the City to coordinate with other entities to achieve success with those particular recommendations. Because some goals and strategies in the Economic Development Plan will promote more than one General Plan Economic Development goal, the following matrix is provided to show the interconnections between the two.

Table 14: Recommendations
General Plan
Goal ED 1:

Encourage
Fiscally
Positive
Land Uses
General Plan
Goal ED 2:

Redevelop
Aging
Commercial
Centers
General Plan
Goal ED 3:

Create and
Brand New
“Downtown”
General
Plan Goal
ED 4:

Leverage
Attractive
Coastal
Location
General Plan
Goal ED 5:

Expand HighSkill, HighWage
Employment
Opportunities
Connect local
residents to
local jobs
x x
Incentivize
upgrade of
aging
commercial
centers
x x
Use city-owned
land
strategically
x x
Work with
Fathomwerx on
storefront and
incubator
x
Activate the
beach x x
implement the
broadband plan x
Focused local
business
organizations
x x
Stabilize the
cannabis
businesses
x
Consistent
branding x x x
Increase
capacity x x x x x
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 48
Strategy 1: Connect Local Residents to Local Jobs
Context:

Even though two of Ventura County’s largest employment centers, Naval Base Ventura County and the Port of Hueneme, are located inside the city limits of Port Hueneme, the vast majority of Port Hueneme residents work outside the City.

Strategy:

The City should work with the Navy, the Port, Oxnard College, and the Ventura County Workforce Development Board to connect Port Hueneme residents to the logistics program at the College, as well as other programs the College offers, and jobs at the Port and on the Naval Base.

Actions:

1.1. Work with Oxnard College to publicize the availability of the logistics program to Port Hueneme residents in City material, including City material that is available in Spanish.

1.2. Work with Oxnard Union High School District and Hueneme Elementary School District to publicize the availability of the logistics program and other programs to both high school students and parents of students at Hueneme High School and parents at students in Hueneme Elementary School District to publicize the logistics program.

1.3 Work with Oxnard College and the Port of Hueneme to publicize the availability of financial assistance available for logistics program students through funds provided to Oxnard College by the Port.

Metric:

1. Increase the number of Port Hueneme residents who work in Port Hueneme.

Strategy 2: Incentivize Upgrade of Aging Commercial Centers and Hotels Context:

Port Hueneme has 10 retail centers and 4 hotels, almost all of which have not been upgraded since they were first built 40 to 60 years ago. The City loses approximately $200 million per year in “retail leakage,” much of it in grocery stores (even with the recent opening of Grocery Outlet), food and beverage, and general merchandise. Recent changes to allow mixed-use development on some commercial properties may enhance the opportunity to bring in mid-market stores and the additional population to patronize them.

Strategy:

The City should institute incentive programs to owners of older retail centers and hotels to encourage upgrading of their facilities and, in the case of retail centers, the attraction of upgraded retail stores.

Actions:

2.1. Identify one additional grocery chain and two full-service restaurants for attraction into the City’s retail centers and work with commercial property owners to bring those businesses into the City.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 49

2.2 Institute a sales-tax rebate program with owners of commercial centers to incentivize upgrades of centers if targeted grocery stores and restaurants are attracted as a result of the upgrade.

2.3 Pursue an increase to the transient occupancy tax program and, if it is adopted, use some of the revenue to create a fund to assist with upgrades existing hotel properties and attracting upgraded hotel brands.

Metrics:

1. Increased sales tax revenue and reduced retail leakage.

2. Increased transient occupancy tax revenue.

Strategy 3: Encourage Local Business Startups That Link Opportunities at the Port and Naval Base
Context:

Just as the local residents are not well-connected to job opportunities at the Port and the Naval Base, the City has not been able to take advantage of spinoff business opportunities at the Port and the Base. In part, this is because of a lack of available land. But Fathomwerx presents an unusual opportunity to connect with spinoff possibilities that don’t require a significant amount of land.

Strategy:

The City should work with Fathomwerx and other such businesses to facilitate the creation of a storefront presence and a business innovation incubator and upgrade broadband capability to support such businesses.

Actions:

3.1. Work with Fathomwerx to facilitate the creation a storefront location for the organization in the Downtown area in close proximity to Fathomwerx’s current location on Port property, which will continue to be used.

3.2. Work with Fathomwerx and the Economic Development Collaborative to create a business innovation incubator in close proximity to the Fathomwerx off-Port location, thus providing an opportunity for startup companies to interact with Fathomwerx, the Port, and the Navy from a location in Port Hueneme.

3.3. Work with Ventura County, the Economic Development Collaborative, and other players to implement the City’s broadband plan, especially in the Downtown area.

Metrics:

1. An off-Port location for Fathomwerx.

2. One incubator up and running.

3. Three start-up businesses in the incubator.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 50
Strategy 4: Activate Hueneme Beach Park With More Events As Well As Retail and Food and Beverage Opportunities
Context:

Hueneme Beach Park is a major asset to the community but currently generates little economic activity.

The community is opposed to major development at the beach but open to a more modest approach to more activity that will generate economic benefit.

Strategy:

The City should increase the overall amount of activity at Hueneme Beach Park and use that activity to create more retail and food and beverage opportunities there.

Actions:

4.1. Building on the current successful events, create and execute a plan for a larger number of events at Hueneme Beach Park.

4.2. In the short run, encourage additional economic activity at these events by bringing in both food trucks and pop-up vendors.

4.3. In the long run, develop a plan to upgrade the current restaurant and provide additional smallscale, permanent food and beverage and shopping opportunities at the beach.

Metrics:

1. Increased number of events at and visitors to Hueneme Beach.

2. Increased sales tax revenue from Hueneme Beach.

Strategy 5: Use City-Owned Land Strategically for Economic Development Purposes
Context:

Port Hueneme has little vacant land available, including in the designated Downtown Area along Market Street. However, the City owns several critical pieces of property in the Downtown area, at the beach, and near the Pleasant Valley Naval Base gate.

Strategy:

The City should prioritize Downtown and Beach property that can help implement other parts of this strategy and seek developers who will carry out projects that will help meet the City’s goals.

Actions:

5.1. In keeping with Action 4-3, issue of Request For Information from developers to assess feasibility of additional permanent food and beverage and retail opportunities at Hueneme Beach Park.

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5.2. Working with the Port, the Naval Base, Fathomwerx, and the Economic Development Collaborative, create a plan for the development of the City-owned property at the convergence of Market, Scott, and Pomona Streets that will provide additional space for startup and scale-up businesses working with the Port and the Navy and feed into possible redevelopment of Downtown properties along Market Street.

5.3. Conduct a market analysis and feasibility study for possible redevelopment of the properties on Pleasant Valley Road. This step should be a lower priority.

Metrics:

1. Additional small-scale development at Hueneme Beach.

2. Development of business innovation space in the Downtown area.

Strategy 6: Continue to Stabilize the Cannabis Businesses Context:

While the attraction of cannabis businesses to Port Hueneme has been successful, especially along the “Green Mile” on Channel Islands Boulevard, City revenue from these businesses has declined as competition has increased. The City has already sought to help the cannabis businesses by allowing such changes as expanded operating hours and freestanding cannabis lounges.

Strategy:

The City should continue to work with cannabis businesses to stabilize revenue from those businesses, especially through branding and marketing.

Actions:

6.1. Establish a realistic annual revenue target from cannabis businesses.

6.2. Work with and/or encourage the cannabis businesses to strongly brand the “Green Mile” as the center of cannabis activity in Ventura County, including the execution of a “Cannabis Crawl” event.

6.3. Create a funding source that can be used to promote unique experiences such as lounges as opposed to dispensaries.

6.4. Work with property owners that house cannabis businesses to explore potential expansion opportunities that may not currently be allowed per the City’s existing regulations or other business opportunities to replace failing cannabis businesses.

Metrics:

1. Stable revenue to the City from cannabis businesses.

2. Successful businesses that have replaced failed cannabis businesses.

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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 52
Strategy 7: Create Consistent Branding for The City
Context:

The City no longer has a consistent “look” in its wayfinding and signs. This makes it difficult for visitors to find their way from the freeway to Port Hueneme or even to know when they are in Port Hueneme.

Strategy:

The City should create a consistent look and updated feel to all City signage and wayfinding through implementation of the Landscape Guidelines and Park Master Plan and by creating signage and branding that identifies the City’s points of interest and which provide an updated and consistent image for the City that also differentiates it from surrounding communities.

Actions:

7.1. Create a distinctive signage template that brands Port Hueneme.

7.2 Implement that template for all signage and wayfinding signs in the City.

Metrics:

1. New signage/wayfinding complete.

2. Increased number of visitors at beach.

Strategy 8: Increase Both the City’s and the Business Community’s Capacity to Undertake Economic Development Efforts
Context:

Neither the City nor the current Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce has the capacity to implement the recommended actions contained in this Economic Development Plan.

Strategy:

The City and its partners should Increase the capacity of both the City and the business community to implement this Economic Development Plan.

Actions:

8.1. Hire a part-time economic development technician or coordinator (employee or contractor) whose sole function is to implement the Actions contained in this plan.

8.2. Assist the Chamber, as well as the Port, the Navy, and other local businesses to create several networking groups, including:

1. Restaurants

2. Visitor-oriented businesses, including beach-oriented businesses and hotels

3. Innovation startups with strong relationship to the Port and the Naval Base

4. Cannabis businesses
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Port Hueneme Economic Development Strategic Plan 53

8.3. Work with the Chamber and these networking groups to brand and publicize their sectors within Ventura County, especially targeting potential visitors as well as employees of the Port and the Naval Base.

Metrics:

1. Successful implementation of Economic Development Plan actions.

2. Creation of business sector networking groups.

3. Branding and publicizing of business sectors.

4. Increase business-related revenue to the City.

Agenda Item No. 19 Page 62 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
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!!!!P-: --'------------+�DE"""S�IG�N�E!':!:R�: ------------r.D�A�TE�,---------------,THIS SIGN IS INTENDED TO BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS �-!!!""!"!=��P ..; t G d' kevin d 7/28/25 oFART1cLEsoooFTHE NAT10NAL ELEcTR1cAL coDE AND10R oTHER APPucABLE e;.;,;;,e;..r .;;;.;;o;.;;.;.1..;n.;;.ez;;... ____ ..... "::":'::==�:,:,:,,o�--------------+.�����----------- ,LOCAL CODES. THIS INCLUDES PROPER GROUNDING AND BONDING OF THE SIGN.

CLIENT APPROVAL: APPROVAL DATE: FILE LOCATION: @THE LOCATION OF THE DISCONNECT SWITCH AFTER INSTALLATION SHALL@ flexi/cityofporthueneme/wayfind ingsigns/wayfindi ng COMPLY WITH ARTICLE 600.6 (A)(1) OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. --- PAGE
2 Attachment B
Agenda Item No. 19 Page 63 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025
••nr••· ........ Yu\lUt �I\IN

CO MP ANY
SINCE 19 6 2
715 Commercial Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 • (805) 485 3411
1/2" FOSSIL FACE �
ON ALLUMINUM PAN 1
12"
�
48" 39 1/2"
-r-
____l__
6"

1.--------------------------.---
48"
CLIENT: PROJECT NAME: ADDRESS: THESE PLANS ARE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF VOGUE SIGNS, INC. DISTRIBUTION OR C •11 of Po rt H u en em e
ExH1B1T10N oF THESE PLANs To ANYONE oTHER THAN EMPLoYEEs oF You coMPAN IS FORBIDDEN. VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT WILL RESULT IN $1,500 CHANGES. ""s""A ""'LE"""s
""'R
""E
!!!!P-: --'------------+�DE"""S�IG�N�E!':!:R�: ------------r.D�A�TE�,---------------,THIS SIGN IS INTENDED TO BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS �-!!!""!"!=��P ..; t G d' kevin d 7/28/25 oFART1cLEsoooFTHE NAT10NAL ELEcTR1cAL coDE AND10R oTHER APPucABLE e;.;,;;,e;..r .;;;.;;o;.;;.;.1..;n.;;.ez;;... ____ ..... "::":'::==�:,:,:,,o�--------------+.�����----------- ,LOCAL CODES. THIS INCLUDES PROPER GROUNDING AND BONDING OF THE SIGN.

CLIENT APPROVAL: APPROVAL DATE: FILE LOCATION: @THE LOCATION OF THE DISCONNECT SWITCH AFTER INSTALLATION SHALL@ flexi/cityofporthueneme/wayfind ingsigns/wayfindi ng COMPLY WITH ARTICLE 600.6 (A)(1) OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. --- PAGE
3 Agenda Item No. 19 Page 64 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025 ••nr••· ........

Yu\lUt �I\IN

CO MP ANY
SINCE 1962
715 Commercial Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 • (805) 485 3411
44"
�4" X 4" POSTS
CLIENT: PROJECT NAME:

Cit of Port Hueneme
4 2"
4" ALUMINUM PAN
WI 1/2" FOSSIL FACE
-��
40"
ADDRESS: THESE PLANS ARE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF VOGUE SIGNS, INC. DISTRIBUTION OR

EXHIBITION OF THESE PLANS TO ANYONE OTHER THAN EMPLOYEES OF YOU COMPAN IS FORBIDDEN. VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT WILL RESULT IN $1,500 CHANGES. '"s"" A
'"'
L
""
ES...,..RE""P
!!":-""""------------+.D�E�S�IG�N':'!!E!':!:R�: ______ ...., _____ -t.D�A:'!:T�E-: ----------------,THIS SIGN IS INTENDED TO BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS Peter Godinez kevi n d 7 /28/25 oF ARTICLE 600 oF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL coDE AND, oR oTHER APPLICABLE �-�==�,;_;;.;,;;,;....;;�;.;.;.;.;;,;;; _____ ➔-::-:,::,==�:,:,:,,�-------------+r::�����------------,LOCAL CODES. THIS INCLUDES PROPER GROUNDING AND BONDING OF THE SIGN.

CLIENT APPROVAL: APPROVAL DATE: FILE LOCATION: @THE LOCATION OF THE DISCONNECT SWITCH AFTER INSTALLATION SHALL@ flexi/cityofporthueneme/wayfind ingsigns/wayfindi ng COMPLY WITH ARTICLE 600.6 (A)(1) OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. --- PAGE
4 Agenda Item No. 19 Page 65 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025 ••nr••· ........ Yu\lUt �I\IN

CO MP ANY
SINCE 1962
715 Commercial Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 • (805) 485 3411
CLIENT:
1/4" PAINTED

ALUMINUM PANEL WI
Fossil Face
Cit of Port Hueneme
�
HEIGHT

TO GROUND
TB □
l
PROJECT NAME:
96 "
48" -----f--t---1
3" POSTS
ADDRESS: THESE PLANS ARE EXCLUSIVE PROPERlY OF VOGUE SIGNS, INC. DISTRIBUTION OR EXHIBITION OF THESE PLANS TO ANYONE OTHER THAN EMPLOYEES OF YOU C0MPAN IS FORBIDDEN. VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT WILL RESULT IN $1,500 CHANGES. '"s"" A
'"'
L
""
ES...,..RE""P
!!":-""""------------+.D�E�S�IG�N':'!!E!':!:R�: ______ ...., _____ -t.D�A:'!:T�E-: ----------------,THIS SIGN IS INTENDED TO BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS Peter Godinez kevi n d 7 /28/25 oF ARTICLE 600 oF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL coDE AND, oR oTHER APPLICABLE �-�==�,;_;;.;,;;,;....;;�;.;.;.;.;;,;;; _____ ➔-::-:,::,==�:,:,:,,�-------------+r::�����------------,LOCAL CODES. THIS INCLUDES PROPER GROUNDING AND BONDING OF THE SIGN.

CLIENT APPROVAL: APPROVAL DATE: FILE LOCATION: @THE LOCATION OF THE DISCONNECT SWITCH AFTER INSTALLATION SHALL@ flexi/cityofporthueneme/wayfind ingsigns/wayfindi ng COMPLY WITH ARTICLE 600.6 (A)(1) OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. --- PAGE
5 Agenda Item No. 19 Page 66 of 66 CC Agenda 08-18-2025