A meandering river lined with shops and restaurants, à la San Antonio's famed Riverwalk. A tree-lined urban "Greenway" connecting pedestrians from parking areas and transit centers to downtown entertainment zones, commercial areas and public squares. A major hotel, modern new office buildings, hip urban row homes, a destination retail zone and a thriving arts and entertainment district.

That future is entirely possible for downtown El Cajon, according to the new Downtown El Cajon Vision Plan, an independent planning study recently completed by The Mission Group, a San Diego-based firm that provides strategic planning for transportation and urban development.

Funded by the El Cajon Community Development Corp., the $40,000 study was carried out as part of the CDC's effort to formalize a unified vision and master-planning guidelines for future development in the downtown area, according to Claire Carpenter, CEO of the El Cajon CDC.

"Our short-term efforts at revitalization are bearing fruit, and over the past several years we have successfully transformed the old downtown area into a clean, safe destination for people, which is in turn attracting new businesses, new development and new investment opportunities," Carpenter said. "But having accomplished that, the redevelopment process isn't ended, it is only just beginning. We need to plan now for what we want to be in 20 years, and we need to ensure that the growth and improvement of the downtown area is both permanent and sustainable."

According to Carpenter, the Downtown El Cajon Vision Plan is the beginning of that long-term view.

The study found that, due to ongoing efforts by the El Cajon CDC and the city of El Cajon, "there has been a noticeable turn-around in downtown El Cajon. New buildings have been constructed, new businesses have opened and streets have been designed to support the pedestrian quality of this special place," it states. "With this increase in activity, there emerged a need to better articulate how and in what way further investments should be channeled that would maintain or improve access, provide sufficient parking, raise the profile and utility of transit services, avoid land use conflicts, and better identify opportunities for continued housing development, commercial activity and the public realm. The Downtown El Cajon Vision Plan establishes a program that provides the guidance to achieve the goals set forth above."

Carpenter emphasizes that the Vision Plan reflects the consultant's conclusion of what is uniquely possible in El Cajon, based on its research and analysis of the city's existing assets, strengths and weaknesses. "We did not tell The Mission Group what to find, or demand that it validate our redevelopment efforts," she said. "We wanted an outside perspective and an unvarnished look at what we have working for us, as well as against us." What they received was in many ways surprising.

A river runs through it

One of the bolder ideas put forth in the plan is a developed riverfront extending throughout downtown El Cajon. Lined with cafes, shade trees, benches, landscaping and public areas, downtown El Cajon could become a mini Riverwalk. The idea is not at all far-fetched, according to the plan; in fact, some of its elements are already in place and only require expansion.

"One of the nicest -- and least enjoyed -- features of downtown El Cajon is the waterway that separates the Civic Center from the commercial core and parking," states the plan's authors. "This water feature can become the centerpiece of downtown by providing the backdrop for restaurant and cafe uses, a sort of mini-Riverwalk à la San Antonio."

The Riverwalk in San Antonio, pictured here, could provide the inspiration for similar development in El Cajon.

The best way to take advantage of the waterway, according to the plan, is by creating an intimate linear space alongside, with tables and chairs right on the water's edge. "The result could be highly desirable and catalytic for the entire downtown."

The existing waterway flowing through downtown El Cajon could be expanded into a major feature much like San Antonio's Riverwalk.

While the Vision Plan suggests an expansion of the existing waterway system to connect to other areas of downtown, some bold thinkers in El Cajon point out that the old Forrester Creek still runs right through the downtown area and flows right past Parkway Plaza and on out past Gillespie Field to Santee.

"Over the years, flood control projects have turned the old creek bed into a large cement drainage channel," Carpenter said, "but people are wondering whether it can't be reclaimed as a natural waterway. Some are even envisioning a canal system with Venetian gondolas."

Such ideas would, of course, require major infrastructural changes, a huge financial investment, and years to implement, which is why a forward-thinking, long-term plan is needed now.

While the Downtown El Cajon Vision Plan offers up some startling new ideas, its primary purpose is to provide guidelines for future redevelopment, and its pages offer recommendations on a range of less romantic, but certainly no less important issues, such as land uses, traffic circulation, parking, integration of public transit and the like. In addition, the Vision Plan contemplates the future of residential development, commercial and retail uses, hotel development, entertainment venues and new office uses.

The Vision Plan ties these elements together with public uses, including the waterway, an expanded Greenway mall linking various city neighborhoods' public squares, parking and new transit centers, as well as providing recommendations for signage and way finding programs, city Gateways and more.

A string quartet recently played at a public square along the banks of El Cajon's existing waterway in downtown El Cajon.

"Downtown El Cajon has the potential to grow into a regionally significant urban mixed-use core, built around a theme of entertainment/retail uses," concludes the study. "The Downtown El Cajon Vision Plan is a key component in the revitalization strategy of the El Cajon Community Development Corp. It sets forth a series of actions that will advance the effort to make downtown El Cajon East County's cultural zone."

One thing is clear, the El Cajon CDC's aggressive implementation of its original short-term redevelopment plan has already resulted in an entirely new downtown El Cajon. If its past performance is any indication, the CDC's plan for the future will result in some very exciting improvements for the residents of El Cajon.

Davis is president of G. Cole Davis & Associates and is an East County-based writer.