Vacaville Neighborhood Associations (VNA)

What is a Neighborhood Association?

A Neighborhood Association is a group of people that organizes and works together to identify issues, improve conditions, and accomplish specific goals in their neighborhood. Members can include homeowners, renters, and representatives from businesses, schools, faith-based and non-profit organizations within defined neighborhood boundaries.

What is the purpose of a Neighborhood Association?

The purpose of a Neighborhood Association is to establish a vision in each neighborhood and identify its priorities, utilizing and increasing the neighborhood’s capacity. Neighborhood capacity is a combination of knowledge, skills, relationships, interactions and organizational resources that enable residents, civic leaders, the public and private sectors and local organizations to transform neighborhoods into places of opportunity.

Benefits include:

Enhance Living Conditions
Boost Communication
Getting to know your neighbor
Protect Property Values
Address Neighborhood Concerns
Promote Cooperative Action
A common voice to communicate with the City and other stakeholder groups

Why should I join?

By working together, residents can create a positive and inclusive environment that benefits everyone who calls the neighborhood home. Additionally, Neighborhood Associations can organize fun activities and events that promote social connections, creating a vibrant and engaging neighborhood where neighbors can build meaningful relationships with one another.

What is the difference between a Neighborhood Association and a Homeowner's Association?

Membership to a Neighborhood Association is voluntary, free of charge, and different from a Homeowners Association (HOA). HOA’s are typically created by developers to help pay for the maintenance of common amenities and to maintain a standard appearance across the community.

Strategic Plan Goals

Goal #2 Strengthen the Local Economy

Goals #3 Protect Vacaville’s Quality of Life

Goals #5 Promote Community Engagement and Increased Equity and Inclusion

Learn more about how you can create or join a Neighborhood Association below.

Benefits

Benefits of Forming a Neighborhood Association
Neighborhood Associations play a vital role in fostering a sense of community, organizing local events, and addressing common concerns or issues. By uniting residents, Neighborhood Associations aim to strengthen the social fabric of a community and create a sense of belonging among its members.

Community Engagement
Neighborhood Associations encourage residents to actively participate in community affairs and provide a forum for residents to discuss and address issues effecting their neighborhood. They organize meetings, social events, and volunteer initiatives to foster relationships among neighbors and promote a sense of neighborhood unity.

Advocacy
One of the core functions of Neighborhood Associations is to advocate for the interests of the community. They represent residents' concerns and viewpoints by speaking collectively. In this way, these associations can have a stronger impact on decision-making processes and ensure that the voice of the community is heard.

Maintenance & Improvement
Neighborhood Associations often take responsibility for maintaining and improving the quality of their community. They may organize clean-up campaigns, neighborhood beautification activities, or other neighborhood projects. These efforts contribute to the overall livability and attractiveness of the neighborhood.

Safety & Security
Many neighborhood associations focus on promoting safety and security within their communities. By proactively addressing safety concerns, these associations help create a secure environment for residents.

Communication & Information Sharing
Neighborhood associations are great tools for keeping residents informed about community events, local news, and important developments that may impact the neighborhood. This communication helps foster a sense of transparency and ensures that residents are well-informed about matters concerning their community.

General Membership & Involvement

Toolkit

Neighborhood Associations are formed through a grassroots process initiated by residents who are interested in improving their community and creating a platform for collaboration. The specific steps involved in forming a Neighborhood Association may vary depending on community preferences.

Learn more about how to organize and reach neighborhood goals, as well as common methods and considerations for forming your own.

Download the English Neighborhood Toolkit or Spanish Neighborhood Toolkit.

Registration

After determining geographic boundaries, register your Neighborhood Association with the City of Vacaville. Your neighborhood will be added to the City’s Neighborhood Resource Map.

Things you will need:

Contact Information for the Chair & Co-Chair of your Neighborhood Association. This includes name, residential address, email, and phone number.

Name of your Neighborhood Association

Purpose statement. This statement should state the primary reason in forming the Neighborhood Association and should be brief and broad. For example: To provide a safe, clean neighborhood to be proud to live in and raise our families.

Boundaries of your neighborhood. This includes identifying the streets that create the northern, southern, eastern, and western edges of your neighborhood.

A map showing your neighborhood boundaries.

Once you have all the required information listed above, you're ready to go! Complete the registration form and a City staff will be in touch.

Activity Ideas

Neighborhood Associations can organize a wide range of fun and engaging activities to bring the community together. These activities create opportunities for neighbors to interact, build relationships, and enjoy shared experiences. Here are some ideas of fun activities for your Neighborhood Association:

Block Parties

Beautification or Cleanup Projects

Community Picnics

Sports Tournaments

Adopt-a-Park

Standard Criteria

To be recognized by the City, Neighborhood Associations:

Must have a unique name for identification and must adhere to the following rules:
- Does not contain inappropriate group names, photos, or descriptions such as profanity, hate speech, sexually explicit content or other content are not allowed.
- Does not promote violence or harm.
- Does not impersonate or misrepresent. This includes group names using registered trademarks not belonging to the Neighborhood Association, pretending to be “official” representations of people, brands, businesses, or organizations, as well as groups using false or misleading group names, photos, or descriptions with the intention of obscuring a group’s intended purpose.

Must have a Statement of Purpose which includes the intent and objective of the organization.

Must identify a Neighborhood Association boundary
- (i.e. northern edge is bounded by _____; eastern edge is bounded by _____; southern edge is bounded by _____; and the western edge is bounded by _____.)
Membership

Shall consist of residents, property owners or businesses within the neighborhood who have submitted their names on/for a membership list.

Shall be open to all residents, property owners and businesses within the boundaries of the association as described.

Shall not be denied on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, or physical or mental disability, or any other state or federal protected class.

Neighborhood Associations shall consist of one (1) Chair and one (1) Co-Chair that reside within the boundaries of the Neighborhood Association.

Shall conduct at least one (1) meeting per calendar year.

Neighborhood Associations must be registered with the City by submitting an application.

Resources

Contact Information

Vacaville, CA

Popular Content

Vacaville Neighborhood Associations (VNA)

City of Vacaville

Why should I join?

What is the difference between a Neighborhood Association and a Homeowner's Association?

Strategic Plan Goals

Learn more about how you can create or join a Neighborhood Association below.