On Wednesday night property owner Ron Polito updated the Ojai Planning Commission on some ornamental details that he's added to the design for his Cañada Street remodel. Much of the opposition for the controversial project, which lead to the closure of the O-Hi Frostie seemed to have died down as no opponents from the public attended the meeting to comment.
On Nov. 15, the commission approved the design, allowing Polito to proceed with his plans to remodel the corner of Cañada Street and Ojai Avenue, provided that he return with more visual details at a later date.
On Wednesday night Polito brought some sample stone and decorative tiles he planned to use for the project, but surprised the commission with sunflower yellow store-front awnings. The commissioners seemed moderately concerned about the brilliance of the hue against Ojai's subtle color scheme. They expressed some concern about keeping them clean but approved the concept in the end along with the decorative tiles, similar to those used for the Los Arboles project.
Polito said that he plans to begin construction in March or April. He said that he is expecting four or five already existing businesses in Ojai to move in but is not yet ready to disclose their names.
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3 comments:
In the recent editorial of the endangered OVNews,
Nao also wrote that the public has calmed down about the Polito project replacing the Ojai Frostie, which is not accurate. A symbolic loss has happened to a small town- kids and others have lost a gathering spot that doesn't resemble yet another chain store franchise, as well as a safe place to gather and relax. It has been the practice of city council to look back on these kinds of looses to
our communuty as mistakes that cannot be reconciled-
(sorry but that's progress.)
The larger mistake is the
loss of small town charm
that attracts visitors and
gives locals a sense of ritual in a town that feels small still, like reading
news from the town newspaper. So in this case, locals have'nt forgotten or moved on to the next road side attraction project being built. More like they hold a candle and send out prayers and healing that there won't be anymore deaths to Ojai that could have been avoided, as well
as attending city council
meetings to remind staff of
their duties to safeguard
what here that is still worth preserving. Pete L
That property is an eyesore and a turnoff to any visitors. Good for Polito to provide an alternative to that filthy run-down block, where people felt free to dump their refrigerators and flea-infested sofas in the trashed-out parking lot behind the O-Hi Frostie. This reality was never one of the 'false choices' acknowledged by gadflys using the issue for their own purpose.
It will be interesting to see what businesses will relocate to this new, clean, attractive property that provides plenty of parking.
This is a test post from the Ojai Valley News
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