Thursday, November 20, 2008

Residents, business owners discuss revitalizing Ojai

By Nao Braverman

What business owners want for a city does not always correspond with the interests of local residents. But in Ojai's case, there is a great deal of consistency, said Scott Eicher, chief executive officer of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Following a meeting of local business and property owners about how to revitalize the local economy on Nov. 11, the Chamber of Commerce subcommittee held another meeting Nov. 19, this time inviting local residents.
About 55 people showed up at Chaparral Auditorium for the discussion.
While residents generally may be more fearful of attracting tourists than local hoteliers, all agree that much of Ojai's charm lies in its small-town character, and no one likes the sight of commercial vacancies.
Mayor Sue Horgan opened the meeting raising some questions for consideration.
"How can we make Ojai's businesses more attractive, and how can we do that without annoying the residents?" she asked.
This more diverse group raised some concerns that were brushed upon by the business and property owners at the previous meeting.
"Some people have this notion that our hometown has an image that we are a hometown for visitors but we are not really a hometown for people living in Ojai," said Stacie Jones, owner of the Ojai Coffee Roasting Co., a coffee shop frequented by locals. She mentioned some complaints regarding the high price for everyday goods such as toilet paper.
But when facilitators of the meeting perused the overall response from residents, regarding what they considered to be Ojai's assets, and ways they thought it could improve, the comments were surprisingly similar to the responses from business and property owners, said Eicher.
That was fortunate, he added, because in order to make any improvements, the city needs to have the cooperation of local residents and business owners alike.
Dave Brubaker, chief operating officer of the Ojai Community Bank, proposed a Clean Up Ojai Day, as an initial combined volunteer effort of local businesses and residents to make Ojai better.
Residents heard the presentation by Rob Edwards, director of the Downtown Ventura Organization, which offered the Main Street program as a possible road map for improving Ojai's economy. The program is known to have helped revive some of the most deserted city centers in Baltimore, Md., Cripple Creek, Colo., and downtown Los Angeles. It may not have the most palatable image, perceived by many as a program that is sought out by some of the most deserted and dilapidated downtown corridors. But its principals, maintaining historical architecture, supporting local business and keeping shopkeepers personable, do coincide with the efforts of many Ojai residents and policy members. The Main Street program would at least provide a road map to help the city improve and coordinate such efforts, said Martha Groszewski, coordinator for the Chamber of Commerce subcommittee at a previous meeting.
Eicher said he was not yet sure if the city should follow the Main Street program or not. The Chamber of Commerce subcommittee is still evaluating the dialogue at recent meetings and considering the next step, he said.
Clean Up Ojai Day efforts, coordinated by Brubaker, will meet Dec. 13 at the Park & Ride at 9 a.m. and will continue until noon.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Part of the problem of so many storefront vacancies was the city council and the plannung commission approving the monstrosity at the corner of Canada St. and Ojai Avenue. In this economic climate, how in the world can ANYONE start a business to fill those vacancies?
It seems top me that our so-called leadership in this town is swayed so easily toward projects of this kind-- take, for example, the condos on S. Montgomery. No EIR to study the impact to traffic turning onto an already very congested Ojai Ave., no requirement for low-income and affordable housing to compliment the $800,000 condos, and no apparent oversight by our city's "leaders". Marc Whitman and his buddies appear to be on a mission to get projects built at any cost and destroy our uniqueness. Although I realize the man is a native, but he's more interested in padding his pockets and those of our fair town's rich invaders.
Progress? NOT!!!!

Anonymous said...

He has legal bills to pay.

Anonymous said...

Can anyone accurately enumerate all of Ojai's vacancies? How many storefronts are actually vacant?

Anonymous said...

what legal bills???!

Anonymous said...

The "monstrosity" on Canada & Ojai Av is GONE. The monstrosity was the rotting Chevy dealership, empty for decades, and the consignment flea market/garage sale posing as an antique store. That property was the blight, not the new development. That property produced almost no tax revenue, and was an eyesore. Now someone needs to build a fire under the people who own the abandoned gas station on Blanche and Ojai Av. to make them either build something there or tear down the mess that's sitting there. Who's going to move into that? A massage parlor or an adult book store? Left to their own devices and the vagaries of the economy, the owners will probably let that place sit forever. They live out of town and don't have to look at it every day.

Anonymous said...

Polish a turd its still ojai