By Lenny Roberts
A 22-year-old woman reported being assaulted and robbed Monday morning in the parking lot of a retail business in Mira Monte. According to investigators, the woman, a Ventura resident, said she stopped at the business on her way to her Ojai job at around 8 a.m.
Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Jim Popp said Tuesday the victim was approached from behind by two men who demanded money and took her purse. The woman also stated that she was hit in the head during the alleged robbery, but was unable to describe the suspects.
Popp said the woman then drove to her place of employment where a co-worker called the police. She was then transported to the Ojai Valley Community Hospital where she was examined and released.
“There is evidence and injury to support her statement,” Popp said.
Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Mark Burgess at the Ojai Police Station, 646-1414.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Fire Marks Story Of Loss, Recovery
Before firefighters declared containment on Sunday, the Zaca Fire burnt 240,000 acres, making it the second largest wildfire in recorded state history. Now the long process of recovery begins.By Earl Bates
Effects of the enormous Zaca Fire will be felt for a long time, but the recovery is likely to begin soon.
Kevin Cooper, Los Padres National Forest wildlife biologist, says, “Of course, it affects all wildlife differently, but there are a couple of general statements you could make about the affects on wildlife.”
Many members of the wildlife community escaped being seared by the fire, but many didn’t. “And it depends on what we call wildlife, if you include all of the invertebrates, which is a huge portion of the living biota out there, it’s a lot more that’s being burned up.”
The wildlife that has survived the fire must now find suitable habitat in an austere landscape, and the flora is beginning a vivid natural cycle of regeneration and succession.
The Zaca Fire started on July 4 and was “contained” on Sunday, with full control anticipated by October. With a perimeter that encompasses an area of 240,000 acres, it’s the second largest wildfire in the recorded history of California.
“It’s going well, actually, the fire’s looking like it’s going to be in good shape.” said forest botanist Lloyd Simpson from his station at the Richardson Fire Camp. “We are still very cautious because of the history of how this fire has acted. We have some really nasty weather coming up with these 100-plus temperatures and very low humidities, so they are keeping quite a vigilant watch on it.”
The work of more than 3,000 firefighters has protected countless lives, dwellings and structures from the extensive Zaca Fire. About 40 injuries have been reported and one outbuilding is listed as destroyed.
The story of the loss, survival and recovery of the wildlife and plants that reside in the habitats of this Mediterranean forest is a window into the functioning of a fire-cycle ecosystem.
Ojai residents have been concerned about the welfare of the wildlife affected by the fire. What are the animals doing and where are they going?
“First of all, they are just fleeing the fire, so they are not headed anywhere except away from flames.” said Cooper. “Once it settles down, then they will be going into any kind of habitat that’s appropriate for them.”
Most of the larger wildlife had time to flee and avoid the flames, although some were unable to escape as the fire burned very quickly.
“Occasionally we see a deer or a bear get caught up in some heavy brush and may not make it, but it’s not that common.” Many of the small burrowing mammals and some of the reptiles and amphibians went underground and were probably protected, and birds flew, said Cooper.
The animals then just followed their senses. “A bear, for instance, can wander for miles and find unburned habitat that has the prey species, the plants and animals they need. They can sniff it out from miles away, they are pretty good about figuring that out.”
Some species like foxes and bobcats, and their prey, the wood rats, rely on having a lot of older, heavier brush nearby. So they may be more distressed than other animals from loss of habitat.
“Once they have made it out of the fire they are still not out of the frying pan,” said Cooper. As the various species try to locate suitable habitat, they probably encounter others of their own species already resident there, and other refugees. “There may not be room, in the ecological sense, for everybody to fit into the perimeter around the fire.”
Although individual animals have been lost directly to the flames and others have a diminished access to habitat, Cooper has not seen loss of any species. “If you are talking in terms of populations and not just individuals, then they are doing fine and they will reinhabit those burned regions when they regrow.”
But no complete census has been made. A number of rare species, including the California spotted owl, are know to have lived in the area of the Zaca Fire. “They didn’t lose their basic canopy cover of old growth timber in there, that’s still standing, at least on Big Pine Mountain,” said Cooper. “But whether the spotted owl still have their prey species and will go back immediately is unknown.”
Cooper and Simpson agree that one significant fact about this fire is its extra-large size. “But interestingly, there are still lots of unburned patches of forest, so it’s a mosaic,” said Simpson.
“I flew over it yesterday and I noticed a lot of the lower drainages where there are trees, vegetation is still there, it’s still green and it looks like it is going to survive,” he said. “The mosaic is really what we want, it adds a lot of ecological variety to the landscape, so we get a much bigger diversity of species. Where we had only a handful of plants we could have thousands after the fire. It’s amazing, it’s interesting to see that.”
Ojai Finally Cools From 110-degree Heat
Staying cool this Labor Day weekend, with daily temperatures reaching nearly 110 degrees, was made a little easier by the Casitas Water Adventure where vacationers and locals made use of the facility.By Lenny Roberts and Nao Braverman
The scorching temperatures that for more than a week have turned Ojai into Blythe’s unofficial sister city have somewhat subsided, but only slightly.
As Hollywood descended upon Ojai’s new chapel of the stars for the Kate Walsh-Alex Young wedding, and softball players from all over Southern California flirted with heat exhaustion by playing in the annual Labor Day Classic softball tournament at Sarzotti Park, locals wishing for even a sprinkle of the cooling rain that earlier skirted Ventura County, instead, baked in oppressive temperatures.
The highest point was reached Saturday afternoon at 109.6 degrees, according to one of Ojai’s two official weather underground reporting stations. Sunday, the same station reported a balmy 107.4.
Though the overwhelming heat prompted a number of Ojai residents to run to local hardware stores to purchase fans and air conditioners, a series of utility failures kept them from using the new appliances for relief. Barry Bluhm, an employee at True Value said that about 95 percent of the store’s air conditioner and fan merchandise was sold over the weekend.
On Saturday evening, however, a eucalyptus tree branch came crashing down on a power line at the corner of Cuyama Road and Del Norte Road causing the power line to ignite. The outage lasted for about five hours for some Ojai residents.
Temperatures rose high enough over the weekend to melt two power lines in Meiners Oaks on Sunday. The first scorched line dropped around 7 p.m. on South Poli Avenue near El Roblar and the other subsequently broke an hour later on Mesa Drive between South Poli and Alvarado Avenue, said Bob Myers, fire captain for Station 22. Both were cleared and taken care of promptly, Myers said. Despite the ominous heat, for about an hour Sunday evening, some upper Foothill Road residents couldn’t even take a cold shower to cool off. The short water outage was due to a break in the main pipe which caused a pipe failure, said Frank Heldman, Ojai office general manager for the Golden State Water Company. The water was shut down so that a clamp could be put on it, he said.
Mira Monte residents and visitors sought relief in ice cream cones. Sales at the Mira Monte to Liz White, a Baskin Robbins employee. Ojai Ice Cream sold about 30 percent less than usual, on the other hand. Ojai Ice Cream owners Doug and Donna Rydbeck said that that fewer people were strolling through the Arcade than usual over Labor Day slowing down sales for most of the Arcade’s business owners.
Fewer spectators than ever left their homes to watch the annual softball tournament in Sarazotti Park.
Though 22 dedicated softball teams played the Labor Day Classic under the sweltering afternoon sun, about a third of the teams that came to last year’s tournament didn’t show, most left immediately after their games were over instead of staying to watch, said Rudy Torres, a tournament coordinator. Only half the number of fans as usual withstood the heat to watch their favorite players finish off, he added .
Many were smart to stay in and keep cool as several individuals were admitted to the Ojai Valley Community Hospital for heat related health problems, said Mike Ellingson, vice president of marketing for the Community Memorial Health system. Exact numbers were not available because of a computer glitch resulting from a power failure over the weekend, he said.
Though not expected anytime soon, thunderstorms can light up the evening skies this time of year, but measurable rain usually arrives in October. The Ventura County Watershed Protection District’s yearly rainfall totals begin Oct. 1 and end Sept. 30.
With just 6.58 inches of rain recorded at Fire Station 21 since Oct. 1, Ojai is nearing the end of the driest year since record-taking began in 1873. But when considering only .47 of an inch of rain fell between April 15 and Sept. 30, 2006 — that being on May 22 — the lack of rain becomes more staggering.
In the nearly 17-month span, the 8.05 inches that fell are far less than the 21.32 expected during the entire rainy season. And the drought-like numbers are even more alarming when compared with the second-rainiest year on record just two years ago, when Ojai reported 34.84 inches.
With area ranchers being hit with a 53 percent rate hike just last week, and Golden State Water Company’s recently approved across-the-board double-digit rate hike, more interest than usual is being placed on the upcoming rainy season.
Based on climatological forecasts prepared Aug. 16, the National Weather Service is predicting between normal and below-normal precipitation for southern and central California between October and April, leaning toward below average for the typically wettest months of January, February and March.
With the Zaca Fire safely turned away from the Ojai Valley, and plant moisture levels at critical lows, fire officials are now focused on preparation as the Santa Ana-aided brushfire season approaches.
The live fuel moisture content is lower than 50 percent in some areas of the Los Padres National Forest, much lower than the 95 percent norm, according to Mary Blair, a wildfirefire prevention officer for the Los Padres National Forest. Fuel conditions in Southern California are at record dryness levels and leave Ojai residents at high risk for fires. The fuel conditions are not likely to improve until the area receives significant rainfall, she said.
OVLC Marks 20th Anniversary
Group began to preserve open space, has become one of valley’s largest landowners
By Linda Harmon
Part One of Two: When Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks began to absorb the overflow of the San Fernando Valley 40 years ago, a movement began to preserve what remained of Ventura County’s open space and farm land, an effort that continues today with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.
Originally formed in 1987 to prevent the development of a Maricopa Highway shopping mall between Nordhoff High School and El Roblar Drive, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy established the Ojai Meadows Preserve after purchasing the prime land eight years ago.
“My mom actually came across an article in a San Diego paper about a group successfully fighting a shopping mall in San Diego,” said preserve manager Rich Handley, one of the OVLC’s five founders. “ I figured if they could do it, we could too. “
The preserve is one of the last remaining grasslands on the east side of the Ventura River with extensive views of the surrounding Los Padres National Forest.
“The conservancy has been a huge part of preserving Ojai,” said Mayor Carol Smith. “Not only is the organization preserving our open spaces it is actually restoring land back to the state nature intended by restoring this wetland.”
According to Handley there were only a quarter the number of public land trusts that held and protected open space when he and his wife, former Ojai Mayor Ellen Hall, started the organization along with Alasdair Coyne, Brenda Martin and Greg McMillan. Their first office was in Hall’s and Handley’s bedroom.
The group grew to include then Ojai Mayor Nina Shelly and Planning Commissioner David Hirschberg, with more than 40 board members at one time. Then, in 1999, Handley said a $200,000 gift from Taormina resident Ruth Matthews and a $250,000 bequeath from Meiners Oaks resident Pekka Merikellio, were pivotal, allowing the OVLC to raise the rest of the $1.2 million needed to purchase the property.
The OVLC now has an 11-member board, a staff of five full-time and two part-time employees, a yearly operating budget of $275,000, and is headquartered in a small rented office behind the Arcade. It owns five separate preserve parcels; the 80-acre Ilevento Preserve donated in 1997; the 58-acre Ojai Meadows Preserve purchased in 1999 and 2000; the 9-acre San Antonio Creek Preserve donated in 2002; the 1,591-acre Ventura River Preserve Rancho El Nido Unit purchased in 2003; and the 19-acre Ventura River Preserve Confluence Unit purchased in 2004.
They also oversee another 173 acres as areas of influence; the Confluence Conservation Easement, Ojai Valley School Conservation Agreement, the Oso Ridge Conservation Easement, the Riverview Trail Easement, the Fuel Break Road Trail Easement and the Cluff Vista Park completed in 2002. These areas remain open space, permanently protecting them from development while the landowners retain the property’s title.
The OVLC has become a major player receiving local, state and federal grants that enable it to protect the Ojai Valley. The conservancy received grants totaling more than $1 million this year alone., and was chosen to receive a $5,000 monthly payment from the county court awarded penalty in the 2002 criminal trail of William Kaddis. Kaddis, a Los Angeles real estate developer, was found guilty of the unlawful removal of 301 coastal live oaks from his Baldwin Road property.
“The penalty was the court’s answer to making restitution to the people of the Ojai Valley,” said Linda Ash, the assistant Ventura County counsel on the six-year-long case. Ash said the county felt the OVLC would make the best use of the funds and had a demonstrated history of protecting oak trees. The county felt that if Kaddis were simply ordered to replant the trees there was no guarantee he would care for them. This way the funds will be used by the OVLC for purchase of oak habitat or reforestation projects in the Valley.
The hiring eight months ago of Fred Fox as the OVLC executive director, is in keeping with Handley’s belief in the importance of broadening its management resources. Fox, with 13 years land conservation experience, came to them from Montana.
“This is the fourth place I’ve held a position,” said Fox . “I have never been in a community that has been so supportive.” Fox holds a degree in public administration and was previously director of development and communications of the Kansas Nature Conservancy, project director for the Lower Ozarks Land Conservancy, and executive director of the Montana Flatland Land Trust,
Fox says their most visible ongoing restoration project is the Ojai Meadows Preserve established in 1999. He said the project is an example of combining open-space preservation with land restoration, enhancement projects, and educational opportunities.
In the preserve the OVLC hopes to capture groundwater and reverse the damage done by farming, erosion and the invasion of non-native species. The project will cost $2 million, using grants from the U.S. Division of Water Resources and a portion of the Kaddis settlement.
“Tens of thousands of plants are going to be going in there, oaks, native grasses, and scrubs,” said Fox, “with a handful of eucalyptus trees removed to allow for a meandering streambed.”
He said what at first may look counter-productive, with more earth moving and tree removals this fall, is not. It is specifically designed to avoid flooding and duplicate original natural conditions that once supplied a two-acre pool.
“There will be three seasonal vernal pools that will be home to fairy shrimp and spring peepers,” said Fox. “There will be meadows, to marsh, to open water conditions. We’re hoping it will be a bird paradise here.”
“Restoring a wetland in Ojai is incredible,” said Mayor Smith, “when California wetlands are nearly gone. It’s like watching something come back from extinction.”
“This is land completely open to the public,” said Handley, adding that many other trusts limit public access. “You don’t have to make an appointment and have a guide to hike there. I think people appreciate that.”
The OVLC will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at this year’s annual fund-raising event, “Moonlight on the Meadow," on Sept. 15.
By Linda Harmon
Part One of Two: When Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks began to absorb the overflow of the San Fernando Valley 40 years ago, a movement began to preserve what remained of Ventura County’s open space and farm land, an effort that continues today with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.
Originally formed in 1987 to prevent the development of a Maricopa Highway shopping mall between Nordhoff High School and El Roblar Drive, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy established the Ojai Meadows Preserve after purchasing the prime land eight years ago.
“My mom actually came across an article in a San Diego paper about a group successfully fighting a shopping mall in San Diego,” said preserve manager Rich Handley, one of the OVLC’s five founders. “ I figured if they could do it, we could too. “
The preserve is one of the last remaining grasslands on the east side of the Ventura River with extensive views of the surrounding Los Padres National Forest.
“The conservancy has been a huge part of preserving Ojai,” said Mayor Carol Smith. “Not only is the organization preserving our open spaces it is actually restoring land back to the state nature intended by restoring this wetland.”
According to Handley there were only a quarter the number of public land trusts that held and protected open space when he and his wife, former Ojai Mayor Ellen Hall, started the organization along with Alasdair Coyne, Brenda Martin and Greg McMillan. Their first office was in Hall’s and Handley’s bedroom.
The group grew to include then Ojai Mayor Nina Shelly and Planning Commissioner David Hirschberg, with more than 40 board members at one time. Then, in 1999, Handley said a $200,000 gift from Taormina resident Ruth Matthews and a $250,000 bequeath from Meiners Oaks resident Pekka Merikellio, were pivotal, allowing the OVLC to raise the rest of the $1.2 million needed to purchase the property.
The OVLC now has an 11-member board, a staff of five full-time and two part-time employees, a yearly operating budget of $275,000, and is headquartered in a small rented office behind the Arcade. It owns five separate preserve parcels; the 80-acre Ilevento Preserve donated in 1997; the 58-acre Ojai Meadows Preserve purchased in 1999 and 2000; the 9-acre San Antonio Creek Preserve donated in 2002; the 1,591-acre Ventura River Preserve Rancho El Nido Unit purchased in 2003; and the 19-acre Ventura River Preserve Confluence Unit purchased in 2004.
They also oversee another 173 acres as areas of influence; the Confluence Conservation Easement, Ojai Valley School Conservation Agreement, the Oso Ridge Conservation Easement, the Riverview Trail Easement, the Fuel Break Road Trail Easement and the Cluff Vista Park completed in 2002. These areas remain open space, permanently protecting them from development while the landowners retain the property’s title.
The OVLC has become a major player receiving local, state and federal grants that enable it to protect the Ojai Valley. The conservancy received grants totaling more than $1 million this year alone., and was chosen to receive a $5,000 monthly payment from the county court awarded penalty in the 2002 criminal trail of William Kaddis. Kaddis, a Los Angeles real estate developer, was found guilty of the unlawful removal of 301 coastal live oaks from his Baldwin Road property.
“The penalty was the court’s answer to making restitution to the people of the Ojai Valley,” said Linda Ash, the assistant Ventura County counsel on the six-year-long case. Ash said the county felt the OVLC would make the best use of the funds and had a demonstrated history of protecting oak trees. The county felt that if Kaddis were simply ordered to replant the trees there was no guarantee he would care for them. This way the funds will be used by the OVLC for purchase of oak habitat or reforestation projects in the Valley.
The hiring eight months ago of Fred Fox as the OVLC executive director, is in keeping with Handley’s belief in the importance of broadening its management resources. Fox, with 13 years land conservation experience, came to them from Montana.
“This is the fourth place I’ve held a position,” said Fox . “I have never been in a community that has been so supportive.” Fox holds a degree in public administration and was previously director of development and communications of the Kansas Nature Conservancy, project director for the Lower Ozarks Land Conservancy, and executive director of the Montana Flatland Land Trust,
Fox says their most visible ongoing restoration project is the Ojai Meadows Preserve established in 1999. He said the project is an example of combining open-space preservation with land restoration, enhancement projects, and educational opportunities.
In the preserve the OVLC hopes to capture groundwater and reverse the damage done by farming, erosion and the invasion of non-native species. The project will cost $2 million, using grants from the U.S. Division of Water Resources and a portion of the Kaddis settlement.
“Tens of thousands of plants are going to be going in there, oaks, native grasses, and scrubs,” said Fox, “with a handful of eucalyptus trees removed to allow for a meandering streambed.”
He said what at first may look counter-productive, with more earth moving and tree removals this fall, is not. It is specifically designed to avoid flooding and duplicate original natural conditions that once supplied a two-acre pool.
“There will be three seasonal vernal pools that will be home to fairy shrimp and spring peepers,” said Fox. “There will be meadows, to marsh, to open water conditions. We’re hoping it will be a bird paradise here.”
“Restoring a wetland in Ojai is incredible,” said Mayor Smith, “when California wetlands are nearly gone. It’s like watching something come back from extinction.”
“This is land completely open to the public,” said Handley, adding that many other trusts limit public access. “You don’t have to make an appointment and have a guide to hike there. I think people appreciate that.”
The OVLC will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at this year’s annual fund-raising event, “Moonlight on the Meadow," on Sept. 15.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Ojai Farmers Stuck With Huge Hike
Growers begin paying 53 percent more tomorrow
By Daryl Kelley
Confronted by dozens of farmers asking for relief, directors of the Casitas Municipal Water District instead imposed a 53 percent hike in the cost to irrigate crops, but also pledged to work closely with growers to get rate hikes under control.
Predicting a change in the nature of the Ojai Valley, farmers told the Casitas board Wednesday that its decisions on water rates might herald the beginning of the end of orchards that have encircled the valley’s towns for a century.
“Everybody will find ways to change, or they’ll go out of business and there will be just dead trees standing there,” said grower Jim Finch. “And it will change the nature of this valley.”
Casitas directors sympathized, vowing to work with farmers on a new way to charge for water.
“Yeah, the 50 percent increase is a whopper, we agree,” said board President Russ Baggerly. “And we accept the challenge for a dialogue ... to find solutions.”
Still, the new water rates will be imposed beginning tomorrow.
And, even with months of reconsideration, it won’t be easy for Casitas directors to craft a new set of rates that are equitable for farmers, businesses and residents, because a shift of costs from one group would affect the other.
For example, under the new rates, water costs to residential users supplied directly by Casitas in the Oak View area remained the same, because officials say homeowners already pay for the full cost of delivering their water. Farmers will still have a much lower rate than residents even with the 53 percent increase.
“The rates did not go up for residential users,” Baggerly said. “They’re paying their fair share.”
But farmers said the board’s rate hikes for agriculture ignored the history of the Casitas district, which was formed a half century ago partly to supply water for local farms. And they said the water district had taken the easy way out by putting the bulk of a budget increase required to patch an aging waterworks on the backs of about 200 farmers. That avoided a backlash from 2,600 residential customers in and around Oak View, they said.
East valley rancher Roger Essick called the rate increases “grossly unfair,” arguing that water costs should be allocated by the number of water meters held by those who benefit from the Casitas system, including residents of Ojai, Mira Monte and Ventura. Costs are now levied primarily on how much water a customer uses, as is the case with nearly all of the water districts in California.
“They’re not paying their fair share for the cost of upkeep,” Essick said of residential customers.
Indeed, he and neighboring farmers Jim Churchill and Jim Coultas proposed a dramatically different method for establishing rates.
Under their plan, detailed by Coultas, administrative and maintenance costs would be parceled out to every customer, direct or indirect, who benefits from Casitas water, even if those customers are in other water districts, such as Golden State’s in Ojai, the city water department in Ventura, or the water agencies of Meiners Oaks, Mira Monte and Casitas Springs.
That would mean that thousands of residential customers could have their rates increased to lower the bill to farmers. Casitas provides water for about 65,000 people at 29,000 households and for nearly 5,700 acres of farmland in the Ojai Valley and Ventura area.
But farmers use 44 percent of the district’s water, while customers in Ventura use about one third. And those two groups took the big hit this week, farmers with a more than 50 percent increase and the city of Ventura with a 30 percent hike. Indeed, Ventura officials expressed frustration that they had not been warned of the big increase and now can’t afford to buy as much water from Casitas.
Casitas officials said Ventura and the district might consider renegotiating how much water Ventura receives each year.
But the Coultas, Essick and Churchill plan received the most attention for future discussions.
“This is real important stuff, more so than trucks or chain stores,” Coultas told the board. “It has the potential to change the very character of our community.”
A former Casitas director himself, Coultas asked the board to go through its budget line by line to determine “if this cost is a factor of the water used or is it a factor of the service received.”
In other words, should farmers paying by volume be charged to maintain pipes, pumps and tanks that provide water to nine retail companies that provide water to nondistrict customers? And should farmers be charged to maintain the waterworks that also provide backup water in times of emergency for thousands more homes?
“Let’s see if we can’t come up with a new way,” Coultas said.
And while the board seemed receptive, directors also defended their current method of calculating rates.
“You’re absolutely right, people in Ventura and Ojai don’t want to see this valley go barren,” Director Bill Hicks said. “We don’t want to run you out of business.”
But it’s also true that residents had paid nearly three times as much for their water, based on volume, than farmers before the new increase, Hicks said.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place,” he said.
And after the hearing, Director Richard Handley said he’d taken Coultas’ formula for redistributing costs and applied it to his own situation as a resident of Ojai, who is not a direct customer of Casitas.
“My rate would go up six-fold,” Handley said, from about $298 a year to $1,894. Handley lives in a three-bedroom house and does not irrigate his lot. “This plan doesn’t work,” he said.
Casitas directors are also faced with the challenge of how to implement a 2006 State Supreme Court decision in which justices ruled that Proposition 218, passed by voters in 1996, requires equitable distribution of water costs.
Even with the farmers’ rate proposed to increase from $208 an acre-foot to $312, they would still pay far less than the $667 charged to residential customers. (An acre-foot of water meets the needs of two typical households for a year.)
Casitas officials have said they might be able to legally justify the lower rate because agricultural users do not need the high quality water delivered to their orchards since a sophisticated treatment plant was built a decade ago to meet state drinking-water standards.
If all costs, including treatment, were included, farmers would pay $521 an acre foot, 150 percent more than they pay today, analysts said.
The new $312 farmers’ rate covers the bulk of their water’s $365 basic cost, but none of the $165 per acre-foot treatment cost, officials said.
Rancher and restaurateur DeWayne Boccali said that even if there is a subsidy to farmers, such subsidies are common in the United States, and valley residents need to take care of agriculture or it will go away.
“In some cases you just have to take care of your own,” he said, “and subsidize your farmers. ... Agriculture is an important thing if you like to eat.”
But many farmers see Proposition 218 in a different light.
Coultas, Churchill and Essick wrote: “We believe that in attempting to apply Prop. 218 ... you have done exactly what Prop. 218 was meant to prevent, which is unfairly load a disproportionate share of the costs onto one class of user. ... We believe that your current model and proposed rates cause agriculture to subsidize other classes of user.”
Churchill said he thought the farmers would now have a chance to make their case with Casitas over the next year.
“I think we will have an opportunity to go through their budget line by line,” he said. “I gather they’re eager to work with us within their constraints.”
By Daryl Kelley
Confronted by dozens of farmers asking for relief, directors of the Casitas Municipal Water District instead imposed a 53 percent hike in the cost to irrigate crops, but also pledged to work closely with growers to get rate hikes under control.
Predicting a change in the nature of the Ojai Valley, farmers told the Casitas board Wednesday that its decisions on water rates might herald the beginning of the end of orchards that have encircled the valley’s towns for a century.
“Everybody will find ways to change, or they’ll go out of business and there will be just dead trees standing there,” said grower Jim Finch. “And it will change the nature of this valley.”
Casitas directors sympathized, vowing to work with farmers on a new way to charge for water.
“Yeah, the 50 percent increase is a whopper, we agree,” said board President Russ Baggerly. “And we accept the challenge for a dialogue ... to find solutions.”
Still, the new water rates will be imposed beginning tomorrow.
And, even with months of reconsideration, it won’t be easy for Casitas directors to craft a new set of rates that are equitable for farmers, businesses and residents, because a shift of costs from one group would affect the other.
For example, under the new rates, water costs to residential users supplied directly by Casitas in the Oak View area remained the same, because officials say homeowners already pay for the full cost of delivering their water. Farmers will still have a much lower rate than residents even with the 53 percent increase.
“The rates did not go up for residential users,” Baggerly said. “They’re paying their fair share.”
But farmers said the board’s rate hikes for agriculture ignored the history of the Casitas district, which was formed a half century ago partly to supply water for local farms. And they said the water district had taken the easy way out by putting the bulk of a budget increase required to patch an aging waterworks on the backs of about 200 farmers. That avoided a backlash from 2,600 residential customers in and around Oak View, they said.
East valley rancher Roger Essick called the rate increases “grossly unfair,” arguing that water costs should be allocated by the number of water meters held by those who benefit from the Casitas system, including residents of Ojai, Mira Monte and Ventura. Costs are now levied primarily on how much water a customer uses, as is the case with nearly all of the water districts in California.
“They’re not paying their fair share for the cost of upkeep,” Essick said of residential customers.
Indeed, he and neighboring farmers Jim Churchill and Jim Coultas proposed a dramatically different method for establishing rates.
Under their plan, detailed by Coultas, administrative and maintenance costs would be parceled out to every customer, direct or indirect, who benefits from Casitas water, even if those customers are in other water districts, such as Golden State’s in Ojai, the city water department in Ventura, or the water agencies of Meiners Oaks, Mira Monte and Casitas Springs.
That would mean that thousands of residential customers could have their rates increased to lower the bill to farmers. Casitas provides water for about 65,000 people at 29,000 households and for nearly 5,700 acres of farmland in the Ojai Valley and Ventura area.
But farmers use 44 percent of the district’s water, while customers in Ventura use about one third. And those two groups took the big hit this week, farmers with a more than 50 percent increase and the city of Ventura with a 30 percent hike. Indeed, Ventura officials expressed frustration that they had not been warned of the big increase and now can’t afford to buy as much water from Casitas.
Casitas officials said Ventura and the district might consider renegotiating how much water Ventura receives each year.
But the Coultas, Essick and Churchill plan received the most attention for future discussions.
“This is real important stuff, more so than trucks or chain stores,” Coultas told the board. “It has the potential to change the very character of our community.”
A former Casitas director himself, Coultas asked the board to go through its budget line by line to determine “if this cost is a factor of the water used or is it a factor of the service received.”
In other words, should farmers paying by volume be charged to maintain pipes, pumps and tanks that provide water to nine retail companies that provide water to nondistrict customers? And should farmers be charged to maintain the waterworks that also provide backup water in times of emergency for thousands more homes?
“Let’s see if we can’t come up with a new way,” Coultas said.
And while the board seemed receptive, directors also defended their current method of calculating rates.
“You’re absolutely right, people in Ventura and Ojai don’t want to see this valley go barren,” Director Bill Hicks said. “We don’t want to run you out of business.”
But it’s also true that residents had paid nearly three times as much for their water, based on volume, than farmers before the new increase, Hicks said.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place,” he said.
And after the hearing, Director Richard Handley said he’d taken Coultas’ formula for redistributing costs and applied it to his own situation as a resident of Ojai, who is not a direct customer of Casitas.
“My rate would go up six-fold,” Handley said, from about $298 a year to $1,894. Handley lives in a three-bedroom house and does not irrigate his lot. “This plan doesn’t work,” he said.
Casitas directors are also faced with the challenge of how to implement a 2006 State Supreme Court decision in which justices ruled that Proposition 218, passed by voters in 1996, requires equitable distribution of water costs.
Even with the farmers’ rate proposed to increase from $208 an acre-foot to $312, they would still pay far less than the $667 charged to residential customers. (An acre-foot of water meets the needs of two typical households for a year.)
Casitas officials have said they might be able to legally justify the lower rate because agricultural users do not need the high quality water delivered to their orchards since a sophisticated treatment plant was built a decade ago to meet state drinking-water standards.
If all costs, including treatment, were included, farmers would pay $521 an acre foot, 150 percent more than they pay today, analysts said.
The new $312 farmers’ rate covers the bulk of their water’s $365 basic cost, but none of the $165 per acre-foot treatment cost, officials said.
Rancher and restaurateur DeWayne Boccali said that even if there is a subsidy to farmers, such subsidies are common in the United States, and valley residents need to take care of agriculture or it will go away.
“In some cases you just have to take care of your own,” he said, “and subsidize your farmers. ... Agriculture is an important thing if you like to eat.”
But many farmers see Proposition 218 in a different light.
Coultas, Churchill and Essick wrote: “We believe that in attempting to apply Prop. 218 ... you have done exactly what Prop. 218 was meant to prevent, which is unfairly load a disproportionate share of the costs onto one class of user. ... We believe that your current model and proposed rates cause agriculture to subsidize other classes of user.”
Churchill said he thought the farmers would now have a chance to make their case with Casitas over the next year.
“I think we will have an opportunity to go through their budget line by line,” he said. “I gather they’re eager to work with us within their constraints.”
Ojai's Recycling Options Dwindle
Vons only recycling center left in Ojai
By Nao Braverman
When the small recycling center on El Roblar across from to Ace Hardware in Meiners Oaks closed down at the end of June, local residents were concerned that there weren’t any reliable places to get money back for their bottles and cans.
Ojai resident Harry Lehr said that he was accustomed to bringing his recyclables to Meiners Oaks until they closed. When he went to Vons supermarket, he found the center was rarely attended and did not receive proper service at Dahl’s Market in Oak View. Though he later added that the service at Dahl’s Market had improved, some local residents didn’t want to drive that far to save a few pennies.
According to Mark Oldfield, spokesperson for the California Department of Conservation, the Meiners Oaks outfit, owned by Guadalupe Cervantes closed down when a conservation department investigator found that the operator had falsified records of material accepted and redeemed, and sometimes paid customers less than the required amount for their used containers.
All certified recycling centers, though privately owned, are strictly regulated by the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Recycling, said Oldfield.
The state requires every supermarket with $2 million or more in annual sales to have a recycling center within half a mile of the establishment. In many cases they will have a “convenience zone” where they allow a recycling center to operate on their property free of charge so that they can fulfill the state requirement.
This makes it convenient for customers to get back the California Redemption Value for every bottle they purchase.
The CRV, an extra few cents tacked onto each customer’s grocery list for every bottled item, was only one penny per bottle or can when it was established in 1987 and has now increased to 5 cents per container.
Though the Ace Hardware building on El Roblar near the closed recycling center did house several supermarkets before it became the hardware chain, the area, with no large supermarket, is no longer mandated to have a recycling facility.
Currently the Vons supermarket in the Ojai Valley Shopping Center is the only Ojai market required to have a recycling center.
Their operation is located behind the supermarket building and is in operation Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to a facility operator Saul Vaca. The center refunds customers the standard 5 cents per can or glass or plastic bottle, $1.65 per pound for cans, 89 cents per pound for plastic bottles and 10 cents a pound for glass bottles .
Many larger companies will pay a “scrap value”, which is usually slightly more than the standard 5 cents per bottle, said David Goldstein, analyst for the Ventura County public works agency.
City residents who do not go to the recycling centers can sort them in separate bags and leave them for the local trash pickup company, E.J Harrison & Sons.
Though the companies accumulate a much greater volume of recyclables than the average household, they still do not make a profit off of their recycled goods, said Nan Drake, spokesperson for E.J. Harrison & Sons.
The company has to make an extra trip to each household for recycling, so there is the cost of gas, and then the labor to sort recyclables is also costly, she said. Many households recycle mostly newspapers and other items which have to be sorted but not to generate funds, she said. Some items such as glass have to be hauled all the way to Los Angeles, which is expensive, she said. It does fluctuate however and if a lot of money is made from bottles and cans one month, there are some months where the recycling service loses money for the company, according to Drake.
In a column he wrote for the Ventura County Star, Goldstein said that recycling generates 14 times more jobs person than land filling because there are so many different places for each type of recycling item.
Most curbside recyclables are initially trucked to transfer stations in Ventura and Oxnard. They are then sorted and most paper and plastic is then shipped to China, said Goldstein.
dGlass bottles have to go to a plant in Vernon, Calif. where they separated from their labels, crushed, and then cleaned before being trucked to the Bay Area where they are melted into new glass bottles or jars, he said.
Though there are smelters in Los Angeles, many aluminum cans from Ventura County go all the way to Texas before being recycled and many get exported to Asia, according to Goldstein.
Though Ventura County companies use recycled plastic. most plastic bottles have to go at least as far as Long Beach to be processed before they can be used by local manufacturers, he said.
By Nao Braverman
When the small recycling center on El Roblar across from to Ace Hardware in Meiners Oaks closed down at the end of June, local residents were concerned that there weren’t any reliable places to get money back for their bottles and cans.
Ojai resident Harry Lehr said that he was accustomed to bringing his recyclables to Meiners Oaks until they closed. When he went to Vons supermarket, he found the center was rarely attended and did not receive proper service at Dahl’s Market in Oak View. Though he later added that the service at Dahl’s Market had improved, some local residents didn’t want to drive that far to save a few pennies.
According to Mark Oldfield, spokesperson for the California Department of Conservation, the Meiners Oaks outfit, owned by Guadalupe Cervantes closed down when a conservation department investigator found that the operator had falsified records of material accepted and redeemed, and sometimes paid customers less than the required amount for their used containers.
All certified recycling centers, though privately owned, are strictly regulated by the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Recycling, said Oldfield.
The state requires every supermarket with $2 million or more in annual sales to have a recycling center within half a mile of the establishment. In many cases they will have a “convenience zone” where they allow a recycling center to operate on their property free of charge so that they can fulfill the state requirement.
This makes it convenient for customers to get back the California Redemption Value for every bottle they purchase.
The CRV, an extra few cents tacked onto each customer’s grocery list for every bottled item, was only one penny per bottle or can when it was established in 1987 and has now increased to 5 cents per container.
Though the Ace Hardware building on El Roblar near the closed recycling center did house several supermarkets before it became the hardware chain, the area, with no large supermarket, is no longer mandated to have a recycling facility.
Currently the Vons supermarket in the Ojai Valley Shopping Center is the only Ojai market required to have a recycling center.
Their operation is located behind the supermarket building and is in operation Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to a facility operator Saul Vaca. The center refunds customers the standard 5 cents per can or glass or plastic bottle, $1.65 per pound for cans, 89 cents per pound for plastic bottles and 10 cents a pound for glass bottles .
Many larger companies will pay a “scrap value”, which is usually slightly more than the standard 5 cents per bottle, said David Goldstein, analyst for the Ventura County public works agency.
City residents who do not go to the recycling centers can sort them in separate bags and leave them for the local trash pickup company, E.J Harrison & Sons.
Though the companies accumulate a much greater volume of recyclables than the average household, they still do not make a profit off of their recycled goods, said Nan Drake, spokesperson for E.J. Harrison & Sons.
The company has to make an extra trip to each household for recycling, so there is the cost of gas, and then the labor to sort recyclables is also costly, she said. Many households recycle mostly newspapers and other items which have to be sorted but not to generate funds, she said. Some items such as glass have to be hauled all the way to Los Angeles, which is expensive, she said. It does fluctuate however and if a lot of money is made from bottles and cans one month, there are some months where the recycling service loses money for the company, according to Drake.
In a column he wrote for the Ventura County Star, Goldstein said that recycling generates 14 times more jobs person than land filling because there are so many different places for each type of recycling item.
Most curbside recyclables are initially trucked to transfer stations in Ventura and Oxnard. They are then sorted and most paper and plastic is then shipped to China, said Goldstein.
dGlass bottles have to go to a plant in Vernon, Calif. where they separated from their labels, crushed, and then cleaned before being trucked to the Bay Area where they are melted into new glass bottles or jars, he said.
Though there are smelters in Los Angeles, many aluminum cans from Ventura County go all the way to Texas before being recycled and many get exported to Asia, according to Goldstein.
Though Ventura County companies use recycled plastic. most plastic bottles have to go at least as far as Long Beach to be processed before they can be used by local manufacturers, he said.
Council Rejects Staff's Anti-chain Ordinance
By Nao Braverman
Council members unanimously rejected the city-authored draft ordinance to prevent the proliferating chain stores in Ojai at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The proposed ordinance, which would ban chains from a Historic Commercial District, regulate them in other areas, and more or less welcome them to open along Maricopa Highway, west of the “Y” shopping center, was previously rejected by the Planning Commission and many vocal members of the public.
But at Tuesday night’s meeting, council members listened to the testimony of some public speakers with a very different perspective.
Ernie Salomon, owner of the Matilija Street building which was previously leased to Subway before the council passed an anti-chain moratorium, said that such an ordinance was going to negatively affect property values in town.
B. Dawson, owner of a local pet care shop, agreed, saying she thought a Starbucks was not as bad as empty storefronts, the latter which have recently grown in number, in Ojai’s downtown core.
Ron Polito said that though he turned down offers from Quizno’s and Starbucks to open in his newly redeveloped commercial center on Ojai Avenue, he would not recommend a stricter ordinance against chains. Insurance and loan companies he worked with were hesitant to finance his project when they read about the ordinance in the newspaper, he said.
But local resident Marika Thompson disagreed.
“I think part of the problem is the high rents in Ojai,” she said. “It’s not just the fact that we don’t want to allow chains.”
Though speakers offered conflicting opinions, most agreed that the city-proposed ordinance should be revised without including a Historic Commercial District council members Rae Hanstad and Sue Horgan both encouraged Ojia citizen Kenley Neufeld to proceed with the initiative process and hand in his proposed initiative.
“I am concerned that crafting the ordinance in a thoughtful timely way is going to upset the 600 people that are in support of Mr. Neufeld’s ordinance,” said Hanstad.
“What we want is good policy. I would encourage him to proceed if it seems appropriate because I do not know what our final decision will be.”
The staff’s revised ordinance will be presented to the Planning Commission on Sept 5 and reviewed with the Planning Commission’s recommendation by the City Council on Sept. 11.
Council members unanimously rejected the city-authored draft ordinance to prevent the proliferating chain stores in Ojai at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The proposed ordinance, which would ban chains from a Historic Commercial District, regulate them in other areas, and more or less welcome them to open along Maricopa Highway, west of the “Y” shopping center, was previously rejected by the Planning Commission and many vocal members of the public.
But at Tuesday night’s meeting, council members listened to the testimony of some public speakers with a very different perspective.
Ernie Salomon, owner of the Matilija Street building which was previously leased to Subway before the council passed an anti-chain moratorium, said that such an ordinance was going to negatively affect property values in town.
B. Dawson, owner of a local pet care shop, agreed, saying she thought a Starbucks was not as bad as empty storefronts, the latter which have recently grown in number, in Ojai’s downtown core.
Ron Polito said that though he turned down offers from Quizno’s and Starbucks to open in his newly redeveloped commercial center on Ojai Avenue, he would not recommend a stricter ordinance against chains. Insurance and loan companies he worked with were hesitant to finance his project when they read about the ordinance in the newspaper, he said.
But local resident Marika Thompson disagreed.
“I think part of the problem is the high rents in Ojai,” she said. “It’s not just the fact that we don’t want to allow chains.”
Though speakers offered conflicting opinions, most agreed that the city-proposed ordinance should be revised without including a Historic Commercial District council members Rae Hanstad and Sue Horgan both encouraged Ojia citizen Kenley Neufeld to proceed with the initiative process and hand in his proposed initiative.
“I am concerned that crafting the ordinance in a thoughtful timely way is going to upset the 600 people that are in support of Mr. Neufeld’s ordinance,” said Hanstad.
“What we want is good policy. I would encourage him to proceed if it seems appropriate because I do not know what our final decision will be.”
The staff’s revised ordinance will be presented to the Planning Commission on Sept 5 and reviewed with the Planning Commission’s recommendation by the City Council on Sept. 11.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Farmers Gaining Support In Water Rate Hike
Casitas staff hears protest about 53 percent hike for agricultural customers
By Daryl Kelley
Papered with dozens of protest letters from farmers and their supporters, directors of the Ojai Valley's largest water agency will consider today arguments that a 53 percent hike in the cost to water crops could begin to change this bucolic region forever.
Already staggered by record winds and freezes during winter, some farmers say the rate increases could force them out of business, or to drill deep wells that would deplete the aquifers that provide the valley's groundwater.
They argue that the entire valley benefits from their existence, through tourist tax dollars, clearer air, education and nutrition programs and an overall ambiance that makes Ojai a good place to live.
And now farmers are proposing that Casitas Municipal Water District fundamentally change the way it charges for water, spreading costs to all customers with a meter, including those who use Casitas only as a backup system, instead of charging primarily on how much water a customer uses.
Farmers, who use nearly half of the district's water, have historically paid a reduced rate because the Casitas Dam and waterworks were originally built partly to foster agriculture in the Ojai Valley.
And now they're getting support for their campaign to keep their rates low.
“Without agriculture this valley would change tremendously,” said Scott Eicher, chief executive officer of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, summarizing his letter to the board of the Casitas Municipal Water Agency.
“Agriculture is part of economy, along with our tourism and our education,” he said. “But it's also part of our culture. And if those fields become empty, they won't be empty for long. They'll fill them up with houses.”
The Casitas board tentatively approved two months ago water rate hikes of more than 50 percent for agricultural customers and about 30 percent for nine retail agencies that resell water to customers throughout the valley and in western Ventura.
But the rates on about 2,600 homes in the Oak View and Mira Monte areas that hook directly into the Casitas system remained the same.
Casitas provides water for about 65,000 people and nearly 5,700 acres of farmland in the Ojai Valley and Ventura area.
Notified of the increases in July, customers have until the end of today to file letters of protest. If a majority do not, the rates will take effect this Saturday following approval of a resolution today by the Casitas board.
Through Monday, Casitas had received 47 protests, said Ron Merckling, district spokesman.
“The large majority of those were from agricultural customers. And I've received 13 phone calls. One person called three times.”
In one protest letter, Ventura attorney Robert Baskin, who owns a five-acre orchard near Ojai, said that he is one of the small farmers who would be driven out of business by the rate increase. His orchard already loses money, and the increase “will cause many small orchard owners to begin the process of abandoning their orchards.”
“This (orchard) greenbelt surrounds our homes and cities, provides beauty, improves our water shed and air quality and helps to provide a buffer of protection for fire control,” Baskin wrote. “As these orchards are abandoned ... Casitas will generate less revenue, not more. ... The end result is that you will be contributing to the squeezing out of small family orchards, the drilling of wells on larger ranches, and a loss of quality of life for the Ojai Valley.”
In another letter, longtime east valley ranchers Jim Coultas, Jim Churchill and Roger Essick proposed a basic shift in how Casitas charges for water. The current system unfairly loads the bulk of costs on the backs of farmers, they said.
“With this letter we mean to open a constructive dialogue with the board ... “ they wrote. “Ojai's agricultural community recognizes the importance of maintaining the district's infrastructure and is not in principle opposed to adjusting water rates to accomplish that.”
Now, Casitas charges administrative, overhead and delivery costs based primarily on how much water a customer receives. That means that 257 farmers who use 44 percent of the district's water, pay the most. And nine retail water agencies that receive 37 percent of its water, including the city of Ventura water department, pay nearly a third of the cost. Residential customers, who use only 9 percent of water, pay far less.
The farmers asked the board to consider charging all customers with a meter, including those who would receive water only in emergencies, to maintain the pipes, pumps and tanks that would bring the water to them. That would mean that water users in Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Casitas Springs would be charged a maintenance fee even though they receive their water from other agencies.
“Agriculture these days is a perilous occupation,” wrote Coultas, Churchill and Essick. “Citrus in the Ojai Valley is economically marginal at best. If costs go high enough, people aren't going to continue to do it. This will lead to idle land, which one way or another will dramatically change the culture of the Ojai Valley.”
A key consideration in final Casitas board action is a 2006 State Supreme Court decision in which justices ruled that Proposition 218, passed by voters in 1996, requires equitable distribution of water costs.
Even with the farmers' rate proposed to increase from $208 an acre- foot to $312, they would still pay far less than the $667 charged to residential customers. (An acre-foot of water meets the needs of two typical households for a year.)
Casitas officials have said they might be able to legally justify the lower rate because agricultural users do not need the high quality water delivered to their orchards since a sophisticated treatment plant was built a decade ago to meet state drinking water standards.
If all costs, including treatment, were included, farmers would pay $521 an acre-foot, 150 percent more than they pay today, analysts said. The proposed $312 farmers' rate covers the bulk of their water's $365 basic cost, but none of the $165 per acre-foot treatment cost, they said.
But farmers see Proposition 218 in a different light.
Coultas, Churchill and Essick wrote: “We believe that in attempting to apply Prop. 218 ... you have done exactly what Prop. 218 was meant to prevent, which is unfairly load a disproportionate share of the costs onto one class of user. ... We believe that your current model and proposed rates cause agriculture to subsidize other classes of user.”
The farmers propose a more sophisticated cost analysis.
“To carry out the mandate of Prop. 218 the very least you must do is examine the budget categories individually and determine for each category whether its costs should be allocated based on volume of water used or on number of meters for that class of customer. ... Administrative costs should be recovered through meter charges; pumping costs should be recovered through water charges.”
The water rate hearing is set for today at 4:30 p.m. at the Casitas headquarters on state Highway 33 in Oak View.
By Daryl Kelley
Papered with dozens of protest letters from farmers and their supporters, directors of the Ojai Valley's largest water agency will consider today arguments that a 53 percent hike in the cost to water crops could begin to change this bucolic region forever.
Already staggered by record winds and freezes during winter, some farmers say the rate increases could force them out of business, or to drill deep wells that would deplete the aquifers that provide the valley's groundwater.
They argue that the entire valley benefits from their existence, through tourist tax dollars, clearer air, education and nutrition programs and an overall ambiance that makes Ojai a good place to live.
And now farmers are proposing that Casitas Municipal Water District fundamentally change the way it charges for water, spreading costs to all customers with a meter, including those who use Casitas only as a backup system, instead of charging primarily on how much water a customer uses.
Farmers, who use nearly half of the district's water, have historically paid a reduced rate because the Casitas Dam and waterworks were originally built partly to foster agriculture in the Ojai Valley.
And now they're getting support for their campaign to keep their rates low.
“Without agriculture this valley would change tremendously,” said Scott Eicher, chief executive officer of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, summarizing his letter to the board of the Casitas Municipal Water Agency.
“Agriculture is part of economy, along with our tourism and our education,” he said. “But it's also part of our culture. And if those fields become empty, they won't be empty for long. They'll fill them up with houses.”
The Casitas board tentatively approved two months ago water rate hikes of more than 50 percent for agricultural customers and about 30 percent for nine retail agencies that resell water to customers throughout the valley and in western Ventura.
But the rates on about 2,600 homes in the Oak View and Mira Monte areas that hook directly into the Casitas system remained the same.
Casitas provides water for about 65,000 people and nearly 5,700 acres of farmland in the Ojai Valley and Ventura area.
Notified of the increases in July, customers have until the end of today to file letters of protest. If a majority do not, the rates will take effect this Saturday following approval of a resolution today by the Casitas board.
Through Monday, Casitas had received 47 protests, said Ron Merckling, district spokesman.
“The large majority of those were from agricultural customers. And I've received 13 phone calls. One person called three times.”
In one protest letter, Ventura attorney Robert Baskin, who owns a five-acre orchard near Ojai, said that he is one of the small farmers who would be driven out of business by the rate increase. His orchard already loses money, and the increase “will cause many small orchard owners to begin the process of abandoning their orchards.”
“This (orchard) greenbelt surrounds our homes and cities, provides beauty, improves our water shed and air quality and helps to provide a buffer of protection for fire control,” Baskin wrote. “As these orchards are abandoned ... Casitas will generate less revenue, not more. ... The end result is that you will be contributing to the squeezing out of small family orchards, the drilling of wells on larger ranches, and a loss of quality of life for the Ojai Valley.”
In another letter, longtime east valley ranchers Jim Coultas, Jim Churchill and Roger Essick proposed a basic shift in how Casitas charges for water. The current system unfairly loads the bulk of costs on the backs of farmers, they said.
“With this letter we mean to open a constructive dialogue with the board ... “ they wrote. “Ojai's agricultural community recognizes the importance of maintaining the district's infrastructure and is not in principle opposed to adjusting water rates to accomplish that.”
Now, Casitas charges administrative, overhead and delivery costs based primarily on how much water a customer receives. That means that 257 farmers who use 44 percent of the district's water, pay the most. And nine retail water agencies that receive 37 percent of its water, including the city of Ventura water department, pay nearly a third of the cost. Residential customers, who use only 9 percent of water, pay far less.
The farmers asked the board to consider charging all customers with a meter, including those who would receive water only in emergencies, to maintain the pipes, pumps and tanks that would bring the water to them. That would mean that water users in Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Casitas Springs would be charged a maintenance fee even though they receive their water from other agencies.
“Agriculture these days is a perilous occupation,” wrote Coultas, Churchill and Essick. “Citrus in the Ojai Valley is economically marginal at best. If costs go high enough, people aren't going to continue to do it. This will lead to idle land, which one way or another will dramatically change the culture of the Ojai Valley.”
A key consideration in final Casitas board action is a 2006 State Supreme Court decision in which justices ruled that Proposition 218, passed by voters in 1996, requires equitable distribution of water costs.
Even with the farmers' rate proposed to increase from $208 an acre- foot to $312, they would still pay far less than the $667 charged to residential customers. (An acre-foot of water meets the needs of two typical households for a year.)
Casitas officials have said they might be able to legally justify the lower rate because agricultural users do not need the high quality water delivered to their orchards since a sophisticated treatment plant was built a decade ago to meet state drinking water standards.
If all costs, including treatment, were included, farmers would pay $521 an acre-foot, 150 percent more than they pay today, analysts said. The proposed $312 farmers' rate covers the bulk of their water's $365 basic cost, but none of the $165 per acre-foot treatment cost, they said.
But farmers see Proposition 218 in a different light.
Coultas, Churchill and Essick wrote: “We believe that in attempting to apply Prop. 218 ... you have done exactly what Prop. 218 was meant to prevent, which is unfairly load a disproportionate share of the costs onto one class of user. ... We believe that your current model and proposed rates cause agriculture to subsidize other classes of user.”
The farmers propose a more sophisticated cost analysis.
“To carry out the mandate of Prop. 218 the very least you must do is examine the budget categories individually and determine for each category whether its costs should be allocated based on volume of water used or on number of meters for that class of customer. ... Administrative costs should be recovered through meter charges; pumping costs should be recovered through water charges.”
The water rate hearing is set for today at 4:30 p.m. at the Casitas headquarters on state Highway 33 in Oak View.
Council Given Three Chain Laws For Review
Historical Commercial District idea rejected
By Nao Braverman
Though Ojai is making some headway in creating an ordinance to protect the city from proliferating chain stores, the debate has become increasingly complex as discussions progress.
Instead of being presented with one ordinance to vote on, as originally planned, the City Council received three ordinance drafts to deliberate on at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
The first proposed ordinance, though heavily criticized by the planning commissioners and members of the public was still brought forth for a vote, if the council so pleased. A second hastily drafted revision by city attorneys, prompted by suggestions from the City Council was presented for a first reading, an unofficial third draft, authored by local resident and former council candidate Dennis Leary was also handed to council members for review.
In a consensus between commissioners and members of the public, the initial proposal to ban chain stores from a Historic Commercial District was rejected.
Commissioners said they thought the proposed district overlay, a central portion of the downtown area was too small, the area too arbitrary, and might have unintended consequences. They were also concerned about the existing chain stores within that district that would be prevented from expanding or remodeling. Several members of the public said they thought banning chains from such a small area would further invite them to open elsewhere in the city.
The neighboring city of Santa Paula does have a designated historic area within its downtown core. Though there is no ordinance banning or regulating chain stores from the designated historic area, it does have certain guidelines regulating the aesthetic appearance of businesses opening in that area, similar to Ojai’s regulations indicated in the city’s general plan.
Elisabeth Amador, assistant to Santa Paula’s city manager Wally Bobkiewicz, said that though the city does not have any specific regulations to prevent chain stores from opening in Santa Paula’s historic district, no chains have even shown interest in opening there. She attributes this to the size of the historic district’s storefronts which are far too small to accommodate most chains. Though some fast food restaurants might fit, none had shown any interest in opening there in Santa Paula’s recent history.
The same might be said for Ojai, if it hadn’t been for the Mira Monte Subway owner’s recent plans to open on Matilija Street.
In the city attorney’s second ordinance draft, the whole notion of a Historic Commercial District was scratched and replaced with a citywide regulatory ordinance. The new proposal would require all new formula retail establishments to apply for a conditional use permit. Thus it exempts and protects Ojai’s already existing formula retail establishments. The ordinance draft indicates that a simple change in ownership would not require a conditional use permit, protecting existing gas stations if they are to be sold.
The new ordinance proposal prohibits all new chains within the city from having more than 25 linear feet of frontage, having retail space occupy more than one story or two storefronts, and having more than 2,000 square feet of total floor area. But as commissioners suggested the proposed ordinance exempts banks and grocery stores which are a necessity, and might have trouble complying with the regulations. Only one formula retail establishment would be allowed in a lot less than 40,000 square feet.
For lots greater than 40,000 square feet, only one formula retail establishment would be allowed per 20,000 square feet of lot area.
The purpose of the newly drafted ordinance was defined as preserving Ojai’s “small town character” rather than its history.
Leary’s proposed ordinance also requires all formula retail establishments to apply for a conditional use permit and requires that they are designed and operated in an “unobtrusive manner to preserve Ojai’s distinctive character and ambiance.”
Though similar in essence to the city’s second proposal, Leary’s draft defines formula retail as any retail establishment that shares standardized features with at least five other establishments while the city’s definition is any retail establishment that shares standardized features with 10 other establishments.
“I think it is important to protect Ojai’s self-reliance,” he said. “The more outfits owned by a company, the less important each one becomes. If the economy crashes, the community needs its own establishments that can stand on their own.”
Leary said that his draft was written to help the city and that he did not intend for it to go to ballot.
Council member Sue Horgan and Joe DeVito said they agreed with the Planning Commission and would not support the city’s first ordinance proposal.
Though the city is working toward drafting its own ordinance, Horgan said she did not want to discourage Kenley Neufeld from turning in his ballot initiative to the city.
“Although we are working toward drafting an ordinance I cannot say for sure that we will create something that he is satisfied with,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to impede the public process.”
By Nao Braverman
Though Ojai is making some headway in creating an ordinance to protect the city from proliferating chain stores, the debate has become increasingly complex as discussions progress.
Instead of being presented with one ordinance to vote on, as originally planned, the City Council received three ordinance drafts to deliberate on at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
The first proposed ordinance, though heavily criticized by the planning commissioners and members of the public was still brought forth for a vote, if the council so pleased. A second hastily drafted revision by city attorneys, prompted by suggestions from the City Council was presented for a first reading, an unofficial third draft, authored by local resident and former council candidate Dennis Leary was also handed to council members for review.
In a consensus between commissioners and members of the public, the initial proposal to ban chain stores from a Historic Commercial District was rejected.
Commissioners said they thought the proposed district overlay, a central portion of the downtown area was too small, the area too arbitrary, and might have unintended consequences. They were also concerned about the existing chain stores within that district that would be prevented from expanding or remodeling. Several members of the public said they thought banning chains from such a small area would further invite them to open elsewhere in the city.
The neighboring city of Santa Paula does have a designated historic area within its downtown core. Though there is no ordinance banning or regulating chain stores from the designated historic area, it does have certain guidelines regulating the aesthetic appearance of businesses opening in that area, similar to Ojai’s regulations indicated in the city’s general plan.
Elisabeth Amador, assistant to Santa Paula’s city manager Wally Bobkiewicz, said that though the city does not have any specific regulations to prevent chain stores from opening in Santa Paula’s historic district, no chains have even shown interest in opening there. She attributes this to the size of the historic district’s storefronts which are far too small to accommodate most chains. Though some fast food restaurants might fit, none had shown any interest in opening there in Santa Paula’s recent history.
The same might be said for Ojai, if it hadn’t been for the Mira Monte Subway owner’s recent plans to open on Matilija Street.
In the city attorney’s second ordinance draft, the whole notion of a Historic Commercial District was scratched and replaced with a citywide regulatory ordinance. The new proposal would require all new formula retail establishments to apply for a conditional use permit. Thus it exempts and protects Ojai’s already existing formula retail establishments. The ordinance draft indicates that a simple change in ownership would not require a conditional use permit, protecting existing gas stations if they are to be sold.
The new ordinance proposal prohibits all new chains within the city from having more than 25 linear feet of frontage, having retail space occupy more than one story or two storefronts, and having more than 2,000 square feet of total floor area. But as commissioners suggested the proposed ordinance exempts banks and grocery stores which are a necessity, and might have trouble complying with the regulations. Only one formula retail establishment would be allowed in a lot less than 40,000 square feet.
For lots greater than 40,000 square feet, only one formula retail establishment would be allowed per 20,000 square feet of lot area.
The purpose of the newly drafted ordinance was defined as preserving Ojai’s “small town character” rather than its history.
Leary’s proposed ordinance also requires all formula retail establishments to apply for a conditional use permit and requires that they are designed and operated in an “unobtrusive manner to preserve Ojai’s distinctive character and ambiance.”
Though similar in essence to the city’s second proposal, Leary’s draft defines formula retail as any retail establishment that shares standardized features with at least five other establishments while the city’s definition is any retail establishment that shares standardized features with 10 other establishments.
“I think it is important to protect Ojai’s self-reliance,” he said. “The more outfits owned by a company, the less important each one becomes. If the economy crashes, the community needs its own establishments that can stand on their own.”
Leary said that his draft was written to help the city and that he did not intend for it to go to ballot.
Council member Sue Horgan and Joe DeVito said they agreed with the Planning Commission and would not support the city’s first ordinance proposal.
Though the city is working toward drafting its own ordinance, Horgan said she did not want to discourage Kenley Neufeld from turning in his ballot initiative to the city.
“Although we are working toward drafting an ordinance I cannot say for sure that we will create something that he is satisfied with,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to impede the public process.”
Thursday, August 23, 2007
City May Merge Two Key Positions
At $80 an hour, McCombs serving as interim head of both Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments as staff investigates making change permanentBy Nao Braverman
When Ojai’s Public Works director Doug Breeze and Recreation Department director Carol Belser simultaneously handed their resignations in to the city in May, city staff scrambled to find a temporary replacement.
Temporary, because, as city manager Jere Kersnar announced at a June 12 City Council meeting, city staff was considering combining the two positions and possibly reallocating their various responsibilities.
Ed McCombs, former city manager of Ventura and a prior interim director for Ojai’s Public Works department before Breeze was hired, agreed to serve as an interim director of both the Recreation Department and Public Works Department. In addition to the two temporary directorships, he also agreed to take note of both departments’ full operations to help city staff determine how they could restructure the departments to be more efficient and cost effective.
City staff had been investigating the possibility of hiring one department head to oversee both Recreation and Public Works and adding a managing supervisor to each department, said Mayor Carol Smith.
McCombs said that the decision to restructure was partly to address the city’s financial troubles over the past couple of years. Though Ojai is clearly moving in a financially positive direction, staff is still looking for ways to be more efficient, and save funds, he said.
The total city cost for a Public Works director was $161,355 including salary and benefits last year and $134,808 for Recreation Department director, said Kersnar. McCombs is currently getting paid $80 per hour for an approximately 36 hour work week to fill in those positions and help jump start a recruitment plan for the city. That would equal $149,760 over the course of a year.
Another consideration for restructuring the two departments is to align the city with current administrative changes in other cities and ways that administrators are being trained, said Mayor Carol Smith.
“Nowadays younger administrators are trained to multitask and take on different responsibilities,” she said.
Jayden Morrison, the recreation supervisor, said he is not sure which way the Recreation Department is headed but is waiting to hear from city staff.
Though the Recreation and Public Works departments serve entirely different functions they also overlap in many areas, said Councilman Joe DeVito. One example would be the parks and Recreation Department facilities which are all maintained by Public Works, he explained.
Kernsar said that staff was still evaluating the positions, and that there is no specific deadline or timetable for hiring a new director or directors.
How the departments would be restructured, exactly, had also not yet been determined, he said.
McCombs said he expects to come up with a recruitment program for the city in about a week.
Smith and DeVito said they expect to see something on the agenda related to the hirings in an upcoming council meeting.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Remembering Keith
A makeshift memorial marks the spot where longtime Ojai transient Victor Keith Stolz was found dead Aug. 16 outside the Ojai Library. Tuesday, the Ventura County Medical Examiner issued a statement saying that Stolz’s death was accidental.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Ojai Man Survives Cliff-hanging Ordeal
Larry Yuva in stable condition, expected home soon
By Nao Braverman
Larry Yuva, Ojai resident, founder of the Matilija Fly Fishing Club and husband of Mayor Carol Smith, went missing sometime around July 2 from his vacation home in Montana.
Three days later he was found, hanging upside down in an overturned pickup, about 70 feet down a steep embankment in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, about 35 miles from his Montana home, according to Yellowstone spokesperson Al Nash.
Six weeks later, a head nurse at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls confirmed that Yuva is in stable condition. Yuva told the Ojai Valley News he expects to return in two to three weeks.
“Larry is a miracle,” said Smith.
Smith, who was at home in Ojai at the time, said that Yuva did not return phone calls on July 2.
On July 4 a passing tour bus passenger told a park employee at the West Thumb entrance station that he saw a car off the road somewhere on the 17-mile stretch between Old Faithful and West Thumb, according to Nash. Six Yellowstone rangers and a fire engine were immediately sent to search for the vehicle in the woods below Shoshone Pass but were unsuccessful, he said.
Yuva’s red 1997 Chevy pickup wasn’t discovered until it was spotted by another tour bus passenger the next day. The bus waited at the spot until a park ranger came to the scene.
The Yellowstone National Park service ambulance had him flown to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the closest trauma center, where he remained unconscious for about two weeks according to his brother, Chuck Yuva. About two and a half weeks after he was found, Yuva began to open his eyes slightly, and he was taken off the ventilator. Soon after he came to.
“I don’t remember much of anything until I woke up in the hospital, saw my brother, and asked for a diet Pepsi,” said Yuva. “I’m sure I am blessed that I don’t.”
The last thing he does remember is being trapped by his seat belt upside down and trying to cut himself out with a pocket knife.
According to Nash he may have been hanging suspended and unconscious from his seat belt for more than two days. An ATM receipt in the truck showed that he had made a withdrawal in the early hours of July 2.
In an investigation by the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Yuva was reported to be traveling at about 63 miles per hour going northbound when he crossed two traffic lanes and a small turnout before plunging off the steep embankment into thick timber, according to Nash.
Smith said that, fortunately, most of the impact was absorbed by a lumber rack on top of the truck.
Yuva said that he will be getting physical therapy soon and expects to be back in Ojai in two to three weeks.
By Nao Braverman
Larry Yuva, Ojai resident, founder of the Matilija Fly Fishing Club and husband of Mayor Carol Smith, went missing sometime around July 2 from his vacation home in Montana.
Three days later he was found, hanging upside down in an overturned pickup, about 70 feet down a steep embankment in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, about 35 miles from his Montana home, according to Yellowstone spokesperson Al Nash.
Six weeks later, a head nurse at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls confirmed that Yuva is in stable condition. Yuva told the Ojai Valley News he expects to return in two to three weeks.
“Larry is a miracle,” said Smith.
Smith, who was at home in Ojai at the time, said that Yuva did not return phone calls on July 2.
On July 4 a passing tour bus passenger told a park employee at the West Thumb entrance station that he saw a car off the road somewhere on the 17-mile stretch between Old Faithful and West Thumb, according to Nash. Six Yellowstone rangers and a fire engine were immediately sent to search for the vehicle in the woods below Shoshone Pass but were unsuccessful, he said.
Yuva’s red 1997 Chevy pickup wasn’t discovered until it was spotted by another tour bus passenger the next day. The bus waited at the spot until a park ranger came to the scene.
The Yellowstone National Park service ambulance had him flown to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the closest trauma center, where he remained unconscious for about two weeks according to his brother, Chuck Yuva. About two and a half weeks after he was found, Yuva began to open his eyes slightly, and he was taken off the ventilator. Soon after he came to.
“I don’t remember much of anything until I woke up in the hospital, saw my brother, and asked for a diet Pepsi,” said Yuva. “I’m sure I am blessed that I don’t.”
The last thing he does remember is being trapped by his seat belt upside down and trying to cut himself out with a pocket knife.
According to Nash he may have been hanging suspended and unconscious from his seat belt for more than two days. An ATM receipt in the truck showed that he had made a withdrawal in the early hours of July 2.
In an investigation by the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Yuva was reported to be traveling at about 63 miles per hour going northbound when he crossed two traffic lanes and a small turnout before plunging off the steep embankment into thick timber, according to Nash.
Smith said that, fortunately, most of the impact was absorbed by a lumber rack on top of the truck.
Yuva said that he will be getting physical therapy soon and expects to be back in Ojai in two to three weeks.
Smoke Likely To Linger Over Ojai
The Zaca Fire, as photographed Aug. 20 from 8,500 feet above Lake Casitas by David Byrne, of FocalFlight.comBy Nao Braverman
The Zaca fire which has been scorching the Los Padres National Forest since the morning of the Fourth of July has recently prompted firefighters to ignite a backfire in Cuyama Valley to remove fuels between the fire line and the main fire. Ashes from the backfire have Ojai residents breathing smoke filled air though the fire is still far from the city.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire has burned 220,863 acres, more than 5,000 in the past 12 hours.
Highway 33 between Wheeler Gorge and Ventucopa will remain closed until Friday due to firefighting equipment and smoke, according to a Forest Service update.
Currently the fire is burning strong in Los Padres’ Forest Leap Canyon on the north rim of Sisquoc Canyon and has spread to the east boundary of Dick Smith Wilderness near Highway 33.
Firefighters ignited backfire operations along the Sierra Madre to contain the northern progress of the fire. Backfires from Cuyama Peak Road in Dry Canyon down Brubaker Canyon are preventing flames from spreading to Highway 33, and on Tuesday afternoon, backfires from the forest boundary at the Cuyama River drainage from Ozena to Brubaker Road have been containing the fire’s eastern progress.
On Tuesday closures were issued on Highway 33 between Wheeler Gorge and Ventucopa, and on Paradise Road to all traffic except for residents, on Happy Canyon Road and Figueroa Mountain Road at the national forest boundary, and on East Camino Cielo from Painted Cave Road to Gibraltar Road. A precautionary evacuation was issued to Highway 33 residents from the Ventura-Santa Barbara county line to Pine Summit.
As of Tuesday 72 fire crews, 3,144 personel, 139 fire engines, 20 helicopters were used to fight the flames, along with a DC-10 air tanker, according to Alberto Ortega, public information officer for the Zaca Fire. The tanker costs the Forest Service $5,500 per hour .
The fire has caused at least 39 injuries destroyed one building, and threatened 581 structures.
The cost totals more than $87.5 million and is expected to be contained by Sept. 7.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Ojai Planners Reject Staff's Chain Law
Commissioners seem to favor citywide ordinance, not Historic Commercial District
By Nao Braverman
At the end of a grueling six hour Planning Commission meeting Wednesday night, the last half which was devoted a three-hour discussion on protecting Ojai from proliferating chain stores, commissioners unanimously rejected the city-drafted chain store ordinance, and offered some suggestions for a revision.
“I think what we have before us is a bad ordinance,” said Commissioner John Mirk.
Commissioner Susan Weaver agreed.
“If it comes down to voting for a bad ordinance or rejecting this one, I will have to vote against it. “ she said. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t want an ordinance. But If we have to make a decision tonight, I could not support this ordinance.”
In agreement with the majority of community members who spoke at the meeting, commissioners said they preferred a citywide ordinance and asked to throw out the proposal for a Historic Commercial District in the city’s general plan.
Mirk called the Historic Commission District “bogus” and Commissioner Troy Becker said he felt the district, which would run roughly from Cañada Street to Drown Street along Ojai Avenue and from Aliso Street to Topa Topa Street, was too arbitrary.
In the third Planning Commission discussion on chain stores in Ojai city staff essentially brought back the same measure that they presented at two prior planning commission meetings, hoping that further explanation from the city’s attorneys might help win over commissioners.
The staff’s proposed statute prohibits any new chains within the proposed Historic Commercial District. The second zone outside that district would limit formula retail and restaurant establishments to one per lot less 40,000 square feet, and one per 20,000 square feet for lots of more than 40,000 square feet. New formula retail and restaurant establishments would be limited to no more than 2,000 square feet and 25 linear feet of frontage. One chain would be allowed per building. And in the third zone,which covers parcels that front Maricopa Highway north of the “Y” intersection would be regulated by only one clause in the ordinance that states: “Formula retail establishments shall be designed to reflect the city’s small town character and integrate existing community architectural and design features which will preserve such small town character.”
Attorneys defended their proposal, arguing that it was so drafted in order to protect Ojai from possible legal challenges.
Assistant city attorney Ted Schneider explained that under California law, an ordinance has to have a valid purpose, and the regulations have to be drafted solely to accomplish that purpose.
Community members have repeatedly testified that their interest in keeping out chain stores was to preserve Ojai’s small town character and tourist economy while protecting small, locally owned businesses.
But Schneider explained that while the former goal of preserving Ojai’s character was a valid purpose for an ordinance, the latter was not.
An ordinance drafted to protect locally owned businesses would be considered discriminatory, showing preference to locally owned businesses over other businesses, and thus deemed unconstitutional.
A ban against chain stores and restaurants within the proposed Historic Commercial District could be justified in court because that area has a distinctly historic feel, said Schneider.
“We cannot justify a ban throughout the city because our whole city is not historical,” he said. He added that moreover, “courts really like historic preservation.”
But Ojai resident and practicing attorney Jeff Furchenicht, who authored of the first of the two recent ballot initiatives relating to chain stores, argued that what community members were trying to protect was not Ojai’s history as much as its small-town character. That, he argued could be applied to the entire city.
Though city attorneys were restricted by their fear of litigation, Furchtenicht reminded them that though only 10 cities had chain store-related ordinances, only Coronado’s ordinance had been legally challenged. And though it was unpublished, and could not be used as an official reference, the Coronado ordinance had ultimately been upheld in court.
All speakers were concerned about the proposed ordinance’s third zone which left chains almost completely unregulated.
The city’s proposed ordinance does not subject chains to any concrete regulation at the “Y” intersection except to say that they must be in harmony with Ojai’s small town character, a vague and subjective standard.
This, Schneider argued was due to the fact that the “Y” intersection is already chain-store-ridden, and might be perceived to look like “anywhere U.S.A” with not much character to preserve.
Attorneys also said they wanted to protect the Vons grocery store at the “Y” intersection, an essential chain retailer that could become a legal non-conforming business under a formula-retail ordinance, and would be prevented from remodeling or greatly expanding.
Becker retorted that the ordinance could include an exception for Vons, as it arguably provides a service that no private business can. He also retorted that the “Y’ intersection had more character than he cared to describe.
Other commissioners backed him up agreeing that the Vons was smaller than in most cities and that though there are some chains in that shopping center, they are interspersed by other small privately owned businesses.
Overall, commissioners unanimously echoed members of the public, asking staff to draft a citywide ordinance, and urging attorneys to find a way to protect the city’s existing formula businesses. In congruence with Kenley Neufeld’s proposed citizen’s initiative, they were interested in an ordinance that was more regulatory than restrictive.
Schneider and city attorney Monte Widders agreed to work on drafting another revised ordinance for a future meeting.
In order to allow for further discussion of the issue, and prevent hasty, careless decision-making, Neufeld agreed to withdraw his proposed initiative as long as the City Council and commissioners continued their consideration with the goal of having an ordinance drafted by October.
The City Council will vote on the city-drafted ordinance, recommended for rejection by the Planning Commission at the August 28 council meeting.
At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Councilman Steve Olsen who expects to be absent at the next meeting, said that he would be in favor of a citywide ban. He expressed concern over the proposed third zone which appears to overwhelmingly allow chains and would be a “disaster,” he said.
He echoed the comments of three community members who warned against the Historic Commercial District proposal and urged the council to vote for a citywide ordinance.
By Nao Braverman
At the end of a grueling six hour Planning Commission meeting Wednesday night, the last half which was devoted a three-hour discussion on protecting Ojai from proliferating chain stores, commissioners unanimously rejected the city-drafted chain store ordinance, and offered some suggestions for a revision.
“I think what we have before us is a bad ordinance,” said Commissioner John Mirk.
Commissioner Susan Weaver agreed.
“If it comes down to voting for a bad ordinance or rejecting this one, I will have to vote against it. “ she said. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t want an ordinance. But If we have to make a decision tonight, I could not support this ordinance.”
In agreement with the majority of community members who spoke at the meeting, commissioners said they preferred a citywide ordinance and asked to throw out the proposal for a Historic Commercial District in the city’s general plan.
Mirk called the Historic Commission District “bogus” and Commissioner Troy Becker said he felt the district, which would run roughly from Cañada Street to Drown Street along Ojai Avenue and from Aliso Street to Topa Topa Street, was too arbitrary.
In the third Planning Commission discussion on chain stores in Ojai city staff essentially brought back the same measure that they presented at two prior planning commission meetings, hoping that further explanation from the city’s attorneys might help win over commissioners.
The staff’s proposed statute prohibits any new chains within the proposed Historic Commercial District. The second zone outside that district would limit formula retail and restaurant establishments to one per lot less 40,000 square feet, and one per 20,000 square feet for lots of more than 40,000 square feet. New formula retail and restaurant establishments would be limited to no more than 2,000 square feet and 25 linear feet of frontage. One chain would be allowed per building. And in the third zone,which covers parcels that front Maricopa Highway north of the “Y” intersection would be regulated by only one clause in the ordinance that states: “Formula retail establishments shall be designed to reflect the city’s small town character and integrate existing community architectural and design features which will preserve such small town character.”
Attorneys defended their proposal, arguing that it was so drafted in order to protect Ojai from possible legal challenges.
Assistant city attorney Ted Schneider explained that under California law, an ordinance has to have a valid purpose, and the regulations have to be drafted solely to accomplish that purpose.
Community members have repeatedly testified that their interest in keeping out chain stores was to preserve Ojai’s small town character and tourist economy while protecting small, locally owned businesses.
But Schneider explained that while the former goal of preserving Ojai’s character was a valid purpose for an ordinance, the latter was not.
An ordinance drafted to protect locally owned businesses would be considered discriminatory, showing preference to locally owned businesses over other businesses, and thus deemed unconstitutional.
A ban against chain stores and restaurants within the proposed Historic Commercial District could be justified in court because that area has a distinctly historic feel, said Schneider.
“We cannot justify a ban throughout the city because our whole city is not historical,” he said. He added that moreover, “courts really like historic preservation.”
But Ojai resident and practicing attorney Jeff Furchenicht, who authored of the first of the two recent ballot initiatives relating to chain stores, argued that what community members were trying to protect was not Ojai’s history as much as its small-town character. That, he argued could be applied to the entire city.
Though city attorneys were restricted by their fear of litigation, Furchtenicht reminded them that though only 10 cities had chain store-related ordinances, only Coronado’s ordinance had been legally challenged. And though it was unpublished, and could not be used as an official reference, the Coronado ordinance had ultimately been upheld in court.
All speakers were concerned about the proposed ordinance’s third zone which left chains almost completely unregulated.
The city’s proposed ordinance does not subject chains to any concrete regulation at the “Y” intersection except to say that they must be in harmony with Ojai’s small town character, a vague and subjective standard.
This, Schneider argued was due to the fact that the “Y” intersection is already chain-store-ridden, and might be perceived to look like “anywhere U.S.A” with not much character to preserve.
Attorneys also said they wanted to protect the Vons grocery store at the “Y” intersection, an essential chain retailer that could become a legal non-conforming business under a formula-retail ordinance, and would be prevented from remodeling or greatly expanding.
Becker retorted that the ordinance could include an exception for Vons, as it arguably provides a service that no private business can. He also retorted that the “Y’ intersection had more character than he cared to describe.
Other commissioners backed him up agreeing that the Vons was smaller than in most cities and that though there are some chains in that shopping center, they are interspersed by other small privately owned businesses.
Overall, commissioners unanimously echoed members of the public, asking staff to draft a citywide ordinance, and urging attorneys to find a way to protect the city’s existing formula businesses. In congruence with Kenley Neufeld’s proposed citizen’s initiative, they were interested in an ordinance that was more regulatory than restrictive.
Schneider and city attorney Monte Widders agreed to work on drafting another revised ordinance for a future meeting.
In order to allow for further discussion of the issue, and prevent hasty, careless decision-making, Neufeld agreed to withdraw his proposed initiative as long as the City Council and commissioners continued their consideration with the goal of having an ordinance drafted by October.
The City Council will vote on the city-drafted ordinance, recommended for rejection by the Planning Commission at the August 28 council meeting.
At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Councilman Steve Olsen who expects to be absent at the next meeting, said that he would be in favor of a citywide ban. He expressed concern over the proposed third zone which appears to overwhelmingly allow chains and would be a “disaster,” he said.
He echoed the comments of three community members who warned against the Historic Commercial District proposal and urged the council to vote for a citywide ordinance.
Ojai Buffered From Housing Shock
Foreclosures shut doors on some locals, but fewer than other areas in county
By Daryl Kelley
The sagging housing market came home to grocery store stocker Peter Rueger this week, when he received notice that his family has 30 days to get out of their house in Oak View.
“This was truly our dream home, and a month ago I thought we could still sell it,” said Rueger, 46, who lives with wife Barb, their 14-year-old daughter, mother-in-law, one dog and four cats in a smallish home under towering oaks on a creek.
“But you see what’s happening in the realty market,” he added. “It’s a year too late for me now.”
The Ruegers’ three-bedroom home is one of at least 12 Ojai Valley properties seized by lenders or facing foreclosure sales, as a wave of defaults has swept the California housing market in recent months.
So far, the Ojai Valley has fared fairly well because upper-end homes in attractive communities continue to sell better than marginal properties in low-income areas, where more buyers with fewer assets were allowed to purchase houses they couldn’t really afford, experts say.
Indeed, Ojai home sales dropped just 8 percent in the first half of 2007, from 119 to 109, compared with the first six months of 2006, while prices fell 6.5 percent, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
But for July, the numbers were more ominous, with sales down sharply and prices falling 14 percent from a year ago. And in the Oak View area, sales were off from 46 to 29 for the first half of the year, though up a bit in July.
“Ojai, Ventura and Camarillo haven’t been hit that hard yet,” said real estate agent Jaime Diaz, an Ojai resident who specializes in selling homes facing foreclosure. “But there are hundreds of foreclosures in Oxnard. A lot of people bought more than they should have and can’t refinance or sell. Their houses are worth less than their loans.”
The Ojai Valley, with about 35,000 residents, has a dozen properties in or facing foreclosure. That compares with Santa Paula’s 22 and Fillmore’s 14, Diaz said.
The problem, experts say, is that many buyers were allowed to borrow too much in the so-called sub-prime lending market as home values more than doubled from 2001 through mid-2005.
But when housing prices started to decline during the last two years, marginal borrowers didn’t have the equity to refinance as their variable monthly payments rose.
One of Diaz’s clients — the Estrada family of Meiners Oaks — lost their home in a foreclosure sale at the Ventura County courthouse on Thursday. The family owed $504,000 on an aging 800-square-foot stucco house on El Roblar Drive.
Diaz had been trying to sell the home for $434,000 on the so-called “short sell” market in which homes sell to speculators for less than their loan amounts. But he got just one offer — for $324,000. So now the lenders are trying to recoup what they can through auction. The amount of Thursday’s bids were not yet public.
“These are good, hardworking people,” Diaz said of the Estradas. “But their payment was $3,500 a month plus taxes, and they just couldn’t keep up.”
A lot of “predatory loans” were made in the last few years by lenders assuming that home values would continue to increase, and that they would get their money back even if unqualified buyers could not make payments, he said. Payments on these loans often increased after two or three years.
“Foreclosures are the pink elephant right now,” he said. “And the scary part is we don’t know how many high-end homeowners did the same thing.”
For example, he said a number of homes sold for more than a million dollars in luxury Spanish Hills and Sterling Hills neighborhoods near Camarillo in the last several years ago. And some of those homes are beginning to pop up on foreclosure lists, he said.
At least for now, however, the Ojai Valley market is doing pretty well, said Dawn Shook, executive officer of the Ojai Valley Board of Realtors.
“We get a little bit of the foreclosure market up here, but not too much,” she said. “The higher end houses are still selling if they’re a little bit larger or in a good area. That’s the criteria that’s kept things going. But some of the lesser priced, less desirable properties are just not selling right now.
“People from out of the area say that Ojai is better off because it’s so desirable and does have higher priced homes,” she said.
But that won’t help the the Ruegers, who saved their money through 23 years of marriage, including 18 as renters in the Upper Ojai Valley.
“And when we saw this home we knew it was our dream house,” Peter Rueger said. “It has 12 large oaks here, and you see these (terraced) gardens? We did all that.”
The Ruegers bought their home with a $245,000 loan five years ago, but refinanced twice and now owe $428,000, and can’t make their $3,200 monthly payment, despite his income from Vons and his wife’s as a manager of a convenience store.
A lawsuit over a property line by a neighbor kept them in court for three years, and prevented them from selling when they still had some equity, he said. The Ruegers won the suit three months ago, and an offer covering their full $428,000 debt was secured a month ago, he said. But the bank foreclosed this week anyway.
“The Realtor said you’ve got 90 days to close this sale, but the bank sent me a letter yesterday and said you’ve got 30 days to get out,” he said. “So everything we saved for years just got pulled out from under us.”
By Daryl Kelley
The sagging housing market came home to grocery store stocker Peter Rueger this week, when he received notice that his family has 30 days to get out of their house in Oak View.
“This was truly our dream home, and a month ago I thought we could still sell it,” said Rueger, 46, who lives with wife Barb, their 14-year-old daughter, mother-in-law, one dog and four cats in a smallish home under towering oaks on a creek.
“But you see what’s happening in the realty market,” he added. “It’s a year too late for me now.”
The Ruegers’ three-bedroom home is one of at least 12 Ojai Valley properties seized by lenders or facing foreclosure sales, as a wave of defaults has swept the California housing market in recent months.
So far, the Ojai Valley has fared fairly well because upper-end homes in attractive communities continue to sell better than marginal properties in low-income areas, where more buyers with fewer assets were allowed to purchase houses they couldn’t really afford, experts say.
Indeed, Ojai home sales dropped just 8 percent in the first half of 2007, from 119 to 109, compared with the first six months of 2006, while prices fell 6.5 percent, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
But for July, the numbers were more ominous, with sales down sharply and prices falling 14 percent from a year ago. And in the Oak View area, sales were off from 46 to 29 for the first half of the year, though up a bit in July.
“Ojai, Ventura and Camarillo haven’t been hit that hard yet,” said real estate agent Jaime Diaz, an Ojai resident who specializes in selling homes facing foreclosure. “But there are hundreds of foreclosures in Oxnard. A lot of people bought more than they should have and can’t refinance or sell. Their houses are worth less than their loans.”
The Ojai Valley, with about 35,000 residents, has a dozen properties in or facing foreclosure. That compares with Santa Paula’s 22 and Fillmore’s 14, Diaz said.
The problem, experts say, is that many buyers were allowed to borrow too much in the so-called sub-prime lending market as home values more than doubled from 2001 through mid-2005.
But when housing prices started to decline during the last two years, marginal borrowers didn’t have the equity to refinance as their variable monthly payments rose.
One of Diaz’s clients — the Estrada family of Meiners Oaks — lost their home in a foreclosure sale at the Ventura County courthouse on Thursday. The family owed $504,000 on an aging 800-square-foot stucco house on El Roblar Drive.
Diaz had been trying to sell the home for $434,000 on the so-called “short sell” market in which homes sell to speculators for less than their loan amounts. But he got just one offer — for $324,000. So now the lenders are trying to recoup what they can through auction. The amount of Thursday’s bids were not yet public.
“These are good, hardworking people,” Diaz said of the Estradas. “But their payment was $3,500 a month plus taxes, and they just couldn’t keep up.”
A lot of “predatory loans” were made in the last few years by lenders assuming that home values would continue to increase, and that they would get their money back even if unqualified buyers could not make payments, he said. Payments on these loans often increased after two or three years.
“Foreclosures are the pink elephant right now,” he said. “And the scary part is we don’t know how many high-end homeowners did the same thing.”
For example, he said a number of homes sold for more than a million dollars in luxury Spanish Hills and Sterling Hills neighborhoods near Camarillo in the last several years ago. And some of those homes are beginning to pop up on foreclosure lists, he said.
At least for now, however, the Ojai Valley market is doing pretty well, said Dawn Shook, executive officer of the Ojai Valley Board of Realtors.
“We get a little bit of the foreclosure market up here, but not too much,” she said. “The higher end houses are still selling if they’re a little bit larger or in a good area. That’s the criteria that’s kept things going. But some of the lesser priced, less desirable properties are just not selling right now.
“People from out of the area say that Ojai is better off because it’s so desirable and does have higher priced homes,” she said.
But that won’t help the the Ruegers, who saved their money through 23 years of marriage, including 18 as renters in the Upper Ojai Valley.
“And when we saw this home we knew it was our dream house,” Peter Rueger said. “It has 12 large oaks here, and you see these (terraced) gardens? We did all that.”
The Ruegers bought their home with a $245,000 loan five years ago, but refinanced twice and now owe $428,000, and can’t make their $3,200 monthly payment, despite his income from Vons and his wife’s as a manager of a convenience store.
A lawsuit over a property line by a neighbor kept them in court for three years, and prevented them from selling when they still had some equity, he said. The Ruegers won the suit three months ago, and an offer covering their full $428,000 debt was secured a month ago, he said. But the bank foreclosed this week anyway.
“The Realtor said you’ve got 90 days to close this sale, but the bank sent me a letter yesterday and said you’ve got 30 days to get out,” he said. “So everything we saved for years just got pulled out from under us.”
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