ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

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Initiative #1: Affordable Housing

“The people of the City of Ojai do ordain as follows:

The City Council is hereby directed to urgently consider and take measures to address affordability of housing within the City of Ojai. The City Council is directed to consider and adopt such measures as will, in the City Council’s informed judgment, accomplish the following:

1. Identify and preserve existing de facto low income housing stock, such as the cottages at Mallory Way;
2. Encourage renovation of existing structures in a manner consistent with past use in terms of size and structure, while limiting new development that displaces existing housing stock and is inconsistent with past use in terms of size, density, relative cost, structure and neighborhood impact;
3. Assist lower-income first-time home buyers who live, work and are raising families in Ojai, or who otherwise contribute to the quality of life in the City of Ojai, to purchase a home from existing housing stock here;
4. Implement renter protection that will at minimum protect tenants against rent increases above a certain percentage each year (to be determined by the City Council with reference to the incomes of Ojai’s renter population, the rate of increase in such incomes, and the rates in effect in similar ordinances that have been successfully implemented in other California cities, among other factors deemed appropriate by the City Council), while protecting landlords’ ability to ensure return on investment and recoup costs of property ownership;
5. Address issues of compliance with applicable mandates regarding affordable housing in ways that are consistent with the preservation of Ojai’s unique, small town character and, to the extent permissible, do not require additional development; and
6. To the extent and in the manner deemed appropriate by the City Council, condition issuance of new building permits within the City of Ojai to meaningful requirements that applicants construct or contribute to the creation of affordable housing within the City of Ojai.

The City Council is expressly directed to consider that it is the sense of the people of Ojai that we cannot and should not build our way to affordable housing by new developments, but instead must primarily consider and adopt alternative measures that will make sufficient existing or renovated housing stock affordable for families with young children, educators, artists, artisans, and other working people whose talents and contributions are so vital to our community.

If this ordinance is not adopted by the City Council, the undersigned request that this ordinance be submitted immediately to a vote of the people at the general election scheduled for November 7, 2006, or, failing that, at a special election.”

Submitted this ____ day of August, 2006.

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Jeff B. Furchtenicht

Written Statement of reasons for Ordinance

The undersigned, Jeff B. Furchtenicht, 203 Drown Avenue, Ojai, California 93023, hereby submits the following written statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contained in the petition as follows:

The lack of affordable housing in the City of Ojai is forcing far too many young families, small businesses, artisans, artists, educators and others whose talents and contributions are so needed in our community to live and work elsewhere. At the same time, Ojai is a small town in a unique valley that cannot sustain large-scale development of the type that is so often associated with any attempt to create affordable housing. This proposed ordinance is intended to direct our City Council to devote its full attention and resources towards real solutions to the crisis in affordability that will at the same time preserve the unique quality of life and small-town scale that make our community such an attractive place to live.

Submitted this ____ day of August, 2006.

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Jeff B. Furchtenicht

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Initiative #2: National Chain Store Ordinance

“The people of the City of Ojai do ordain as follows:

The City Council is hereby directed to urgently consider and take measures to:

(a) preserve, protect and encourage diverse, independent, owner-operated businesses within the City of Ojai’s downtown core;
(b) prohibit or deter, to the extent possible, further encroachment of national chains and franchise operations within the City limits; and
(c) require, to the extent possible, that national chain and franchise operations that do locate within City limits identify, mitigate and compensate for negative impacts on town character, environment, traffic, wages, tourism, and other factors identified by the City Council.

The City Council is directed to consider all available alternatives, with special reference to ordinances and policies of other communities in the United States that have successfully kept national chains and franchises out or required such businesses to be responsible for the unique costs they impose.

Definition of terms used within this ordinance is to be determined in accordance with the informed judgment of the City Council.

If this ordinance is not adopted by the City Council, the undersigned request that this ordinance be submitted immediately to a vote of the people at the general election scheduled for November 7, 2006, or, failing that, at a special election.”

Submitted this ____ day of August, 2006.

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Jeff B. Furchtenicht

Written Statement of reasons for Ordinance

The undersigned, Jeff B. Furchtenicht, 203 Drown Avenue, Ojai, California 93023, hereby submits the following written statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contained in the petition as follows:

Ojai is recognized and treasured in part for its eclectic range of independent, owner-operated businesses in its downtown core, and its relative lack of the national chains and similar businesses that so ubiquitously dominate downtowns elsewhere. This quality is one of Ojai’s strong assets as a community, for visitors and residents alike. Today, this unique quality of our downtown core is under threat, as national chain businesses move in and longtime independent businesses are forced out. Current City policy does not sufficiently recognize the differences between the character, impact and effects of national chain and similar businesses on a town such as Ojai, and the character, impact and effects of independent, owner-operated businesses. This ordinance is intended to direct the City Council (a) to take action to preserve our existing independent, owner-operated businesses, (b) to develop measures to encourage new independent, owner-operated businesses and deter national chain businesses in our downtown core, and (c) to require national chain businesses to mitigate their unique negative impacts and compensate for the special costs they impose.

Submitted this ____ day of August, 2006.

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Jeff B. Furchtenicht