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

April 4, 2007

Kim Rodriguez, Planning Director
County of Ventura
800 S. Ventura Ave.
Ventura, CA 93003

Re: Ozena Mine Expansion Proposal, case # LU04-0055

Dear Ms. Rodriguez:

I am writing on behalf of the City of Ojai regarding the review process for the above-referenced project. We are requesting a specific approach to your process, which may be different from your usual method.

We understand the Public Hearing for this project before the Planning Commission has not yet been scheduled, and we further understand that the official Response to Comments on the proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) has not yet been completed. We believe that the issues related to the MND, and this project, are sufficiently complex that a substantial review time is required.

Specifically, we respectfully request that the Public Hearing not be held until at least sixty days after the release of the Response to Comments. That should provide sufficient time to adequately review the Responses, and to provide meaningful public testimony at the Public Hearing. Without such review time, the Responses cannot be fully considered.

As you know, there is considerable public interest, both from citizens of the City of Ojai and of the surrounding unincorporated County, in this proposal. We urge you to consider our request in light of this heightened public interest, and we look forward to your timely response. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jere A. Kersnar
City Manager

Cc: Scott Ellison, Case Planner
Mayor and City Council of Ojai
Katrina Schmidt, City Planner
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April 4, 2007

John Baker, Planning Director
County of Santa Barbara
123 East Anapamu St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2058

Re: Hearing on Diamond Rock Mining and Reclamation Project

Dear Mr. Baker:

I am writing on behalf of the citizens of the City of Ojai, to ask Santa Barbara County to alter your proposed hearing plan for the above-referenced application. As you know, the case involves an EIR and an application for a gravel-mining operation located in Santa Barbara County, with a transportation plan that would permit gravel trucks to traverse State Highway 33 as it passes through the City of Ojai. As you can imagine, the proposal has generated considerable interest from Ojai residents, both from the City proper and the surrounding area.

We understand that the public hearing before the Planning Commission has been scheduled for May 30, in Santa Maria. We also understand that a video-conferencing capability is being planned for County offices in Santa Barbara, to allow for remote participation in the public hearing from that location.

We respectfully suggest that such arrangements are inadequate to accommodate the amount of public interest from the Ojai area in this proposal. While we recognize the state law does not permit the Planning Commission to meet outside the County, we request that the Commission schedule at least a portion of the public hearing at a location that is more readily accessible to citizens of Ojai. After all, it is our residents who, according to the draft EIR, will have to bear an unmitigatable negative impact on our community’s quality of life if the project is approved as proposed. In these circumstances, it seems appropriate for Santa Barbara County to alter its normal procedure to facilitate public testimony from those who would be most affected, namely Ojai and other Ventura County residents.

Further, the City of Ojai is concerned about the proposed hearing schedule for this project. Although the hearing has been scheduled, there has been no commitment, to our knowledge, of a timetable for the release of the Response to Comments. We understand there were many comments submitted, and a full review of the Responses will take some time. We therefore respectfully request that the Public Hearing not be held until at least sixty days following the release of the Response to Comments.

We look forward to your timely response to our requests. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jere A. Kersnar
City Manager

Cc: Gary Kaiser, Supervising Planner
Mayor and City Council of Ojai
Katrina Schmidt, City Planner