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Thanks for all your work, Kenley. It is great to see the City putting forth a strong effort on an issue that a significant majority of citizens are in favor of - protecting the quality of life and uniqueness of Ojai.

I don't understand why there would be arbitrary boundaries drawn to include and exclude formula retail stores. For instance, there is a stretch of road from the "Y" down to the east end of Cluff Vista Park that is NOT included in this newly created Historic Commercial District. Fast food chains along this stretch would be particularly damaging to our small-town feel and aura of cultural tourism. This is easily rectified by modifying the City's Ordinance to include the entire City of Ojai.

I agree that the boundaries need to be widened. Hopefully, this is a starting point and can be worked, compromised, and agreed on from here. I am just so glad to be part of a community where citizens and city staff are thinking forward to the future of this wonderful little place. I spend a lot of time downtown. I think just about everyone utilizes the little pathway next to Movino's to explore around to the other side of the arcade. It would just be horrible to have this grand, beautiful arcade side preserved for generations to come and then slip thru the little walkway and feel like it was all just a facade. The courtyard where all the other stores reside like Serendipity, The Trunk, Iron Pan, Rainbow Bridge, Hattie's and the adjoining streets and just as important as Ojai Avenue. I can't imagine leaving the arcade to walk to Bart's or to Ojai House and seeing a bunch of generic chains lined up just outside of a 'Historic District.' I am truly hoping for a citywide ban on chains. Chains are not why we all seek out Ojai, residents and tourists alike. And, at least, if it just can't be agreed upon for a city-wide ban, I am hoping for a much bigger, much more complete square. Since it does go residential pretty quickly in all directions, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where this should be. Thank you Kenley & Leslie for all of your hard work on this, I can't imagine better neighbors.

I think most of us knew that the Council's first draft to the public would have the defect of not covering the entire Valley. indeed such a small portion of the Valley that in affect grants little protection, and the Character of Ojai is still at risk by this draft. It may be a starting point as I'm sure they knew we would ask such, and bargain. I'm not confident as of yet of their intention or goal in part much less in whole. The carrot is not visible to me now, but, the stick is: The initiative.

Kenley,

Thank you for keeping us informed. Personally I have been out of the loop a bit and needing to stay closer to home.

Do you have any insight as to the motivation behind not making this first initiative city wide, given all the points you mentioned and their awareness of it? Is it a bottom line revenue agenda that they simply aren't revealing or they have business owner friends outside of the proposed area that might want to sell and cash out?

Is there fear about having legal action being taken against the city for not allowing some businesses to operate?

Hi Raymond,

These are all very good questions that you raise. Unfortunately, I am not the person to answer them because it would be speculation on my part. Perhaps one of the City staff could respond?

I will make the following observation based on my research. It may not be possible to make a complete prohibition city wide, as it would in the City's HCD proposal. However, the citizen driven initiative attempted to address this by establishing regulations rather than a prohibition of these businesses.

I hope this makes sense.

The ordinance really does need to be citywide. Ojai just isn't that big. The proposed Historic Commercial District (HCD) literally covers less than 2/3 of a mile. Ojai Ave from the city limit sign near the Y to limit sign past Gridley is only 2.7 miles. If you add HWY 33 from the Y to the limit sign we only have really 3.5 miles of the whole town. I'm very glad the city staff has written such a strong ordinance and I commend them for doing so, but why cover less than 15% of the commercially zoned property in Ojai. Why jeopardize the ordinance by inventing this new HCD zoning out of whole cloth and actually passing it within the same ordinance that is going to use it to ban formula businesses. Isn't it easier to simply apply the ordinance to the entire city?

Gina, just a correction. The new HCD does cover both sides of the arcade. Perhaps Tyler can post the map that's included with the draft of the ordinance.

Raymond, I'm not a lawyer, but I've spoken with a few about this proposed ordinance and from what they've told me it seems that there is actually a higher potential for legal action because of this new HCD zoning. There's the possibility that property owners within the proposed HCD could claim discrimination because some properties would be allowed to rent to formula businesses while they would not be able to; a citywide ordinance would eliminate that exposure. Also, other cities have passed similar ordinances restricting formula business that have been tested in the courts and were allowed to stand, but I think this may be the first outright ban. Like Kenley's initiative, the other ordinances put multiple roadblocks in the way of would-be chain business to the extent that it becomes extremely unattractive to even try to open such a business in those cities. In a council meeting in May about the moratorium, Mr. Widders claimed that an ordinance that banned chains would also pass muster in the courts. He is a lawyer, so he should know.

At any rate, I like that the city staff has finally addressed this problem, I only hope they will remove the unnecessary complication of the new HCD zoning and simply make the ordinance citywide.

Hey SPK - I have added the map to the end of this post, above. Click to enlarge. Cheers, Tyler

I also think the City did an impressive job with their report and draft of the ordinance. I appreciate the work that has gone into this and the action being taken in response to the requests of Ojai's citizens. But I completely disagree with the proposed Historic Commercial District.

I feel strongly that the ordinance should be city wide. When you look at the whole Ojai Valley, the city of ojai is the heart of the valley, and as SPK points out, it's not a very large geographical area. Why not protect the whole city? When I think about how much the world has changed in the past 30 years since my family came to Ojai, especially in regards to globalization and its effect on the environment, I shudder to think what Ojai could look like in another 10, 20, 30 years if we don't protect it. Creating this zone may protect a small area of downtown Ojai, but it opens up the rest of the city limits to chain stores. As tourists pass the beautiful rock wall at Rotary Park welcoming them to Ojai, I'd guess that they breathe a sigh of relief as they enter our little Shangri-la. the experience of Ojai doesn't begin at Canada street. Thats way too late in my opinion.

I'd also like to add that people throughout the valley care about this. While gathering signatures for Kenley's ordinance, I spoke to at least a hundred people who wanted to sign but couldn't because they live outside of the city limits. I hope they'll speak up here and call the commissioners and council members. Because they can't vote at the polls on Kenley's ordinance they should speak out to city officials about this now and at least share their thoughts.

thanks for posting the map, Tyler!

While I too commend the city for (finally!) putting out a draft ordinance of its own, the headline "Strong Chain Ordinance Drafted, With One Weakness" is far too strong.

The city draft sets up a planning dichotomy: Within the so-called "historical commercial district", formula businesses - with huge exceptions - are flatly prohibited. Outside the HCD, there is no regulation specific to formula businesses. What that means is that outside the HCD, the rest of the city is a de facto chains zone. Meanwhile, inside the HCD, were a property owner to successfully challenge the boundaries and/or the ordinance, it simply fails - there are no alternatives to the flat prohibition, no additional guidelines that the business might be subject to, no opportunity for the city to require mitigations.

That does not work. Rather than empowering the city to protect its downtown, this draft is a recipe for (presumably) unintended consequences. It creates perverse incentives to develop currently undeveloped sections of town, while failing to ensure adequate protection even for the charmed new HCD (since it fails to provide for any alternatives within the HCD that would survive if its flat prohibition were overturned, or even apply in the first instance to the myriad formula businesses that are exempted).

Bottom line: The city is clearly better off with Kenley's initiative over the city draft, were we to have to choose between the two.

But: There is a simple solution, which applies regardless of the boundaries of the HCD. Rather than choose between or debate the merits of the city proposal vs. the citizen proposal (Kenley's initiative), why not marry the two? That is, use Kenley's approach for a city-wide special permit process for formula businesses that applies anywhere in the city (except perhaps at the Y - that might as well be a designated chains zone). This essentially is Kenley's initiative. (Perhaps add in specific guidance for how Planning Commission discretion is to be applied to answer the city's concern over Kenley's initiative.)

Then, drop the city's flat prohibition on chains in the HCD into the middle of Kenley's initiative.

Drafted appropriately, with a tight severability clause, we would have the best of both worlds. Critically, if the flat prohibition within the HCD failed, the city would remain empowered to protect itself through the special permitting process, which - if drafted appropriately - would apply citywide. And vice versa.

This kind of comprehensive approach would also be less susceptible to legal challenges. First, even bringing a challenge would be far less attractive, because for example, successfully throwing out the prohibition within the HCD, or the HCD designation, or any one element of the ordinance, would simply put the challenger into the special permit process. Within the permitting process, a challenge more likely would be on an as-applied basis, meaning that a challenger has to go to court every time a piece of their plan is not approved.

Second, a comprehensive, city-wide ordinance, with a strict special permitting process throughout the city and a flat prohibition in a specially designated HCD (perhaps matched by specific guidance to relax permitting standards at the Y), is far less susceptible to challenge as arbitrary than would be the city's draft with its complete prohibition/no regulation dichotomy for properties that are literally across the street from one another.

Perhaps the Planning Commission might consider this option of merging the two proposals out there when they meet tomorrow. If so, they might simply direct staff to redraft and come back in two weeks. That draft could be a good starting point to then start discussing the many other issues, from the definition for formula retail, to the boundaries of the historical district, etc.

Great points "Chain Free Ojai"! I just got off the phone with one of the Planning Commissioners and he suggested this very idea of an overlay. Create the HCD and then regulate the remaining part of town. It could be a good marriage and I hope the idea is raised tomorrow night at the meeting.

What exactly is the full argument against a complete ban through out the entire valley? What is being protected by allowing a non protected area? What is wrong with the initiative that the Council should want to take a different path? Would it not be simpler to just go with the initiative, having the exact same protection covering all development questions with one code? Just thinking allowed.

Dana, IF you meant to sign off with "just thinking aloud", i will not correct you. i think what you typed (whether a typo or not) is beautiful:

Just thinking allowed.

yes, let's please have more of that. i am very encouraged that one of the Planning Commissioners suggested the very marriage of protections that Chains Free Ojai very very eloquently described. i'll be calling them tomorrow during the day to urge continued thinking allowed. :)

The idea of a hybrid of the initiative and the city's draft is pretty good, as long as the hybrid actually has the full language and permitting process of the initiative. If not, we will end up with a legally vulnerable ban in something calling itself the Historic Commercial District and a weak set of guidelines for chains to go through before they develop the land on the east and west sides of town. Once again, I'm not real sure why the whole town including the Y, shouldn't be covered. We're talking about 3.5 miles here.

If the two are to be mated, the initiative needs to be taken wholesale with no weakening or mitigating allowed. We owe that much to the many many citizens who have signed it so far. Those people signed the initiative because it was city wide.

With a few exceptions, you are playing with fire and unless you know what you're doing, you're going to get burned, and you risk betraying Ojai. You are bending over backwards to appease the city (and its hidden handlers) and I fear you are playing into their stacked deck. - Alyeska, with a little help from Dana, nailed it. Listen to the children because they can cut through the crap and tell it like it is: "What is wrong with the initiative that the Council should want to take another path? Would it not be simpler to just go with the initiative, having the exact same protection covering all development questions with one code? Just thinking allowed." - Just thinking, indeed, whether allowed or out loud. Think, folks, think. Everything we've worked for thus far is at stake. Don't be fooled by the city's phony fears of being sued. They sure are not afraid of losing a lawsuit to the ACLU for what could turn out to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. The adminstrators and lawyers are getting paid regardless; we are the ones paying the bills; in fact, they get paid more by creating conflict. It's a smoke screen to hide their real motivation. - Did I spend hours gathering signatures to have my work blown off by clever city hall shysters? Don't let your fear or city induced fear cloud your judgement. - To answer Aleska's question, there is nothing wrong with Kenley's initiative that could not be worked out and adopted by the city. What is wrong with it from the city cabal's point of view is that IT IS A CITIZEN INITIATIVE. Don't you get it? Are we wasting the ACLU's time in Jeff's case by not standing up for our citizen initiative rights in this case? The cabal will not tolerate power being transferred to the citizenry. You saw it with Frostie, Mallory, Jeff's initiatives and now with Kenley's. Wake up and see the truth. The city-cabal initiative is designed to undercut Kenley's. The city would to this day do nothing if it were not for Jeff and Kenley. For years, it falsely claimed it did not know there was nothing on the books, even after Jersey Mikes came in. The city sued Jeff and still is but they can hardly sue Kenley now with the ACLU backing Jeff. Instead they undercut him with pretense and deception. An administration that was not addicted to money and power would simply iron out the problems, if any, with the citizens' initiative and write it into law. But not these connivers. Power complexes are beasts and they take no prisoners. - Did you see the coverage in today's OVN? Do you think the main local press is not in on the game? This is realpolitik. Don't forget that the heart and soul of Ojai is at stake for us and our children and grandchildren, and money and power for the local elites. This is a bigger issue than the gravel trucks because it concerns who runs the city: the cabal or the citizens. - I disagree with those who give rave reviews to the staff administrative report and to the efforts of the city. They are deceptive, faudulent and designed to undercut the citizen initiative in particular and citizen power in general. - I am done with playing Mr. Nice Guy with the cabal. I learned my lesson the hard way with Frostie and the Chinaberry Tree, Mallory Way, Jeff's initiatives and now Kenley's initiative, to mention but a few instances. Anyone remember the 50 DOES? I intend to tear this report apart piece by piece when I have the time and space. It's a fraud and a scam, a snake oil pitch that puts other con artistry to shame. This ordinance draft is the city's Waterloo. They got away with their schemes before with Frostie and Mallory because there never was time to respond to their "pull the wool over the sheeple's eyes" tactics but now I have the time to call them on their nonsense. - Tonight at the planning commission meeting, I'm going to fire a shot over their bow. It's either me or them. One of us is going down if we don't yield to justice and truth. My intention is to blow them out of the water unless they reverse their course and admit their mistakes. - I hereby make the following disclaimer: I am speaking and acting on my own recognizance. I speak as an individual, not as a member of any group or association. You can distance yourself from me as far as the most distant star if you want. You can play the good cop if you want but I'm going to play the bad cop regardless of what you do. - The fur may fly but I am not going to appease anyone. I'm going for the truth because the life of Ojai is at stake. - I think this marriage idea of the HCD and the city wide ordinance is just another foolish compromise which plays into the hand of an administration that is not to be trusted; it will just delay and confuse the issue. This whole HCD idea was concocted a long time ago with input from God knows who and implemented a little over a week ago; and is a red herring to distract from the real issue which is citizen power and control of their own destiny. Follow the money. Notice how that is seldom, if ever, discussed in connection with the chain store issue. In general, chains suck money from the small folk and siphon it to the stockholder/CEO class; and in this case of the newly crafted Green Zone from the core of the city to a ring of chains on the outskirts. There's money to be made outside the Green Zone by creating the Green Zone; in fact a glaring green light signal is given to the chains to come in and take over Ojai. Do you see the light yet? The Green Zone is too small and crowded anyway for much money to be made there. It's a throw away, a carrot to lead the gullible astray. - Chain Free Ojai asks if we are not better off with Kenley's initiative. Yes, yes, yes; a thousand times yes! Why are we even negotiating with the city? Do you think we're going to get what we want playing their game? Haven't we learned from Mallory, Frostie and Jeff's initiatives? Do we have to go over all the gory details again? Do you think the leopard's spots have changed? - Why don't we insist that the city work with us on Kenley's initiative and write it into law, or else we submit Kenley's initiative and take it to the voters? Why are we buying into this HCD delusion in the first place? - Do you think the city-cabal wants the voters to find out what has really been happening? Do you think they want the whole story from Mallory to Frostie to Jeff's initiative to Kenley's to come out? Do you think they want the truth to come out? They'll fold quickly if they think they'll be exposed, or they'll run for cover, or do what they're doing now with all their smoke and mirrors. - If our initiative goes to ballot, the real underlying issues will be debated and the dirty laundry will be seen, if it even gets past the attorney and if it survives being slapped down by the city. Better to let this folly be seen for what it is, and to defeat it with our initiative later than to allow the city to bamboozle us now and make us the fools. - Where is our courage? Don't we have the balls to stand up to this corrupt administration? Why don't we take a strong stance and let the city follow our lead, like they're supposed to do? They are getting paid to represent us, and even they admit that most of the citizens do NOT WANT CHAINS IN OJAI. We've got everything going for us. Why are we throwing it all away? Can't we see the scam that's going down? Is our fear that strong that it blinds us to the truth? - Think justice; remember that "just thinking [is] allowed," and "the truth shall set you free." Love, Dennis.

Wow Dennis, that is a long stream of consciousness. And it is disturbing to admit that too much of it rings true - after all, when Kenley is sitting on sufficient signatures to go to ballot, why is the city staff off on its own drafting a competing ordinance at all? Why isn't the city engaged with Kenley and the citizens? You are right Dennis that something smells fishy. It smacks of power politics, an attempt to wrest control of the issue away from the people and/or, possibly, the commissioners or city councilpersons who might enact the protections that Ojai demands. (Much like the SLAPP over the prior initiatives.)

Still, it remains possible that the "cabal" is shrinking, or that it has always been smaller than you think. Or even that it does not exist. (Imagine. What if the cabal really is just a bunch of well-intentioned poor*#*#s doing their best not very well? Kind of like most people?)

The OVN quotes Kersnar as being behind the city's current draft and this idea of a tiny, legally questionable HCD. (Kersnar of course being on record with his "unfinished quilt" going out to Gridley - the no-chains HCD is a perfect way to incentivize new development out there.) It is possible that Kersnar represents nobody but himself, and his ego/professional reputational desire to be the one out front managing this issue. Indeed it is possible that he doesn't even represent himself, that is, that he himself is open to better ideas than what he first put out.

Kenley's post above indicates at least one planning commissioner is thinking for himself. Dennis, always hold out hope that there may be more. Give them reason over vitriol.

Meanwhile, Kenley is simply being responsible by attempting to work with the city. If he is rebuffed, the voters will know he tried. If he succeeds, we all win. I trust he is smart enough not to accept a diluted, weak measure in place of the initiative that so many citizens are behind.

I am sure you will let us all know what happens tonight.

My primary goal, as I've mentioned before, is that we have the best possible solution for Ojai that meets the desires and needs of the majority. Having the signatures of 600 people is much stronger than a dozen people talking at Planning Commission. It does seem apparent from my conversations with people that there is widespread support for an ordinance against chain stores in Ojai.

I'm truly not very big on conspiracy, nor do I like to speak poorly about things I am not certain. Therefore, I don't really have an opinion about why or who is behind what. However, I will state unequivocally that I have made attempts to engage with the City staff and the City Council and been rebuffed with one exception. Furthermore, I was initially invited by the Chamber of Commerce to meet with the City, but the meeting occurred without my involvement.

I am trying not to be discouraged by the lack of transparency, ineffective communications, and non-proactive nature of our local government. It is my hope and faith that we are working in the same direction despite some indications to the contrary.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

- The Lorax

Just wondering....Are banks considered "chains"?

Both the City drafted ordinance and the Citizen driven initiative would not include banks and most other 'service' type businesses.

I returned from the planning commission meeting a half hour ago. Agenda 2 on the chain initiative ended at 9:30 when they took a break. I left at that point. - I think I can safely say that the neat little green zone ship got blasted out of the water, although you wouldn't know it from all the nice talk and congratulations that were served all around. - Katrina gave the opening powerpoint. Mercifully, it was not Kersnar. She seemed as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. She started the main theme of the evening which was that this ordinance is a very difficult one to draft. I felt like saying: no, it isn't if you're willing to work with Kenley on it; it could be as easy as pie. Foster asked about future development outside the HCD, and I marveled at how Katrina avoided the question with some fancy foot work to escape being cornered. Kersnar spoke to clarify which left the matter bemuddled as usual. - Public communication was next. Leslie was clarity personified. She should be the city manager. Spoke of the entire city concept, from the Y; slow growth; symbolic aspect and a great story about overhearing remarks at the Oaks. [In fact, she could be city manager and city planner]. - Pat McPherson continued to sink their ship: HCP is arbitrary; six other cities have full coverage; Monte said it was legal to do the whole city, and now they have reversed that; it will mean open season for chains; and a great story about the Forbidden City, closing with how this was a slap in the face and disappointing. - Kenley just arrived from work to take the podium. Peacemaker that he is, he thanked them all generally and Troy Becker in particular. (Actually, I really warmed up to Troy later; he's not the ogre I imagined him to be but rather kind of a teddy bear; however, appearances can be deceiving). Kenley is a great speaker and I think is highly respected. He mentioned the 600+ signatures; admitted to feeling awkward because he could turn them in or not; came out strongly in favor of a city wide ordinance; mentioned other cities with city wide ordinances; advocated creative thinking; and CITY STAFF HAS NOT TAKEN UP MY OFFER TO HELP (bravo! stick to 'em); has until October to turn them in. [I sensed throughout the meeting that they are really scared by Kenley's initiative. Rae Hanstad was there and looked very worried. Good. It gives us a lot of leverage]. And Kenley again stuck it to them by saying that a citizen initiative that passed would negate what the city does. [I think they have really blundered with this initiative draft which is why they are backpedaling already. None of the staff looked very confident as they usually do]. - Scott Eicher quoted a study where 70% of the 37% of business owners who responded did not want chains in Ojai. Powerful! He mentioned a problem I heard before; how, say Radio Shack couldn't expand or move. [But the point is that if the city would only work with Kenley, these things could be ironed out, especially since he is ten times smarter than any staff person in my humble opinion]. He was also concerned about a resident who lives here who couldn't open up a national chain. He was concerned about the defensibility of an ordinance; preferred a city written ordinance because if it were a voter initiative it could not be changed without another voter initiative. [See what I mean by fear? So what? The voters have the initiative which scares everybody]. - Tom Bostrom wanted more information, particularly about the three approaches. He agreed with Leslie Davis and disagreed with Mr. Leary [he and probably everyone else in the room because I'm quite sure my approach scares even those who generally agree with my views]. - Nancy Pierson pointed out that outside the zone/definition is a green light; loses control outside the zone; liked city wide, regulatory approach; use existing temporary moratorium language; and interestingly, that developers haven't sued the city for a long time whereas proactivists have a lot of money and motivation to sue for their cause. -Bobbie Bussard [?] lives in Los Arboles, was in retail 40 years in some fancy places, coexisted with chains nicely; was concerned with a lot of vacant stores; it is a kiss of death to have vacant stores around you; need taxes from retail sales; and heard that Politoville [not her word] is pulling people out of the Arcade which will of course mean more empty stores. - That was it for public communications. Mr. Kersnar spoke next and I swear to God, I tried to concentrate and take notes but I can't make hide nor tail about what he's talking about despite his going on and on; OK, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he has a brilliant mind that simply sees too much at once. He began by saying he was concerned that the staff was not clear. No kidding. The question is why is it so confused. If staff would only work with Kenley and Leslie, some clarity might rub off. However, I must confess my own dark side, and say I suspect the unclarity comes from deliberate obfuscation. The truth should be easy, clear and simple. Katrina followed up and while she's always clearer than Kersnar, doesn't address the real issues. Kersnar again followed her and spoke of his experience as manager in Carmel. I began to appreciate the complexity of his mind and the complexity of each city's situation. And he ended by admitting that we can deal with the big level, and the present approach might be wrong. [Bravo. Maybe I have been way too harsh in my judgements. Still, I am wary]. - Commissioner Weaver spoke first (reluctantly after urging by the chair apparently because she was at the end of the dias). She was not sure; pleased with the location approach and restraint of trade; impact of tourism; should meet needs of residents; has to buy clothing out of town; tries to shop in town; don't have the population for enough retailers. Asked what would happen if no formula businesses were allowed; effect on existing businesses; and again the Radio Shack expansion or move example; and need a living town, not an artifact [I like that idea]. - Mirk said it was a difficult issue. Thinks about nature of government and how the commissioners represent the people; dislikes deciding by initiative. He asked the basic question of why we have to do anything at all. Admitted Jersey Mikes is ugly [He won me over with that honesty]. We have a lot of regs already, and has confidence in the process in place now; thinks we are making too much of it. - Crabtree spoke of the livability of the town; like to walk to bank, etc. He inclined to the HCD district idea; feared impact on vehicle miles travelled, noise, pollution, impact on tax base. Asked what about Lucky Strike Bowling Alley, Smart Car dealership, solar power franchises and others. Said it needs more discussion. [Agreed, how about between Kenley and the city. Hint. Hint. I told you these folks were not as smart as Kenley]. - Foster said the location approach made the most sense. [Boo]. He was in agreement with staff on HCD but fears what's outside. [Me too]. - Troy Becker spoke of his experiences running retail shops and restaurants; did not want to bring in chain stores; spoke of rewrapping, remodelling and existing model and calling it something different; Jersey Mikes would be more successful if they rewrapped it; it's not hard to get around copying, and yes, you might get sued. [Me too; I always thought the real evil of chains is how they destroy the initiative and creativity of local people to start business on their own]. He liked the approach of staff but it was not big enough, like the gas station at Del Norte, chains could move in there; extend the zone farther east and use regulatory approach as well. He sort of won me over with his practical sense and experience but I have hard time overcoming the bad taste of Becker because of the association of his brother and Mallory Way. By the way, I spoke at the public communications period at the beginning about Mallory Way again, like a lot of good it did but I keep hoping. - The new commissioner, a Mr. Koehler [?] spoke next and again I was impressed. Talked of the Sacramento onslaught, soft values; and how quickly things can get past the point of no return. He used the example of the Alamo, being from Texas himself, the moral being that you can't defend yourself in a closed environment. [Wow, was that hint but I don't know if the others were bright enough to pick up on it]. Wanted a bigger buffer zone; start at Y and go to Gridley; fight overdevelopment with a matrix of spread out defenses/regs that they would have to walk through and if they wanted to dismantle the matrix they'd have to make a career of it. [I loved it; he was talking regs and regs but again I doubt whether the others got it. That's why Kenley's approach is so good: it's regulatory; you can regulate the opposition to death. The city doesn't like it, I guess because it's too much work, but didn't they just hire two new staff. What are they doing?] Koehler spoke of the camel getting his nose under the tent and I heard a whisper in the back that that is what has already happened. He said it is a constant process, and chains and urbanization is catching up with us. I think his heart is in the right place but because he's new, he has to sort of please the others. - The chair, Tucker Adams then spoke; said it was complex, a question of balance; have to have local services; need larger frame of reference, banks, larger resources but don't want them to dominate; don't see cities that have all local businesses; in general likes staff's approach [boo]; favored Y to Gridley protection [bravo]; expand the boundary; need more information and the pros and cons of what other cities have struggled with; use them as models but not absolutely. She said a lot of wise things but too long to detail here. - Kersnar then spoke; said the public communication would be continued at the planning commission's next meeting on August 1st which would allow staff time; he thought the council would prefer a considered opinion of consensus rather than speed. - Koehler complemented the staff; he wouldn't have known where to start [Did he know about Kenley's initiative? That would be a good place to start don't you think? - Adams closed by noting the difference between the city ordinance and the citizens; she was all for freedom but wanted a document that could be changed; and hoped the city would come up with a document. [Why doesn't anyone want to deal with Kenley and produce a good document to start with? Well, I think I've already said why that is so but no one really wants to handle that hot potato yet]. - My own address to the commission follows here which there got their attention but probably did not gain me any friends.

ADDRESS TO OJAI PLANNING COMMISSION BY DENNIS LEARY ON 7/18/07:

With anger and sadness, I regret that have only three minutes to express my outrage at this ordinance which betrays Ojai by creating a tiny, gerrymandered Green Zone which omits the Ojai Valley Inn entirely and gives chains a green light to build up all around the Green Zone. It strikes a dagger into the heart of Ojai for the benefit of a hidden cabal of money interests. This is a scam which baits the public with ideas lifted from the General Plan, couched in sixteen legalese whereas's and then switches to make the Green Zone a dead zone. Money will be sucked from the small businesses on the inside to the chains on the outside, from the real people infrastructure to the stockholder class outer structure. The cabal wants to chain Ojai for its benefit with this Trojan horse green zone. The city did nothing for years to protect Ojai from chains. The fraud was circulated that the administration did not know there was nothing on the books, even after Jersey Mikes came in. Unbelievable. A citizen submitted an initiative directing the council to get something on the books. He was sued for daring to exercise his rights, even after the ACLU came to his defense, and the case continues to a probable six figure expense for the taxpayers. Citizens gathered 600+ signatures for an initiative and the city now attacks that initiative with its own. Instead of working with the citizens who pay their salaries, this administration tries to disempower them. It actually wants chains, as this latest debacle proves, but it can't say that and therefore concocts this scam to fool the people. It cooks up three approaches to give the appearance of objectivity and impartiality to set up what the cabal really wants: location. Regulation and Number are quickly dismissed with fraudulent arguments. No matter that the municipal codes are nothing but regulations, and dealing with regulations is exactly what the administration is paid to do. The staff attacks the citizen initiative with a false strawman argument. Instead of addressing the real regulations of the voter initiative such as 14 units and frontage length, the staff drums up things they falsely claim to be problematic because they want to create problems for the opposition. They set up a false fear of being arbitrary and capricious as if the man on the street doesn't think that already. The meaning of number is completely twisted to discredit the voter initiative by false association and to set up buying into a fraud based on the Green Zone location. If you want the truth about what the shadow cabal is trying to pull with this ordinance, read my posts on OjaiPost.com with the link to my website on blogstream.com. Thank you.

[Sorry that this is so brief, and that I may have misquoted or left out important information.]

See Kenley's comments on Planning Commission meeting posted elsewhere.

Dennis, brilliantly detailed and honest report/analysis of the meeting...thank you!!

Kenley, especially useful and clever to cross-reference yours and Dennis' comments. will hop over to yours now.

Brief? DL could say many things about himself, but brief is not one of them. Appreciated Kenley's overview, which was succinct, and yes, brief. At least the commissioners are taking time to study this and are open to new ideas. They would not have been had it not been for Kenley's work.

"brillantly detailed and honest..."
evan, do you have an "off-switch"?

Dennis,

Great report, thank you. I couldn't be there and now that I've read Kenley's scorecard and your color I feel like I was. I'm going to comment more on the new topic.

Dennis, thank you as well for the long, but nevertheless concise summary. I also appreciated your comments to the commission. I hope the Commission was listening, because it must be obvious to everyone that whatever the motivations have been for past conduct, it is far past time for the city to engage with Kenley and the citizens and get a strong, well-drafted ordinance, covering the whole city, enacted.

This issue really is a huge test for Ojai and her future. If we are a functioning city, the commissioners and councilpersons and city staff will engage Kenley and the citizens, and get strong protections in place.

Those of our city representatives and staff who remain unwilling to do that just need to go, if not on their own, then with a push.

I wonder Dennis, did it seem to you as if any of the commissioners were curious, or having the same hard time understanding, why the city had this wholly separate draft ordinance in the first place, parallel to but separate from the citizen's initiative? Given that the initiative has enough signatures for the ballot and would take precedence over anything the city does, if I were a commissioner or councilmember charged with oversight of staff, I'd be wondering what the heck the staff is doing wasting time and money on something that will be futile if the initiative proponents are not addressed. Engage the initiative proponents! Duh.

For the commission member who seemed to be having difficulty with the take it or leave it nature of an initiative, I hope s/he thinks about it a little more: what Kenley is doing is exactly the right process. He holds the initiative - but it is entirely within the power of the city right now to seriously engage and enact a strong, well-considered ordinance and thereby induce Kenley to withdraw the take-it-or-leave-it initiative. This is how democracy is supposed to work, and it is part of the purpose of the initiative process. If Kenley's initiative goes to ballot, it is entirely the fault of city staff, the commissioners, and the councilmembers. It will be a huge failure on their part, and an inexcusable one.

Dennis: Great report!

I too want to give my thanks to you for your report and insights of the meeting. It was eye opening.

I appreciate your support. Despite my bravado, my ego is rather fragile and I can only do what I do within a supportive community. I wish I knew the answer as to why the council, commissioners and what I call the cabal act as they do. It's a huge question that runs the gamut of high spiritual karmic to low down human degrative. There is a corollary between the global and local scene. One theory is that of the dualistic nature of reality where a primary dynamic is that of Love vs. Fear. The safest course for a fearful person is to go along with the fear based system. The majority of people do not want to look too deeply into the "banality of evil." It's just too scary. The planning commission is typical of good citizens who have the best of intentions and think they are serving the community. I don't think they want to question those who appointed them, much less challenge them. Those that have done that in the past have simply been removed, according to anecdotes that I hear. Not one of them came close to saying that the city's initiative is wrong which I believe it is, and may have some sinister motivation behind it. I think they are true believers in authority, whether it be religious or political. It would take an extremely severe infraction of social mores for them to speak publicly against the leadership. Denial and fear are potent motivators, although you would never know it from attending a council meeting or a planning commission meeting. I bring up the hard facts but officialdom never dares to engage me in what I consider meaningful conversation because once it starts down that slippery slope there is no telling where it will lead. Those of us who see what is happening, or think we do, have an obligation to speak up in the interests of love, justice, truth and all the other virtues that make life worth living. I believe every thought thunk and every word uttered has an effect, small as it may be. Local and global politics is a game that has horrendus effects for some. We are sheltered here in Ojai but think of Iraq. If you read the internet, for example, Information Clearing House, you get a sense of the suffering. The Ojai lifesytle contributes to that suffering but this "truth" is too much for those who live in comfort (and fear of that changing) and so they blank out that unpleasant truth. I believe that the power of love is the most potent force of all, AND it is tested by fire in the terrible events going on all around us. The real horrors are happening under our radar: in Washington and in places like Iraq but also in a greatly diluted version here in Ojai with the gravel trucks and chain stores and other issues. I could go into detail about definite facts and probable explanatory causes but that does not seem appropriate here. All of these issues affect each other and interpenetrate but most people cannot yet grasp the big picture which is both extremely threatening and positively challenging. You may have a big flashlight but if you shine it in someone's face that usually is not effective; they just turn away. Better to light a soft candle so they will be gently drawn to the light. Unfortunately, that is not exactly my style. I am way too judgemental and so turn people off. Fortunately, there are many in this community who have the skills to deal effectively with the ingrained status quo by gradually bringing light and love to bear. It will bear fruit but it's a slow process. I have never yet actually seen the fruit grow but the new organge crop is getting bigger every time I see those little marble sized green balls. I have no idea where I am now in this stream of consciousness or what the title of the thread is. I get carried away by my thoughts; I'd rather get carried away with love, and maybe there's some of that too going on. In fact, now that I reflect upon what is going on here in Ojai despite all the troubles, I am sure we are being blessed even in our misfortunes. Well, enough said for now. Thanks for the chance to live and learn. Love, Dennis.

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