Unanimously Passed Ordinance Goes to City Council

by Kenley Neufeld on October 17, 2007

It has been almost five months since the City officially began discussing the chain stores topic. We have had many meetings (both public and private), heard from dozens of residents, and reviewed several draft ordinances. I might also mention the Citizen Initiative that has generated conversation and activism in the community in the same time period. We have truly brought this issue to the forefront of local politics.
Tonight, the Ojai Planning Commissioners unanimously passed without changes, a permanent ordinance regulating formula businesses in the City of Ojai. The ordinance was a great compromise and took in many of the concerns raised over the past five months. It’s not perfect, but an honest middle ground has been found. In fact, most speakers from the public spoke in favor of the proposal, including Ron Polito, Scott Eicher, Leonard Klaif, and myself. The ordinance provides room for creativity and flexibility with the direction we take in Ojai. The next step is for the City Council to have two readings of the proposed ordinance before it becomes law. This is a great night for Ojai and the future looks a little brighter. Our goal now is to support our Planning Commissioners and our City Staff by urging the City Council to unanimously approve this ordinance too.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon

Tagged as: city council

{ 8 comments }

Tyler October 17, 2007 at 9:51 pm

great news, Kenley!

Raymond October 18, 2007 at 12:08 am

Thank you Kenley and all the others who have devoted so much of their time, skill and patience to shepherd this oridinance into reality.

Kenley October 18, 2007 at 5:17 am

Thank for the words of support. I just realized that many won’t read the actual ordinance, so here are some highlights:

  • No formula fast food restaurants in the City of Ojai (i.e., Starbucks, McDonalds, etc.);
  • No formula business larger than 10,000 square feet in the City of Ojai (locations such as Starr Market, Vons, bowling alley, etc.);
  • No formula business may locate downtown (basically the Arcade, plus a little more on either end), that is larger than 2,000 square feet and have more than 25 feet of street-level frontage (i.e.,Rains would be to big for a formula business);
  • All proposed formula businesses would need to apply for a Conditional Use Permit, which will require a public hearing at the Planning Commission, and a decision will be made based on a series of findings;

I hope this is clear.

Dennis Rice October 18, 2007 at 7:25 am

A standing ovation to Kenley and all of the others who fought to protect the integrity of our small town. Kudos as well to the City Council who came around to approving an ordinance that may well be their legacy in years to come.

Kenley October 18, 2007 at 7:33 am

Thank you Dennis for the kind words. One point of clarification, the Planning Commission approved the ordinance and it has now been forwarded to the City Council with the full endorsement of the Planning Commission. Please call/email the City Council and urge them to also pass the ordinance. Here are the email addresses:
-Mayor Carol Smith, smith@ci.ojai.ca.us
-Mayor Pro Tem Joe DeVito, devito@ci.ojai.ca.us
-Sue Horgan, horgan@ci.ojai.ca.us
-Rae Hanstad, hanstad@ci.ojai.ca.us
-Steve Olsen, olsen@ci.ojai.ca.us
Many also have their phone number listed and a phone call would work too.

Dennis Rice October 18, 2007 at 7:55 am

Well then, hats off the the Planning Commission. Rae, Steve, Carol, et al…the ball is in your court.Do us proud.

heather October 18, 2007 at 5:20 pm

Thanks to Jeff Furchtenicht and Kenley Neufield (and apologies if I’ve misspelled names) for bringing this to the attention of the town and our government, and to everyone who put time and energy into finding an equitable solution.
It is great to see that government can work for the people.

Mike DiDj October 18, 2007 at 7:11 pm

Thank you Kenley. Happy Birthday!

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: