Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Thank

you. It is 06:00 and I am calling the meeting to order. We will start with roll call. Sherry, please call the roll. Chair Murphy? Here. Vice Chair Chesley? Present. Commissioner Reich Smith? Here.

Commissioner Graham absent. Okay, thank you. We will now do the pledge of allegiance. Katrina, would you lead us?

Yes. I pledge allegiance

to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic Do we have any changes to the agenda, Lucas?

Am I right? Yes, so item number three on the agenda is being completely pulled off of the agenda due to a lack of a quorum to to for the item to be heard. If I could, commissioner Chesley would have a recusal for financial reasons and thus we only have two members of this commission that would be able to hear the item. So it's being taken off a calendar, would have to be re noticed as a part of the process. I don't have a date identified, instead you'll see that in the future.

Okay. Thank you. The agenda will be approved as amended. Public communications is the time we set aside during the planning commission meeting for members of the public to address the planning commission on items of city business other than the scheduled items. Matters raised at this time may be briefly discussed by the commission and will generally be referred to the staff and or placed on a subsequent agenda.

Under state law other than for emergency items, no action can be taken at this meeting. I have one card for public comment. Larry?

Hi. Good evening. Thank for everybody, what everybody does. About a month ago, I sent an email regarding, chapter 10 on the VMU regarding four, usages that are required to have CUPs, a deli, a flower shop, a stationer, and I believe there was one other, but I can't remember. I really would like I think that because of the lack of service businesses we have in the city, that these type of businesses have no reason to have need a CUP to go into the VMU.

I mean, maybe when the VMU was, built or or set up, certain businesses were protected by the CUP, which would make sense to to me, to keep other people out as a as a reason to vote for it. But that reason has come and gone. Those businesses don't exist in the VMU, and there's no reason to have a CUP because a CUP takes people forever. And opening a business is time, value, money. So if you could just add them back to permitted or add them as permitted versus CUP required, it might make sense just to make it easier to open a business considering all the other issues, but just that one thing. So thank you.

Thank you, Larry. Is there anyone online, Sherry? No. Thank you. Okay. Moving to the consent calendar. Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Commission meeting of 01/07/2026 are there any additions or corrections? I would take a motion to approve them.

Motion to approve the agenda or the the minutes.

I second. Thank you.

Roll call, Sherry. Reich Smith.

Yes.

Chesley?

Yes.

Murphy? Yes. Okay. Moving on to the public hearing for item two, which is a design review permit, DRP 20 five-ten, and conditional use permit for the remodel and expansion of an outdoor dining facility previously approved by the Planning Commission through a conditional use permit at the rear of a newly establishing restaurant called Ojai Mountain Farm at 242 East Ojai Avenue. We will open the public hearing for this item at this time and I have two cards Brian Akins first.

Good evening, planning commission commissioners. Nice to to be with you tonight and staff who are here. So I'm here on item number two. I realized that it's being continued. I am here as the physical portion of the email that was sent out by my fellow commissioner, Craig Walker.

I'm here in his stead because he was unable to be here tonight to represent himself. And that that is about a subject that I think I've now been to four or five PC or HPC meetings and and been unable to address. I do encourage people to find that article. This looks like this has been been continued to a further date that will give people the background. Clock's not on.

Background in order to be prepared for a thank you. In order to be prepared for a future hearing on this item. You know, I kind of I kind of think of this as in in the way that we've been limited as the elephant in the arcade. So if you don't know what that means, find out. And so, again, it's been very difficult.

I've been on this is my twelfth year on the commission. I can't remember being muzzled before. And so just ask people to to find out the information and and be prepared to weigh in on whichever side they feel like. Thank you

very Larry Steingold?

This, outdoor dining facility and the freezer, more the freezer than the space I think, the fences changes the the, feeling, the look of the back of the arcade. It now turns into the back of a restaurant, the back of an industrial building. That's all it is now. Now it's a walk in freezer. They need more space. Okay. You don't wanna build it inside? Build it outside. Okay. I understand why.

Okay. But this doesn't do justice to the arcade. I mean, people, this city has spent a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of effort making the arcade what it is. I mean, do I really wanna have to go past multiple freezers because now it's one, and yes, it's another, and then someone else wants something else, and they keep chipping away, okay, at what the arcade is. Or what and then it becomes well, it used to be nice, but now we've got freezers there. We got freezers here. We got this. We got that. We got all this stuff. And now it's the inside of an industrial park at the back end of a restaurant strip.

You know, you got the Chinese restaurants, you got the Italian, you got the French, you got the German, you got the Mexican. In the back of all of them, you got giant mushrooms, you got fences, you've got freezers, and yes, this is the worst look you can get. But this is just the beginning. So I I plead with you to say, hey, this is not what's right. It may make sense for the business. I get it. Not against the business, but this is not the way to do it. Okay, in my view. Because it it it encumbers the rest of the arcade. It's like other things that allow when once you let the cow out of the barn, the rest of the cows are following, right, or whatever. Call it whatever. Slippery slope. And thank you. And have a good Larry.

Do you want to say anything, Lucas, before we go to the continuation of this item?

Before the commission deliberates and then takes makes makes a recommendation, I just would identify that recently I did receive word that there were two council members that have asked this item to be called up. So it will be before the city council at a future meeting, in the very near future.

Near future, did you say?

Yes. I can't give a specific date because I don't have that in front of me, but yes.

It it's holding up the possibility of a business in town opening to a wider audience of customers. So I I hope that we can get this on city council's agenda very quickly and back on our agenda very quickly.

Mindful of that certainly.

Thank you.

Could I have a motion to continue this item? Do you have comments first?

No comment. Well, is the

that's like have one.

One question is, is the what's going before the city council? Just the freezer and the electrical box or the whole thing?

The whole thing.

Oh. Yeah. Is that so it is that something that they're going to see as property owner or as the regulatory agency?

That'll be teased out during the discussion. Yes.

Okay.

I just just wanna tell you, I just, we got the new working agenda.

Kim, would you Oh, yes. For the audience that we might have out there.

But it Kim Meng, city council. I just wanna let you know that in the current working agenda that came out today, we do have this on, as February 10. It will be coming to the council. Oh, good. So if everything stays, that's what the date is.

So Great. Thank you, Kim. Okay. Then I would the chair would entertain a motion on this item.

I make the motion to continue To Item two.

On an

uncertain date.

To an uncertain date.

I second.

Roll call please, Sherry Chesley.

Yes.

Reich Smith.

Yes.

Murphy.

Yes. Okay. Now, we have we are moving on to item three and we have one commissioner who needs to recuse.

Well, on. We've already made the announcement at the beginning that that item's been taken off calendar. Yes. So it had to be re noticed. Vice chair Chesley had identified that that yes, he does have a financial conflict when it had to.

Okay. So what do we do with it then?

There's no action that needs to taken.

It's just that

you approved an agenda that no longer has this item on it.

Correct. Perfect. Thank you. Okay. Director's report.

Can we go to future agenda items first? Is that on here?

Oh, yes. Future agenda items. Okay.

It's a

little it just disappeared right off the page.

Sorry. It's at the very top of our agenda. Yes. So, okay. So, we for the fourth, we don't necessarily have any items that are specifically ready for the fourth. So we're considering canceling that meeting, but we do have at least one item that's gonna be ready for the eighteenth. So just know that certainly for the eighteenth, there's at least one item that'll be ready as well as potential the discussion piece that we had a couple weeks ago regarding the use. So there's a possibility for that too. But I will just note, I do need some help. Staff would need some help from this body, from a couple of individuals that may be interested in helping.

Obviously, we couldn't have more than two, so we don't get into the quorum issue. So, if if there's nothing else of business for February 4, I would I would recommend, obviously, you as the as the commission has to make the determination and then take a vote to it, but canceling the meeting for the fourth. Then, recognizing at least one item is gonna be ready for the eighteenth.

Well, what about the item that what if we have we can get a quorum for the fourth. Can we get this one on the fourth?

I have staff working on that right now. Now, if we, if you would like, we could just leave this up in the air until we have final determination on whether or not that item is gonna be ready but it will have to be re noticed. And I do know the paper has certain deadlines and I think today is the the deadline for the notice to go out, so

Oh, okay. Seven. It's a Okay. Good So it won't make the fourth? No. I I move that we cancel February 4.

I second. Roll call, Sherry. Reich Smith?

Yes.

Chesley?

Yes.

Murphy? Yes. Okay. Now, a director's report.

Yes. A couple of things. One is I wanted to point to the direction of the commission. There was a director's exemption that went out, I wanna say a couple weeks ago. I wanna make you aware of that if you have any questions. I know that I think I actually had everybody acknowledge it, so thank you for doing that. We're moving in the right direction. If you do have questions on these directors exemptions, please reach out to me or to staff, the person or the individual that's involved in it, so that we can have that conversation Just to iron out any any pieces involved in it. Okay? Yes. And then, as identified in

So what was the injunction? Is that is that public

or not?

Yeah. It's on our It's actually on our website. Oh. Yep. Okay.

All ex and I could I know I'm not supposed to be reacting to the public, but all of our directors exemptions, they get published on our website and the policies on our website as well in terms of the process and the call up actions that go along with as well. With the director's exemptions, there is a specific code section that gives specific direction for the director to, to basically make those, those determinations. And, they're not taken lightly, obviously. So, there's that piece and then I just wanted to identify and I do thank you, there is a council member that's in the audience. I wasn't certain on when that date was, but right now, it's looking like it'll be the next, the next meeting, which, so, so look out for that.

Okay. And that's it. At least on my end.

Do we have any council liaison reports?

So, think the council liaison is actually the mayor who is at youth count youth a youth council meeting tonight at the Rex I think it's at Sarazadi. So

Okay. I have missed the commission member reports. Do we have any?

No. Not for me.

No reports.

Now, only the only thing

that you

would be doing on the commission reports is if you went to the MAC meeting recently, then we do want you to identify what was on that agenda, what you spoke about, and then just kind of give us a a general and I'm hoping that each of you have been attending. I know there was one that was canceled recently, so

We have a rotating schedule which Sherry has recently sent to us. So Yep. You all

I'll have Sherry resend it so it's at the top of your inbox.

Good.

And again, if you have any questions on that one, because when you attend, they do have a piece sliced, basically an area sliced out for you to speak as a commissioner. And you're basically you're talking about items that that this body has seen.

Okay. Council Member Meng, would you have anything that you would care to share with the commission? That's okay. In that case, we are going to adjourn the meeting to February 18. Eighteenth. Wow. Okay.