Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

OK. I'm calling the meeting of the Planning Commission on June 17, 2026 at 6 PM to order. Could we have a roll call, please, Sherry? Chair Murphy?

Here. Commissioner Stewart? Here. Commissioner Reich-Schmidt?

Here. Commissioner Hanson? Here. Vice Chair Chesley is absent. Okay. Would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please, Katrina?

Flag's gone.

Flag. Where's the flag? Oops. We're pledging to no flag. Let me just see if there's a flag in the photo there.

Oh, there's a flag in the photo.

All right.

There we go. Anybody got a map?

I pledge allegiance.

for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We have the approval of the agenda next. Are there any additions or changes, Mara?

No, there are not. Thank you, Chair. OK.

Could we have a motion to accept the agenda, please?

I make a motion we accept the agenda as presented.

I'll second that a motion.

Roll call. All in favor say aye.

Aye. Thank you. OK. It's time for public communications. I do not have any cards that indicate public communications at this time.

Mind shut up. I'm here tonight as a resident not a City Council person to express my sincere gratitude for your continued public service and the vital role that you play in shaping the future of Ojai You're the primary bridge between OI residents and local government. At the heart of your service, the Planning Commission is a citizen body, our country's best form of democracy. And your public hearing and your painstaking efforts to digest and understand development standards are the community's best hope that development will align with OI's long-term vision. Because of you, OI's unique character continues to shine. OI has developed in a manner unique to OI. And we're distinct from so many communities that have been transformed by strip malls and tract homes. So navigating California's complex land use and zoning requirements is an inherently challenging task. And I especially wanna commend you for your commitment to ensuring that community values are deeply reflected in your decisions. I expect that later this year you'll be helping to define and articulate what our community holds as valuable when we go through the general plan process. I served on Planning Commission approximately 20 years ago, so I know that Serving on Planning Commission often means dedicating countless hours to reviewing complex proposals and listening to local feedback, and your diligence ensures that our neighborhoods remain vibrant, equitable, and a welcoming place to live. so thank you for your sacrifice of your time your talent your dedication to the community thank you for your civic leadership thank you for your thoughtful stewardship of Ojai's future and thank you for your dedication to the well-being of Ojai residents thank you Mr. Whitman is there anyone else in the audience who would like to make a public statement at this time

Sherry, is there anyone online who needs to speak? No. No. OK, then I will close the public communications. And we will turn to the consent calendar, where we have the minutes of the June 3 planning commission meeting. Are there any changes or additions? Could I have a motion to accept?

Make a motion to accept.

I will second that motion.

Could we have a roll call, Sherry? Hanson?

Yes. Stewart? Yes.

Rice-Schmidt? Abstain. Murphy? Yes. Disclosure of site visits and ex parte contacts at this time? Bruce?

None. None.

I went out to the site at 923 East Ojai Avenue and walked the site.

I met with the owner of the 923 Bryant property in the context of a meeting with Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you. And I have also walked the site. I have had no ex parte contacts. OK, moving on, we now have the concept review, CR26-003. to provide comments regarding a request for a zone change and a DRP.

So this would be the time for Commissioner Stewart to recuse himself.

Yes, thank you. At this time, I'll recuse myself, as I have a hospitality business down the street, and I would prefer to not comment on the topic. Thank you. Thank you.

So thank you chair and commissioners. This is a concept review regarding a request for the construction of a new hotel development. Just a second. There we go. The development is called Wildflower, and it includes two, or excuse me, six two-story and two one-story standalone hotel units located on a vacant land, a vacant part of land, some vacant land, at the southeast corner of East Ohio Avenue and Bryant Street, specifically located at 923 East Ohio Avenue. The request includes a general plan land use designation amendment from commercial manufacturing to general commercial to be consistent with the existing general commercial zone designation, also to merge three existing legal vacant lots into one parcel, and also to consider a design review permit. As a concept review, the Planning Commission is being asked to provide the applicant with comments and feedback regarding the project and provide an opportunity for public comment. Once I've finished with my presentation, the applicant also has a presentation of their own although I have just a few slides I do have a lot to say because it is a large development with a lot of different aspects they also have a PowerPoint so I'm again I'm going to try to be as straightforward and as brief as as possible while giving you that the background so the project is described by the applicant as an eight unit key all landscape hotel and micro resort key all refers to facilities where guests are provided keyless access the site is in the general commercial zone as I've already stated and has a general plan land use designation of commercial manufacturing and this site is currently includes three separate legal lots The primary purpose of areas that are designated as commercial manufacturing in the general plan is to provide for a broad range of manufacturing and commercial uses that are complementary to one another. Typical uses include light manufacturing, commercial sales, and services that are in support of light manufacturing, and warehouse and distribution facilities. The current zone designation is for general commercial which is applied to areas appropriate for a range of community and tourist serving retail and service land uses and typical uses include general retail and a host of other personal services but also including hotels and motels. The municipal code includes that the C-1 zone district is consistent with the general plan land use designation of general commercial. The general commercial land use designation provides for general shopping and commercial service needs and includes highway and tourist appropriate uses and specifically includes hotels. change from general plan in the general plan land use designation from commercial manufacturing to general commercial would be required so that the zone and the land use designation support one another and in following the intent of the general plan I know I have this up here as that. I guess we could still be sitting here. So the project includes development over three separate legal parcels. The director of community development has determined that the parcels are required to be merged as part of the project. I'm using the word merge loosely. It's just eliminating lot lines. The process to create one parcel has yet to be determined. However, the end goal is for there to be one parcel. The method for achieving this is going to be determined through the city engineer and city attorney and staff prior to it coming back to the Planning Commission for discretionary permit review and recommendation to city council or determination, depending on where the final determination lands. The applicant is requesting approval of a design review permit. for the eight hotel units as well as full site development including a common area, landscaping, and required parking. The design review standards in the municipal code by which all projects must be evaluated, and as you've heard this for all DRPs, Is includes context and that new structures should employ materials colors textures styles building mass and scale that are compatible with the architectural character and form of the surrounding area continuity with the streetscape with regard to setbacks scale with regard to height transition between neighboring parcels or neighboring buildings, excuse me and and architecture that peaks interest as opposed to monotonous forms or elevations. The site is proposed to be bordered by a four feet high perimeter fence along the north and a portion of the northwest and northeast property lines. A six feet high perimeter wall is proposed along portions of the south property line. A common area with a movie wall is proposed adjacent to East Ohio Avenue and a pedestrian entrance is proposed at the northwest corner of the site adjacent to a trellis enclosed gathering area. The movie screen is not really visible on this slide. However, it will be when you see the applicant's slides. There are 11 parking spaces that are proposed at the south end of the site, and the southeast corner of the site adjacent to the parking includes a covered enclosed storage and trash enclosure. The applicant has included the landscape plan, and it's designed as a xeriscaped, nature-immersed environment that honors Ojai's native ecology. Let's see if we have, oops. you're gonna see that on his on his plans the plant palette emphasizes drought tolerant species including wildflowers regionally appropriate shrubs and select edible fruit the shared common yard features natural grass maintained through a sand based hydroponics system that captures and recycles stormwater for efficient irrigation creating a resilient low scape low water landscape The site development includes an outdoor communal spa, cold plunge, and sauna, and a common area with the movie screen that I've mentioned previously. Each hotel unit includes a full kitchen and bathrooms and a private patio that's enclosed by a six-foot enclosure. Additionally, each private patio has a heat pump and tankless water heater. The building materials include vertical wood planks, shiplap fiber cement siding and corrugated metal roofing. The vertical cement board and wood siding is in a Dakota woods green and glacier gray with corrugated roofing in burnished slate. The exterior doors and windows are bronze and Dakota woods green, and the fence material throughout the property is proposed to be a horizontal wood fencing in the color of hazelnut. The site is within the northern edge of the Bryant Industrial Area plan, the Thoroughfare Corridor Overlay District, and the East Ojai Avenue Design Guidelines area. Regarding the Bryant Industrial Area Plan, many planning improvements to Bryant Street identified in the plan have previously been completed. However, the City Engineer will be preparing conditions of approval for this project for remaining required improvements to Bryant Street with curb, gutter, sidewalks that are adjacent to the project frontage. AS DESCRIBED IN THE TRAFFIC STUDY AND PURSUANT TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE, THE PROJECT IS ALSO LOCATED IN THE CITY'S THOROUGHFARE CORRIDOR OVERLAY DESIGN AREA. THE PROJECT DOES NOT TAKE ACCESS DIRECTLY FROM OHIO AVENUE, THEREFORE THE DESIGN AND OPERATION OF THE PROJECT DRIVEWAY ON BECAUSE IT HAS THE ACCESS ON BRYANT STREET, IT'S EXEMPT FROM THE THOROUGHFARE CORRIDOR OVERLAY DESIGN AREA REQUIREMENTS. The project site is located in the East Ohio Avenue Design Guidelines area, and pursuant to these guidelines, the development is to be less dense than the downtown area west of Park Road, creating and maintaining a feeling of openness. One purpose is for the protection of views to the surrounding hillsides that are north east and south of the property The guidelines encourage development that incorporates plazas Courtyards and other outdoor pedestrian spaces into their site plans these areas are additionally encouraged to be visible or linked and to the street by a clear circulation element such as an open passage or a covered arcade the guidelines provide that the use of low fences and walls to screen and separate functions provide a decorative A DECORATIVE TYPE OF ORIENTATION AND THAT THEY CREATE AREAS FOR LANDSCAPING AS A UNIQUE FEATURE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. AND THE USE OF ROCKWORK TO CREATE DISTINCTIVE WALLS AND PLANTERS IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED WITHIN THE EAST OHIO AVENUE GUIDELINES. The guidelines also include that the height of the walls should be kept as low as possible while performing their intended security or screening functions. Additionally, wall materials and colors should be consistent with the architectural theme of the main buildings on the site. The guidelines indicate that building proportions with horizontal emphasis are desired over those with the more vertical proportions that exaggerate overall building height. The nine parking spaces that are proposed at the south side of the project fulfill the requirement because the requirement, there are 11 parking spaces, sorry, provided, but there are nine required. And the proposal includes the key all aspect, therefore additional parking is not required for a property manager. There was a traffic analysis that was prepared to assess the potential traffic and vehicle miles traveled in relation to this development, and the traffic analysis includes, or concludes rather, that the project does not exceed thresholds adopted by the city. In order to assure that there are appropriate utilities for the project we require submittal of letters, will serve letters or availability letters at the time of submittal and those have been submitted as part of this project for or from rather Casitas Municipal Water District and also the Ojai Valley Sanitary District. The applicant describes, as I've already stated, the landscape as a xeriscape nature-immersed environment that honors the Ojai native ecology while elevating wildflowers' experiential mission. The landscaping includes drought-tolerant species, including wildflowers and edible fruit, as already described. the ultimately the project will be conditioned that all lighting provisions comply with the with the municipal code as the landscaping there's a trash covered trash enclosure and storage area next to the to the proposed parking spaces as already indicated and the trash enclosure will be conditioned to comply with the specifications that are required to be complied by the city through the county of Ventura. The project is going to be subject to public arts, the public arts ordinance that requires the inclusion of public art and the art must be located in an area visible to the general public from the nearest public right-of-way for a minimum of eight hours per working day. And this will be a condition of approval for the project. And the applicant will be encouraged to contact public artists and an art consultant as soon as possible. So lastly, there's a section in the code, section 10-2.1802 of the code that the final decision on the project will be made by the highest level of review authority. So the general plan amendment will require final determination to be made by the City Council therefore the design review permit as well as whatever the process is for the merging of the three parcels will be a recommendation by the Planning Commission to the City Council and The project analysis will include evaluating consistency with the municipal code, the general plan, the Bryan Street industrial area plan, the thoroughfare corridor overlay district, and the East Ohio Avenue design guidelines. So with that, I've described as much as I can about the project to you, and we have the applicant here with his own presentation that I will be manning for him. Thank you. Mr. Mitchell? You are welcome. Let's see here. Sorry, I thought I did that.

would you like to introduce yourself sir sure sure nate mitchell low street ventures is my company project wildflower is the name of this what ends up being my california dream uh at the end of the day this is something that has been a vision that i've had for almost 15 years i finally found a place that i could do it and then the timing my life created the opportunity for me to do it. Really excited to see the turnout here. There's this small town feel of Ojai that I actually fell in love with when I first came to visit. And that was in 2000, I think, 21 or 22, right around the pandemic. And my first impression, it remains the same. I love it up here. I brought some friends up recently. They fell in love. And so this opportunity for me is what I hope to be my love story with Ojai.

Where is Flow Street Holdings located?

I'm based in Los Angeles. I'm originally from Pittsburgh. I'll just give you a quick backstory. I kind of introduced myself to the Planning Commission in early May. Background, originally from Pittsburgh. I moved out here in 2018 to take a role with Live Nation Entertainment. I was doing concert venue development before the pandemic hit. And then... Previous to that, I did some institutional shopping mall redevelopment. And this kind of gravitation into experiential hospitality was really this convergence of my life experiences where at Live Nation, I was in the business of creating non-duplicatable life experiences. It was a job that I didn't know that existed. And then my previous experience prior to business school, I did a community development fellowship in New Orleans where I really got immersed into neighborhood development. And so as I kind of progressed my career and had some vision and a particular approach to development, Flow Street Ventures and Flow Street Holdings is an embodiment of that. And so this is kind of the catalyst project that hopefully I can put all my creative vision into something that both fits within the neighborhood character of Ojai, but stands out as well.

Perfect.

We can just quick overview just the idea of wildflower. It's really a play on words with what I call my daughter. We're avid hikers and when we would go out she would be the one kind of meandering right on the edge of the mountain picking wildflowers and she has a very free spirit and so it literally just was a project file name when I first named it and then it kind of stuck and then it kind of stuck with the ecology of Ojai and I just kind of said Wildflower fits and so that's kind of the origin story of how I came up with Wildflower. The site itself is really intended to be that anchor and I would say maybe the missing anchor of the east end as it transitions into the town center area. It's on the hard corner of East Ohio and Bryan Street. It's just under a half acre so it's a really tight site and so the planning exercises I should have included the slide where I had 30 different versions of the site plan trying to make something that would work, would fit in with the design guidelines and hopefully fit kind of the character of the neighborhood. There was an upfront priority to prioritize open space. Just from the guest experience and overall this beautiful natural environment is the really redeeming character and draw why most of you probably moved here and why people want to come to visit. I wanted to prioritize that. and then kind of getting into the fundamentals of the site itself. It's zone C1, so hotel is a permitted use. There's a little clarification on the land use designation of commercial manufacturing. Technically, that is the land use designation, but a couple layers deep into the land use code, there's actually an East Ojai design concept overlay that actually encourages service-oriented and tourist-oriented uses and specifically names hotel as an approved use and so it's it's not necessarily a required in my humble opinion general plan amendment because it is identified specifically in the land use element as an intended use of that area and then to be encouraging that type of development along ohio avenue in this kind of bracketed area Montgomery on to, you know, down past Soule. And so knowing that on the front end kind of was the impetus for me to go ahead and move forward with acquiring the land and then obviously creating the vision of Wildflower. Next slide, please. This bar kind of hit on it. This really is a labor of love. Again, I've had this vision for like 15 years. It started in New Orleans, kind of stepping back into my approach as a neighborhood developer. I came up with a recipe for placemaking that I called at the time and it was people, places, and reciprocity. It's one part people, one part place, and two parts reciprocity. The reciprocity part is programming and participation. And it takes an inspired mind to create an environment that hopefully willing participants will come and enjoy, you know, and really elevate the experience collectively. And I got really excited about the idea of Communitas. It's kind of the group flow statement. eight cabins get filled up with people they're all coming out here intentionally either rest relaxation rejuvenation uh but they get to have this shared experience it's in each individual uh person's experience elevates that next person's and collectively they have a great time and so that's kind of the embodiment of what i was trying to drive at with the landscaping It's intended to be lush and plush. I call it moment-making design, where if you could look at something, a sculptural element, a blue agave plant, an orange tree, something that would catch your eye, a unique wildflower, we can tell a story about its origin, the connection to the region. And those are special moments. And they matter to me. They matter to me when I go to some place that has kind of leaned into experiential hospitality particularly, and there's a story to be told there. the units themselves the intention is that it's kind of really designed for the modern traveler I have two kids it's very hard to go and book a hotel room you get two queen beds the kids are jumping on the bed you can reach up and touch the ceiling low volume ceilings you feel like you're in a sardine can and so the idea of these lofted suites creates some separation from the living area and the bedrooms. The indoor-outdoor experience is intentionally designed to have the patio and the connectivity into the great room. But it's really the experience that you're missing in Ojai. This is a place to relax and let down. It's not transactional. You shouldn't come here and just be in the hotel room and you've got to be out of it because you're kind of contained within the four walls. And so this is a place that hopefully embodies what I believe that I feel when I come up here, which is the sense of relaxation. I don't know if you can move to the next slide. And so again, I have multiple iterations, but I tried to lean into just the basic site conditions. I have an existing access easement off of Bryan Street, so it's a natural location to put the parking in the back. And then I wanted to create as much open area as I could and kind of preserve that character. So currently there's about 70 feet of frontage of open space with a four foot fence so there's some visibility into the courtyard. The courtyard itself, the programming aspect, this view here was really the initial vision of a living wall. It's kind of morphed into an example activation of a movie wall. And that really was after a conversation that I had with the planning team in, I think, November. I was explaining the project, kind of saying, hey, are there elements that would be interesting to the community? And they said, oh, that's something that's kind of missing when people come in here. Is there anything that the community could participate in? And I was like, well. I had this idea and it's really centered on like silent disco and you would have headphones on so there wouldn't be any sound projection and we could have an outdoor movie. And so that was an application of just the backdrop of the living wall, which was really a method to screen the broad side of that unit because it's kind of boring. I thought about a mural, but again, this is kind of a landscape-oriented hotel, so the idea of having a living wall was really the original vision, and then it kind of transformed into a boulder garden. So on left and right field, there's kind of boulders, and then in the middle is sand, so you've got some different materials. And so it becomes kind of a dynamic area, but the backdrop was obviously the green and flowerful living wall. And so that's an element I just wanted to kind of highlight on. If you can move to the next slide. This is really just showing the approachability of Wildflower. The units are intentionally designed in clusters so there's some breaks in between so you can kind of see, you know, through the project. Obviously at the, you know, at the, you know, a walker's view you can kind of see into the yard and that open space is maintained. Go to the next slide. Now this is a important slide for me because I think right now on that hard corner, which is really a critical corner at the gateway to the town center, is a vacant parcel. and then you have some really dynamic uses. You've got Light and Space to the west, you've got the Ojai Pub, you've got Vickie's, the thrift shop, you've got Garden Temple, which is a great store, and then Izakaya Moon, phenomenal sushi. Next to me is Rise Ojai, and so they have the hair salon there, and then what I think is going to be kind of a ghost kitchen a little bit for the old restaurant on the corner. What's missing is... Something in that on that hard corner that ties everything together and so the idea in the land use element of talking about having an anchor for This corridor the transition into the Gateway of downtown. I thought this would be a great anchor for that and And so the scale of Wildflower, it's really one and a half stories, it's really not even two, the total clear heights, 22 feet. And C1 zoning, in this particular area, 35 feet is the max height, so it was intentionally built to a lower scale, because again, I was trying to fit in with the neighborhood. The second floor is really just a five-foot knee wall, and then it has a pitch roof, a gable roof. Then the color scheme itself, I wrestled with this for too long, but in the design guidelines, it talks about an earth tone color palette. The idea here is there's more of a modern mountain design. and then the idea is that it kind of blends in with the background. So you mix in with the olive trees which are missing that will remain along Ojai and then there's some new trees along Bryant Street and a sidewalk. The color scheme, the dark olive, the burnished slate wood, the lighter, it's kind of like a driftwood plank panel that kind of surrounds the glass wall those are natural elements that when you're in nature that's kind of what you see so the idea was that I could deliver something that's obviously new but it will look like hopefully to some degree that it's always been there so the scale of it even just the simple structure the gabled roof it's kind of barn like there's some examples of caravan outposts they have their original building it has a metal roof a very simple structure there's a the diagonal in the back next to the landscape group the same thing and knowing that there's some rich architecture down in the town center area then it's a little bit more eclectic on this end I was trying to do something that wasn't so over-the-top from an architectural standpoint but again it would look like that it's kind of always been there and then the compliment would obviously be in some rich landscaping to add to the flavor there and and then kind of kind of going back to the land use element of this The CM is an interesting kind of definition of what goes into CM, and it really states that there are broad uses that are complementary. And then there's another layer about the specific interest and clarification of what is intended to be on this kind of frontage corridor, really of these parcels that just align on Ojai. and hotels specifically called out there. And then on the complimentary side of things, hotel is really an asset class that is complimentary to most other asset classes. And then you look at kind of what's immediately adjacent to me is the hair salon, next to that was a restaurant, they're both under the CM, they're both under C1 zoning. And so kind of going back to what really would be more of an administrative cleanup on that general plan amendment to shift it to general commercial, it's really reflective already in the land use element of that's what it was intended to be and now it's more of a cleanup item than a requirement to do it because I'm changing the use to something that it wasn't supposed to be. I just wanted to highlight that. Go to the next slide. This is an example of really the shared common yard. Again, the introduction of the movie wall was really was an evolution of the vision of what's possible. I had an experience where my son plays little league baseball and we had a community night down in the field and we watched Rookie of the Year and the whole league came out and watched this outdoor movie. it was fantastic it reminded me i'm from a small town north of pittsburgh uh and we used to go to the drive-in movie theater and it's there's something about being out in the element experiencing a movie that's different uh obviously with you know other guests and family members and friends um and i really enjoy the experience and so that's just one example of why i had an open lawn so the guest experience, people could have some space to do things. If they wanted to hold yoga out in the yard, they could do that. And then the wellness in the fire pit area, I think a reason why people come to Ojai, and more importantly, What you really need to do that in my phase of life and most people they need to treat themselves to some relaxation and rejuvenation and so integrating the wellness components here were important and I think it'll lend well to a great guest experience but hopefully what you're trying to get out of a weekend or a couple days stay here that you can really pour into the wellness aspect of things. Go to the next slide. Yeah, same thing. I wanted to zoom in on here, one of my favorite movies, Sandlot. Again, this is more representative of what the experience is intended to be or an example of it. If you notice, there's some headphones on the folks that are sitting in the yard. If you've ever been to a rooftop cinema club experience, they Bluetooth into private headphones so there's no sound transmission. And I thought that was important and that's kind of the intention if that was going to be an activation it would be in that kind of format versus blasting speakers and creating some environmental noise. And so that's just an example and kind of again zeroing in on what's possible with open space and what could obviously lend to a great guest experience. And then it also lends into the idea and the mission that I'm trying to achieve here. It's moment-making design. My kind of tagline is that we live life to reminisce and make moments worth remembering. And that's kind of how I live my life. I think if you can engage in something and all the business busyness of your life engage an experience that you remember and hopefully it's a positive one you try to stack as many of those as you can life is challenging there's all kinds of twists and turns and so for this next phase of my life and career that's what I want to do and so that's kind of the mantra of wildflower and there'll be more to more to come on that side of things you can think that's Oh, we've talked about the units a little bit. This is just kind of an as-built example of what it could look like. You can see the full-height glass. It's kind of leaning into biophilic design principles, so you have an indoor-outdoor experience. You have the great room experience, so there's some volume. Even though these units are small, they're relatively large for a hotel room, and it has the dynamic experience of a great room with a seating area, a separated bedroom, the dramatic ceilings, and it lends itself to a great indoor-outdoor experience with the full glass wall. And again, that's... intention it kind of kind of goes back to you know my experience now as a two-time dad and how we travel and then just in general the experience that you expect and particularly on a quality side hopefully these units would match the quality of the community and obviously it's world-renowned here and so that was the intention of really pouring into the units in that regard And to wrap it up, I'm excited to be here. This is a part of my listening tour. I wanted to add this context now, but I'm so excited to hear from the community. I'm excited to hear from the Planning Commission. We've been engaged with the planning staff for quite some time. and trying to shape the vision and hopefully match kind of Ojai and deliver a project that really fits in. And so I'm excited about the feedback. I would love to understand if there's opportunities where I can engage the community more. I'm an open book. Again, this is my California dream, and I'm excited to share it with you. so as questions come up, I'm happy to answer them and if this is You know, hopefully we can have a productive conversation around it. Thank you.

Thank you very much Thank You mr. Mitchell Okay at this time we'll Take comments from the audience I have cards From Anita cram

Good evening, everyone. So we do not need a new posh boutique hotel in Ojai. Please do not give away our important land in the industrial zone to a developer from LA that has a vision that's not our vision, but a financial mode as well. It is very important to keep zoned industrial for a balanced economy in our community. it's the only one we have our city council has prioritized small business development within our town they understand that we are overly reliant on tourism and that focus comes at a significant cost to the community and the resilience of our economy remember covid Yeah, when that happened, tourism was gone for a long time. We didn't have much to back up to cover that tourism blackout. The boutique hotel rooms are more like apartments or condos. They have full kitchens and are set up for longer stay. Six of them have two stories. These are not, this is not a typical hotel. The traffic study is severely flawed. Data from 2023 was used. We all know that traffic in our valley is much worse than in 2023. At times, you can only get down the street five days out of the week. And the other problem with the traffic study is that we all know people who are in service industry cannot afford to live here. So saying that two trips during AM peak and three trips during PM peak is way, way off because people are going to be commuting in and out to work at this place. It just doesn't work because we need the jobs that this industrial zone is zoned to have versus something that is a service industry that isn't going to contribute significantly to the betterment of the people who live here in the community. So please, there, you know, and when I look at those pictures, there's a lot of lights for our, you know, our dark skies ordinance. The wellness angle is already here in Ohio. That's what Ohio is. People already come here for everything that was outlined in the vision here tonight. And a lot of this that's offered at this will be in direct competition with existing small businesses. It's not going to support them. And it's not going to support the community. It's going to support the people who own the property and are running the hotel. So please deny this project. Ojai is not the place for it. We are already a wellness place. I mean, you know, this has been happening since the 1920s, you know, and the further we go into this tourism bubble, the further we get away from that. Thank you.

Thank you, Anita. Tara Jeffrey.

Hi there, I just wanted to, I think I have some questions about the traffic study and so is it, does it mean that they're going onto Bryant Street and they're not gonna be on Ohio Avenue? Is that what the traffic study is saying?

So this is a concept review, and it's an opportunity to give the applicant feedback to what you saw tonight.

OK. I said, OK. So I'm concerned about the housing that's going to go in on South Bryant Street. If this project goes in, it's going to be a nightmare for our already really bad traffic problem. I think the scale of this doesn't look anything like Ojai at all. I'm wondering if, do you live here? Okay, I mean, I guess that's not a problem, but it just feels like it doesn't really benefit the community. I know that person can do whatever they want with their property, but if you want to fit into the vision of what Ojai is, which it sounds like you really do, I don't really see that this is it at all, especially the architectures. These look like Tudors. And people are absolutely going to drive into town and make multiple trips into town, which is going to impact our traffic, which is already a nightmare. So that's what I have to say. Thank you. Thank you, Tara.

Vicki Carlton-Byrne.

So one thing that comes up frequently in the general plan, both for the county and the city, is this idea of quality of life. And this is directly from Ojai's city government website. And it refers to the changes to the general plan. I'll quote, this exciting initiative and update to the city's general plan will result in a new long-range planning document that will aim to improve the quality of life for all residents, protect what is unique and special about Ojai, and address challenges of tomorrow. Want to know how this is going to improve the quality of life for Ojai I have been in Ojai for 33 years and I can tell you and no offense to the applicant But if you've been here, you know that we feel many of us feel like we are absolutely overrun by tourism it's gotten worse and worse and worse and We don't need another tourist serving business. Before voting, I would ask yourself how this does improve the quality of life for Ojai residents. I've been dismayed at how many decisions made by Ojai city government that take into account business owners who don't live here and tourists and not the residents. Those are your clientele. And your obligation is to the residents, not tourists. So before voting, I would say ask yourself how this is going to improve the quality of life for residents. And if you approve it, the residents, not the business owners, I think deserve an explanation of how you think this is going to improve quality of life.

Thank you, Vicki. I just want to state at this time that we will not be voting tonight. This is an opportunity for the applicant to get feedback from both the public and from the planning commission. So that would happen at a later date. OK, the next person is Bill Miley.

Hello. Postponing the general plan rezoning is the key to a better economic sustainability for our city. When the Bryan Industrial Park was established, the Planning Commission then and the City Council then must have considered all the land important to be rezoned commercial industrial. That's all we have, as I understand it. We have a new economic study going on right now that will enter the general plan. Let's not undercut it by allowing a motel to be built on manufacturing zone land now. We need to wait for the draft and what goes into the general plan. When the East Ohio Avenue was replanned a bunch of years ago, they needed commercial zoning, so they probably did an overlay of general commercial and included the Bryan Street corner. East End development is to be complimentary for the whole town. For individuals and households and families to afford to live here, we need well-paying jobs and thriving businesses. Motels primarily generate transit occupancy tax. We have plenty of that. Our general fund has $18 million in it. This year, TOT, 10%, brings in $8 million. A few years ago, we passed Measure C, which added 5% to TOT, $4 million. $12 million of our $18 million are from TOT. We don't need any more. Our budget gets about $2.5 million in sales tax. Tourist lodging right now generates, as I said, $12 million. We are very fortunate, for without tourists, we wouldn't have much of a government. Nobody would get paid. Motels do not generate well-paying jobs. Wildfire may be small, like eight rooms. As I see this project, most of the economic benefits will go to the owners, who likely do not live here. What else will the city get in benefits? Gonna lose general manufacturing land. We don't generate more of that. Question, why hasn't the land been developed so far? Probably because it's overpriced, or it's priced high. My response, the owner should lower the price. In summary, losing his own parcel in the Bryant Street Industrial Park is a loss for our city. The project brings little economic benefit to our city. 30 seconds, please. The workers are going to get low-income wages and will probably have to live out of town. The project does not bring well-paying jobs to Ojai. The best option will be to wait for our economic study to be completed. City Council adds it to the general plan and see how that fits into our better jobs for individuals and families. Thank you.

Thank you, Bill. Heidi Whitman.

Good evening. As you all know, good community planning is about planning for the current and future needs of our residents and the business community, not some other communities, but Ojais. Many years ago, a wise planning commission and city council decided that Bryant Circle was the best and the only place to set aside land for commercial and manufacturing businesses. Businesses that might be a little messy, might be a little noisy, might be a little smelly. Businesses though that provide higher paying jobs. Jobs that are not service jobs, jobs that might actually help you afford to live in Ojai. Sadly, this project does not do that. I do agree with all the comments that have been heard. I think that because this project requires you at some point to make findings, I don't see how you can make a finding that we need more housekeeping jobs, we don't need more visitor services or motels, and we certainly do not need any more traffic. The traffic study does seem flawed to me. It didn't mention the traffic from projects that have already been approved but not built yet. And I actually frankly wonder what staff has been telling the applicant about what's possible on this property. I'm hoping that you do not think it's a good idea to change the zoning or merge the lots. I think that additionally some of these experiential experiences sound a lot like more people than what the number of hotel rooms actually would provide for guests. Also, Mr. Miley was right on the economic development studies currently being done right now, which is going to be included as part of our future general plan, is looking at what we can do that's not tourist-oriented. So I'm sure that the architecture is lovely. I think the site is not the right site, and I really don't think we need any more housekeeping jobs. So thanks very much.

Thank you, Heidi. Carol Avalon. Hi.

Well, you know, my thoughts about this have been changing back and forth. As I hear everyone, well, first of all, I want to appreciate Mr. Mitchell's enthusiasm for Ojai and that spot. And I would ask him to honor the history of this land. I notice a lot of builders and folks come into Ojai, and they're not honoring the actual land first. whether that means Chumash or even preceding that, but honor the space and the land and learn about it a little bit before you go building on it. I think that his buildings look like chalets in Colorado. I don't think they're the right image. I think that when I hear about that movie screen, and I know that there's eight rooms, and then I wonder, is this children-friendly? And if I was staying there as a single person, and then there's a whole bunch of families watching the screen in the yard, I might feel excluded. I don't know, it was just a little mishmash of vision of the families down in the yard watching the movie, even though they had the headphones on. And then couples maybe wanting to have a romantic evening. coming to Ojai, so I wasn't sure what his vision was for who the actual occupants were that he was attracting there. I live in Whispering Oaks, and I'm wondering, that's close to Whispering Oaks. It's not too far down. And how it will affect, if anything at all, my driveway to turn into Whispering Oaks, which already is a challenge with the two mailboxes there. So I'm just wondering about if you thought about that particular area of town, Whispering Oaks, with our tenants. And let's see. Practical, where are his reservations being made? Are they made online? I notice it's a key only, and I have a background in the hotel industry for 20 years, so if it's key only, which is a new modern way of doing it, if a person that's staying there has a problem, who do they call? I mean, is they going to call, you know, Mr. Mitchell to come down and fix the whatever, or there's bugs on the ground and they want someone to take care of it? Who do they call? And where is the relational aspect of this hotel? Because it's, you know, key open. So everybody comes with a passcode. But who do they relate to personally? So again, I go back and forth about it. And I also think a good part of it is they would open up that east end to bring some energy down to some of the shops that are down there that aren't getting much traffic because it's like the east end. And this might be a good thing for that. So I kind of go back and forth on it, and I don't really have a definitive yes or no in my mind. Thank you.

Thank you, Carol. Sherry, is there anyone online?

Oh, we...

Hang on. Sherry, is there anyone online?

Yes. It says iPhone on it.

Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't hear that, Sherry. Can you hear me, Judy?

Now I can. Hi, this is Chelsea Satula, Sesame Creek Collective. I submitted some written comments and I just wanted to... quickly elaborate since we've had an opportunity to hear from the applicant. I just wanna say, I actually think the style is nice and I spent some time in Pittsburgh. So I've also spent some time in front of the planning commission and I know that he's gonna face a lot of challenges from the community for a lot of good reason. I'm not sure that we need more hotels either. I'm really anxious to finish The economic diversification planning we're supposed to be doing. But all that aside, my biggest concern is the traffic study. And that turning left on Bryant. And if you go in there, it's already a level service D. Already. From three years ago. And so if this... adds any trips at all to Bryant from three years ago's data, which was already a service level of D, that's already unacceptable for Ojai. And I think it's really unfair to merge that with people turning right because the traffic study also shows that between two and five times as many people turn left. So that's really the critical thing here. That's the problem. And I will say, you know, as a business owner on Bryant, Both me and multiple people that work for me and customers can't turn left in a satisfactory amount of time on Bryant. So they cut through the parking lot in Ojai Athletic Club and take the light. And that's a thing. And I think that should be added to the traffic study. And so it's really just a bigger issue of Ojai already has a problem at that intersection for traffic. It's already bad turning left from Bryant. AND I WOULD JUST REALLY STRONGLY CAUTION THAT THAT REALLY SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IF THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO GO FORWARD OR ANY PROJECT REALLY AT THAT INTERSECTION. BUT GOOD LUCK TO THE APPLICANT. MY NAME IS CHELSEA, SASBEE CREEK COLLECTIVE. REACH OUT. I'D LOVE TO TALK TO YOU. AND THANK YOU, JUDY, AND ALL THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR SERVICE. THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

THANK YOU, CHELSEA. WE HAVE ONE MORE FROM THE AUDIENCE. Thank you. Douglas Labar, is it?

Yes. My name is Doug Labar. I'm a resident of Ojai. And I just learned about this proposal just a few hours ago. I was under the impression that that was a property belonging to Dwayne Bauer and that he had wanted to preserve it for eternity. He is the same owner as the guy of the business across the street at Z Medical. And so I had never even thought about anybody trying to develop that. I just saw the trees growing and the grass growing, and I thought it was a really nice entry into the industrial park. My concern is twofold. First of all, I wanted to reiterate the statement that Vicki Byrne stated about the general plan amendment proposal in January 2026. The planning document that will aim to improve the quality of life for all Residents is what it says There are seventy four hundred and forty five residents in the city of Ojai My guess is that there's about a hundred business owners That are in the business corridor, and many of them are not residents. I've been here for 52 years in Ojai, and I've seen a lot of changes. We used to have our own hardware store. We had a cobbler in the arcade. We had an open bowling alley. The other, we don't have that anymore obviously. We have a lot of boutiques catering to tourists. And so what happens to the other 7,345 residents of Ojai for quality of life? My suggestion is that the owner, even though I appreciate his passionate presentation, is that he look at some other location, perhaps the old bowling alley building. Secondly, my biggest concern is the elevations that were presented because it looks just like it comes from a ski resort with steep metal roofs. It just does not belong here, especially in the downtown corridor. So it's obvious that I am against this plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Doug. Is there anyone else?

Yes.

Present or online wishing to speak? Online. Online. Thank you, Sherry.

Larry Steingold. Hi. Good evening. Good evening. What an interesting conundrum. The traffic is interesting because eventually they're going to have to put a three-way light on Bryant to service the potentially 249 people living at Cabrillo. And that's going to impact the other buildings and everybody else on Bryant Circle because they've already allowed retail on Bryant Circle, which is the cannabis market. Then they have the cannabis approvals, the lounges and all that stuff that was approved on Ohio Avenue, right, that they could go there. So the traffic is an interesting problem. However, the employees could probably come from the Cabrillo facility, possibly. The two-story thing coming, if you can see it from the street, is obviously a little different from Ojai and maybe could be changed. The chances of retail or industrial going on Ojai Avenue at this point is probably not going to happen, at least within our lifetime, because of the amount of retail there. that's already available for lease and for sale on Ojai Avenue. But that doesn't affect what your choices are. It could be retail, it could be industrial. It's just a matter of getting the tenant or the buyer. So it's a real issue about, but then the big thing is actually converting this to residential. And then I made my comments written. And if it is going to be a hotel, the idea with a kitchen to me just leaves the possibility of apartments or being sold as condos or something like that or co-op or whatever as a outlier. So I feel your pain. I chatted with the owner or the prospect. And, you know, Ojai is what it is. I mean, we get our money from income, from TOT and from sales. So nobody, the bowling alley has been shot down so many times for the past 30 years. Nothing seems to be going on there. Then the empty lot, more sidewalks, more retail, more industrial. It's just more traffic. And that's good luck.

Yeah.

Whichever way you choose, you're gonna get skewered. So I wish you all well. Thank you.

Thank you, Larry. Anyone else, Sherry? No, okay. At this time, I'm closing the public hearing and turning it back to the Commission for discussion. Who would like to start? We have questions.

Katrina, go. I always go first. I have to be brave here. So I spent a lot of time looking at this project. In general, I agree that the general plan designation should be changed to general commercial. I'm this is big picture not even looking at the hotel but general commercial even somebody else said smelly uses all these terrible uses. That's not what we want for Ohio Avenue Ohio Avenue we want commercial. We want see one we want a continuity of our downtown core should be commercial general commercial not manufacturing In fact manufacturing is probably the last thing I would want to see on Ojai Avenue So I'm I'm supportive of the general plan designation from CM to GC The hotel is already permitted, it's a P, it's not even a CUP in the C1 zone that's existing. If a hotel comes forward to us, we're looking at design review. We're not looking at whether it's permitted or not. It is permitted. So that issue is for council maybe or for a zone change or a text amendment to our code that says hotels are not allowed by right. But right now, it's permitted. It's a P. in our C1 zone. So I'm looking at this, trying to give the applicant comments for a hotel, because that's what he's coming in with, because that's what's permitted. Two, I'm OK with the merging of the three lots to accommodate the hotel. Right now, I think there's a gap between businesses. We have a lack of pedestrian movement on the east end. And I think this would actually help. And let me go through my comments. And I apologize if I take too long. But for me, they were important to say, so I'm saying them. You have all evening. Okay, and I apologize if I'm reading, but I did make copious notes. I am supportive of the general plan designation in this particular location. Ojai Avenue is a commercial corridor and land uses that support general shopping and service needs of residents, workers, highway users, and tourists is appropriate in that location. That's what our general plan recommends for general commercial. The CM is more appropriate on Bryant Street and Bryant Circle, and I do agree with everyone that we should protect our general manufacturing on Bryant and Bryant Circle, and we should limit the conversion to other uses like hotels restaurants, and other commercial. CM should be protected, and I will stand strong on that for Bryant Street and Bryant Circle. These lots are primarily on Ohio Avenue, so I think CM, GC, General Commercial is the right designation for the general plan. I'm okay with merging three lots to facilitate a hotel use at this location. It helps to bring life to the east end and closes a gap between commercial uses. It gets people walking to and fro. I actually like the proposed hotel with the kitchen. It serves as an alternative classification of hotel room. I hate to say this, but it's kind of like an Airbnb. We don't allow Airbnbs to protect our neighborhoods, and I'm fully supportive of that. But this is to fill a niche of people who actually like going to Airbnbs. I'm one of them. I go to other cities and other places. stay at Airbnbs, and so I think they're good. I like our current policy that says no Airbnbs in residential neighborhoods, but this serves as a category of hotel that is good for people who like that configuration. So I think that it's good in that location. My initial thoughts on the design review permit. When I looked at the site plan, I really like the landscape concept. The nature immersive environment I think is really nice. I do think we need to make sure we have street trees on Bryant Street that is consistent with the community forest management plan. So the street trees would be Coast Live Oak because that's what the plan calls for. I don't think having fruit trees on Bryant Street at all is a good idea, so I would move your fruit trees into your site somewhere. I think anything on the public should be consistent with our community forest management plan. I do like the large spans of windows looking out to our nature. the Topa Topas and Black Mountain behind us, and it does allow the beauty of Ojai into the interior spaces. I like that curb gutter sidewalk on Bryant Street is part of the project and will be required. I really like that the parking is at the rear of the site. I like that the trash is at the rear of the site and covered. I think those are all good things. I do think that the design aesthetic is incongruent with Ojai's downtown corridor and the East Ojai Avenue design guidelines. Although any one of the building materials, the roof, the metal roof, the siding, really any of the building materials cannot be called out as wrong for Ojai. The steep roof design, it's 12 to 12, so it's a 45-degree angle. It hearkens an alpine setting where snow needs to be shed off this roof. Ojai does not have a need to shed snow. Also, we have heat. So the steep... Steep pitches of the roof seems not to recognize Ojai's climate. Heat rises and it's going to be hard to cool something that's tall like that. The dark color seems like a heat absorbing siding. I think it looks nice. The design looks nice, but I think it looks nice probably is better for another community, not Ojai. The architectural style and dark color of the proposed design generally is not compatible with the styles and proportion along Ojai Avenue through our corridor. Although the project doesn't have to be Mission Revival, it should respect and at least not conflict with it, and I think this project does conflict with our downtown. There are only two buildings that I know of with dark paint in downtown, and that's the Serrazotti Bungalow where Rise Salon is next door. It's a small bungalow, and the Craftsman Bungalow of the Ojai Women's Club. Those are the two that I know of that are painted dark colors. These are both small, low-profile buildings where the style is appropriate for dark color. Most other buildings are shades of off-white to tan, which is reflective of our weather and our climate in Ojai, which is now our established design aesthetic. The East Ojai Design Guidelines. So that was my initial reaction to this thing without even looking at the East Ojai Design Guidelines. So I apologize when I jump around a bit because I was going through the design guidelines and I was pointing out where those guidelines agreed with my initial thoughts. So in general, the design guidelines ask for pedestrian orientation. I do believe that this use will increase in pedestrian activity along East OI Avenue, but I do have a concern with the fence at the right-of-way line. So I don't know what the exact answer would be, but possibly open up that common area to the sidewalk, but keep the fencing at the units or make that fencing open. The eclectic character, the East End design guidelines do say that we want a diversity of architectural style down on the East End. However, sharp contrast between different architectural styles on adjacent properties is strongly discouraged. So I think this is Strike it's a stark contrast the East End design guidelines specifically note five architectural styles that are promoted for that that end mission revival Spanish colonial revival Monterey craftsman and Western Just keep that in mind. I'll come back to that Page eight Building frontages should have active frontages on public sidewalks. I think this project does a fairly good job at that. I just worry about that front fence again. The outdoor space should be visible from the sidewalk and the street. That's page 8 of the guidelines. And avoid blank walls and other dead spaces along street frontages. And I worry a little bit about Unit C, that west elevation that fronts on Bryant Street. Page 10 of the guidelines talks about second floor setbacks. that the two-story setbacks should be at least 10 feet. The project doesn't really do that, and I think the project does do a good job at staggering the units back and forth, which creates some articulation. But maybe on some of those, the walls around the patios be removed so there is some articulation up and down as well. There's discussion on page 12 and 19 about avoiding large flat walls and solid to void proportion, 60% solid, 40% void. I think the project does comply with that mainly. But again, the east side on Bryant Street is a little stark and more solid than not. Design consistency on page 21. Building design should draw from Ojai's history, establishes timelessness. Design themes out of context is not acceptable. I think just the way these are designed, even though they're not as tall as they could be, they're narrow in width. And the pitch is so tall that they're not congruent with all the other horizontal and low profile buildings that we have on Ohio Avenue. On page 25 of the design guidelines, although there's no single architectural style that predominates East Ohio Avenue, that doesn't mean anything goes. And it talks about the five styles. This is not one of those styles. I'm not saying it has to be one of those five styles. And the East Ohio guidelines don't say it has to be those five styles. But those styles have a lot in common. which is scale and proportion. The roofs are typically lower and horizontal in profile, not vertical. And these are vertical. So I think that the design, as it's proposed, would be a sore thumb. Even though I think it's beautiful, I just think it's not the right design for Ojai. And that's it.

Thank you, Katrina.

Bruce?

Wonderful. I agree with a lot of the comments, particularly is that I don't have any objection on the proposed zone modification or the combination of lots. It makes sense to me that I like the continuity along there for walking and opening up the east and it does that quite nicely. I think having the open territory without having buildings right up to the Curb again opens it up. So as you walk through it, it does have an open nice open design feel for it It does make sense also that that something whether it's a craftsman or some other low profile would perhaps make that even greater they have an even greater impact for the expanse and and heat tolerant for our summers and perhaps So I'd like, I think the other piece is that with the eight units, it seems like it's a, I like that it's a low density. that way. And I think it does bring in a kind of relaxed character that way of when people come in and are the residents as kind of reminiscent of an Airbnb type of lodging. And while the traffic piece, I'm not entirely familiar just coming up to speed on some of what has been done, but while the traffic doesn't at least in the onset, doesn't appear to be, particularly as the entrance is on Bryant, doesn't seem to be an initial hazard, but I, again, if there are some updates to the standards, or as some of the comments have been in there, that's something I don't know about yet, but I think it would make sense to kind of revisit the parking and the traffic issues because they're there. I think it's, but again with manufacturing, I think along the main street, it wouldn't be desirable to have manufacturing in that location. Where I think having it being an opening to having it being serving kind of like as a gateway to the industrial park area. I'm not quite sure how that would fit, but that would be something that would be helpful symbolically if we're reading the city. When you go into some areas, sometimes knowing there are transitions there might be some type of a transitional symbol that could be done for that, to know you're going into a different part of the city, but it's a transitional piece because it does seem to open up the east end a bit further. You know, I think with the diversification, I guess I was feeling here that as it comes through it, You know, we are largely tourist-oriented, kind of pragmatically. I think it would be wonderful to have increased industrial use, and I look forward to that study as it develops and how we can develop the, whether it's a government-based group or if it's a community-based group for industrial development. A lot of development commissions could also be Looking at that, it does look like there might be other alternative uses still in that space for further industry. But there doesn't seem to be a lot of pressure, as was mentioned in one of the comments, to currently for more industry coming in currently as a competition for it. And so this is the project that's come forward, so I appreciate that. And very well, nicely considered. There are a lot of good values and so forth in it, but I think the design piece would be... It would be interesting to see how that would not just be a continuation of the city, but if there's something demarcated on that corner that would indicate that there's something else going on down on Bryant, that would be symbolically helpful. Let me see. I think that's probably primarily. From this point, I don't have necessarily objections for the overall piece. And I think the design itself, as an extension of Ojai Avenue, I think it serves a nice function.

Thank you. I am conflicted about this project. It does take blank space and turn it into something useful. The commercial, I think that on Ojai Avenue, we really should stay with commercial zoning because I can't really I don't really think we need to put manufacturing right up to Commercial Street, but I do want to protect, as much as we can, all of the Bryant Industrial Park. It's very limited in scope, and if we ever are going to get decent paying jobs in this town, that's where they'll be located. Yes, a hotel is permitted there. Do I want to see one? No. You know, 60% of our TOT is already coming from tourism, and as several citizens have spoken about that, they've pointed out that we are way too reliant on tourism. The project itself feels very dense to me. It's a lot of building on a half acre. I do appreciate the fact that it's only 22 feet high. The color is too dark and dense. Imposing, I guess would be the word. Not to mention the fact that that's a heat problem in our climate. I like the way they have put the parking and the trash in the back and kind of tucked the buildings into the middle and created open space on Ohio Avenue. I also appreciated those headphones and not having additional noise created. There's one aspect that has been brought up that does concern me, and that is the possibility of conversion in the future of these units. They have everything they need to become condos or single dwelling units. And I would not want to see that happen. So if indeed this project goes forward, I would be advocating for a restriction on the deed to not allow conversions. Possible, right, Mr. Ziegler?

So you could put a restriction on the deed, but I don't know what the vehicle for that would be in this situation because the project is already a permitted use. So you'd really be making a recommendation as to the design component. So you could condition that, but you could theoretically put a,

maybe i'm misspeaking maybe it's not a deed restriction maybe it's just a condition does that help you legally okay um anyway that's i i would want to see that on this project because that's not a place for i would not want to see that turned into residences I agree with the other commissioners also about the chalet or alpine look of this. It feels very tall and narrow, and it doesn't feel like Ojai at all. So I would ask you to consider the architecture for this location not being suitable. The fact that there's no management on site bothered me, but I would like to hear more about how that, at some point, would be handled. If you've got eight units, something's going to be going wrong. Or even if there's a problem in the neighborhood with it, who do they complain to? So I would like clarification on that at some point going forward on the project. um i think that really concludes what i have to say i agree with the other commissioners i think that our advice has been all over the map for you so i'm i'm not sure how you'll manage to accommodate all of our suggestions but i hope you try so uh that's It for me, do you have any other comments or questions on the staff? If not, then I will close this item. Oh, one more, okay.

It just occurred to me that some of it in terms of mixed use would be interesting. Like if there were some shops that were oriented particularly towards the community that were integrated with the street area, that would be one of the pieces that kind of open it up a little bit more. Because I think right now, when I look over it, it looks open from the community. I think if there were areas of mixed use.

It's not zoned village mixed use. So I guess Maura could help us on that subject.

I want to remind the Commission that you're giving comments this evening. Because it's not village to mixed use doesn't mean that there can't be a mixture of uses on the site. So commercial uses are permitted, retail is permitted, office is permitted, hotels are permitted.

Within one?

Yes, it can be a mixture of uses on one site, yes.

But that might be something that enhances its value to the community?

It would invite the community in. This feels very separate, very uninviting to the community.

I second that. I can visualize a small gift shop or something with Ojai products made by Ojai artisans or something like that.

And that would get the people walking down that way more, which is one of our goals.

Even though it's a concept review, a couple of times it's been mentioned about the concern of these types of units with full kitchens being turned into a residential use facility. So that type of residential use, like single family, condo, apartments, they're not permitted in the C1 zone. So it's really not an issue. It's not a permitted use in the C1. Only, I believe, caretaker and...

emergency shelters with a conditional use permit so it's not a concern that so we don't really have to condition it or can we just condition it to make ourselves you don't need to condition it because it's not permitted it's not a permitted use okay thank you okay well I hope that we've given you some good things to think about and we wish you good luck with it And at that point, I'm going to close the item. And we will go now to future agenda items. And welcome Bradley back. Future agenda items.

Maura. So other than what's in your packet, I don't really have anything to report. I mean, I can just go through this, that we have a design review permit for July 1st, which is a reduction in size from the original Planning Commission approval regarding phase two units that are addressed 312B, West Aliso, and 312C, West Aliso, and 314B, West Aliso. within the existing development referred to as the Cottages Among the Flowers. That's Director Seibert's project. And we have a, well, we have here for July 1st a request for modification for conditions of approval for CUP, an existing CUP at 315 North Montgomery. However, we haven't received, we're not complete for processing. Okay. That's the status. We haven't received the information that's been requested of the applicant, so we did not send out a notice today, and it would have been required today. Okay. So that will not be, we won't be able to take that on July 1st because we haven't noticed it. Okay.

And a question. On the cottages among the flowers, is that reduction in size in the specific dwelling units that they're proposing? Or where is the?

So I have to defer to Director Seibert, who's not available right now, because it's... We'll find out, won't we? It's his project, so I'm in a little block here. And then we have some projects in the future. July 15th, we have... Oh, an appeal of a director's determination regarding a tree permit at 304 South Ventura Street. Again, that hasn't been noticed yet because it's not here, it's not time for that yet. And then in August we have another appeal. And that is regarding tenant protections. So that also hasn't that it's not even It's not really being processed yet because it's not to be here until not to be heard until August. Okay Thank you

Anything on the director's report?

I do not have anything to report this evening. Okay.

Commission member reports? Anything? No. Okay. How about the mayor's report?

I think much to say except as you know on Tuesday we'll be taking up the Ojai Mountain Farm project and I hope you do not feel what you did or what HPC did was a waste of time not at all it's part of the process so I hope that's clear and that it's part of I was honest and clear to say oh we have a discrepancy that we do want to solve so I hope you feel that way and take it in that spirit but yes other than that we all have tough decisions to make as you did tonight not a decision but feedback so i applaud you we're all in this together okay thank you for that yeah thank you and with that the meeting is adjourned at 7 42.