Slow-Growth Effort Issue in Ojai Council Vote

The two veteran Ojai city councilmen seeking reelection Tuesday say they have worked hard to control growth in the mountain community, but their sole challenger contends those efforts have fallen short.

Frank McDevitt and James D. Loebl, who between them have 32 years of council experience, point to Ojai’s building and sign restrictions as ways they have helped keep the city’s small-town ambiance.

However, John N. Higby, a retired firefighter who has never run for public office, says he has lost patience waiting for the council to deal with traffic congestion and poor air quality.

“There’s not that many differences between us. . . . It’s just a question of time,” said Higby, 58, who has served three years on the city’s Planning Commission. “When’s it going to happen? I feel it’s time that something be done.”

McDevitt, who is mayor and is seeking his fourth four-year term on the council, said that the city has addressed traffic and environmental issues but that solutions are hampered by development in the rest of Ventura County.

A critic of the county government’s growth policies, McDevitt said that the entire region needs to limit population increase.

“What good does it do us if the rest of the county continues to grow?” McDevitt, 62, asked. “If Ventura and Oxnard keep growing, we’ll get the residue from it and all of the problems.”

Loebl, a councilman for 20 years, said the city’s growth ordinance--which limits to 12 the building permits for single-family residences that can be issued each year--has done much to keep developers at bay.

Although he conceded that traffic is worse than he would like, Loebl said there is little left for Ojai to do except install more left-turn lanes and stop signs.

“We’ll just have to facilitate the use of the existing roads,” the 60-year-old attorney said. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure the areas outside the city have been as successful in limiting growth as we have.”

Higby, president-elect of the Ojai Rotary Club, said congestion has plagued the city since he moved there 20 years ago.

“We’re still living with it,” he said. “I think there are attainable targets.”

If elected, Higby said, he will recommend an overhaul of Ojai’s traffic plan, lobby for expanded bus service and adopt a more moderate tone with the county over air quality than Mayor McDevitt.

He said he was also open to the possibility of establishing a city incorporating all of the Ojai Valley as a way for Ojai to curb development outside its city limits.

“The way we’ve controlled growth is OK for within the city,” said Higby, who works as a fire-technology consultant. “But we’ve got to control those spheres of influence.”

Although none of the candidates said he considered it an important election issue, all three voiced skepticism about the safety of the state Department of Transportation’s controversial proposal to place a British-style traffic circle at one of the city’s main intersections.

As of March 26, Loebl led the candidates in fund raising with $5,338. McDevitt had collected $4,383, and Higby had taken in $4,650.

In 1986, the last year Ojai held municipal elections, 31.1% of the city’s 4,288 registered voters went to the polls.