Admits Error : County Eases Building Limits in Ojai Valley

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday slightly eased a freeze on residential construction in the Ojai Valley that had been imposed two weeks ago after county planners discovered that they had mistakenly issued too many permits.

In a unanimous vote, the supervisors agreed to allow 104 people who had received clearance before May 5 to proceed with construction, even though their homes would exceed annual limits set by the county to curb growth in the smog-prone valley.

Officials attributed the problem to a clerical error that probably occurred last summer when planners were updating the Ojai Valley Clean Air Ordinance, which since 1982 has limited residential construction in the area.

‘No Reason to Penalize’

“There’s no reason to penalize these people” for the county’s error, said Supervisor James R. Dougherty.

The board, however, failed to soothe the fears of at least 107 other people who said they were planning homes on land already purchased in the Ojai Valley, but had not yet received clearance from the county to build.

Although the board asked the planning staff to study potential remedies, those landowners face the possibility of not being able to build homes until at least 1991 and, in some cases, 1992.

“Needless to say, that would be financially devastating,” said Don Horton, who has sold his house and plans to build a new one on a lot he purchased in the Ojai area.

The same holds true for Gary Sorenson, whose Ventura firm, American Dream Custom Homes, hopes to build two luxury houses on lots in Oak View and near Lake Casitas.

Sorenson, who said he has sunk more than $250,000 of his own money into the project, contends that county planners told him that there would be no problem obtaining the necessary permits.

“I’m scared--my life savings are out there,” he said. “The county let me get going and now they’re pulling my pants down.”

County planners said they discovered the error May 5 after recalculating some numbers during a routine discussion of the clean-air ordinance, which calls for 156 residential permits to be issued for the Ojai Valley in 1989.

When they realized that the number had been exceeded, they immediately stopped issuing permits. Even so, 104 landowners in excess of the limit had already received clearance to build this year, planners said.

To accommodate those additional homes, officials said they will probably borrow from future allocations, which call for 94 homes to be built annually in the area for the next five years. That would entail using the entire allocation for 1990, as well as a portion of the 1991 allocation, to absorb the excess permits issued this year.

Accommodating the other 107 people will be a bit more tricky, officials said. Although that was the number who had applied for permits by Tuesday morning, the officials estimate that the number who claim to have a similar financial stake will probably end up being far greater.

Just to accommodate the 107, the county would have to borrow from allocations well into 1992. If the number is greater, the supervisors may find themselves in the unsavory position of deciding who can build in the area for the remainder of the decade.

“The reality is that, if we do this, people are going to come along in future years and they’re not going to be able to build,” said Supervisor Susan K. Lacey. “I want that to be in big red letters that say, ‘Be aware.’ ”