OAK VIEW : County Pares Smog Fees for Restaurant

An Oak View restaurant developer won half his battle against paying $27,965 in smog fees Wednesday when the county slashed the required fee by more than half.

Over objections from the city of Ojai, the county’s Environmental Report Review Committee approved an environmental document for John Cuccia’s application to build a spaghetti restaurant in Oak View.

The revised document requires him to pay $12,082 to offset air pollution emissions from the restaurant’s traffic.

Cuccia, owner of Vince’s Spaghetti House Inc. with restaurants in Ventura and Oxnard, had called the fee ridiculous.

“It’s still pretty high,” said Cuccia’s architect, LeRoy Andrews. “I guess we’ll have to accept it, momentarily, until I talk with my client,” he told the panel.

The restaurant is the first development to run up against tightened air quality regulations for Ojai Valley that took effect Jan. 1. The fees will be used for programs to reduce traffic along California 33.

Ojai Planning Director William Prince asked the panel to delay its decision on the environmental document until the city could review the recommended measures to offset pollution.

He said it was not clear what benefit the measures will provide.

Charles Thomas, county air quality specialist, said the Air Pollution Control District reduced the fee after learning that the 7,984-square-foot restaurant will be closed on Wednesdays and will average one delivery truck per day.

Richard Barnett, chief engineer of the Casitas Municipal Water District, cautioned the panel that the water company has not promised water service to the restaurant. Under the company’s current moratorium on new hookups, Barnett said it will be at least a year before the restaurant could be guaranteed water service.