OJAI : Landowners Worry About Rezone Plan

Some Ojai landowners are worried their property values will plummet if the city adopts a new zoning plan to drastically cut the commercial development allowed on the west side of town.

City officials say controls are needed to limit traffic, preserve open space and curtail creeping commercialism along Maricopa Highway.

After three years and several public workshops, the Ojai Planning Department has released a comprehensive document called the Maricopa Specific Plan that would cover 383 parcels, including 1,100 acres of private and public land surrounding Maricopa Highway.

The plan is proposed for incorporation into the city’s General Plan early next year, but would require rezoning some areas of Meiners Oaks.

Howard Davis of Ventura, who owns vacant property along El Roblar Drive in Meiners Oaks said he has been watching with some concern as the plan developed.

“If they downgrade, it could cause a hardship on me,” Davis said. “That’s OK to have Ojai stay downtown, but they should leave Meiners Oaks alone.”

If adopted, the stricter zoning would cut the amount of commercial building space allowed within the 1,100-acre area, from 35-million square feet under the current General Plan to about 2-million square feet.

And the 285,490 daily vehicle trips expected on Ojai roads by 2010 under the current scenario could be slashed to 21,852 under the new plan.

Ojai Planning Director William Prince said the plan will allow landowners some trade-offs, such as clustering residences to preserve open space.

“I don’t think it should be a surprise that any new plan would result in downzoning,” Prince said. “We’ve had 10 years of accumulated development and environmental impacts that have taken place since the General Plan was adopted in 1979.”

Half the acreage in the planning area is on four parcels owned by Ojai Valley Inn and Country Club, Villanova Preparatory School, Krotona Institute of Theosophy and the Krishnamurti Foundation of America. Those lands would all be rezoned to 40-acre minimum lots that must include 75% open space.

A 60-day public review for the document will end Oct. 26. The Ojai Planning Commission is expected to hold the first public hearing on the draft plan and its environmental impact report in early November.