OJAI : Council to Explore Enlarging the City
The Ojai City Council decided Tuesday to explore forming a larger city to govern more of the Ojai Valley.
The council will advertise for a consultant and appoint a citizens committee to study possible city boundaries, public opinion and the legal and financial issues involved. A public forum will be held on Dec. 18 to invite suggestions for the study.
Councilman Jim Loebl, who opposed the county’s attempt to form a valleywide city in 1981, requested the study in September.
Greater control of the valley could ward off urban growth and offer a wider tax base to provide more services, he said.
Ojai, population 7,501, is the only municipality in the 10-mile-long valley, where another 25,600 people live in the communities of Meiners Oaks, Mira Monte, Oak View, Casitas Springs and the upper Ojai Valley.
The unincorporated area is growing twice as fast as Ojai. Since 1984, Ventura County has issued about 1,015 building permits in the valley, whereas the city has issued 130.
While some rural residents support annexation or incorporation, others fear that higher taxes or building restrictions could result from municipal government.
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