OJAI : Council to Discuss Fate of Old Chapel

The Ojai City Council will discuss the fate of the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel at its regular meeting Tuesday.

The picturesque landmark, built in 1919 at 130 W. Ojai Ave., is no longer needed by the local parish. The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles wants to sell the chapel--still being used for limited purposes--and rectory to build a new parish hall.

City Manager Andrew S. Belknap is recommending that the council wait to acquire the church property until an estimate is available in February on what it will cost to bring the chapel up to earthquake safety standards.

Recent appraisals show the city might be able to afford the property by selling the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce building on East Ojai Avenue and the Ojai Valley Museum property on South Montgomery Street, Belknap said.

Both organizations are interested in moving to the chapel and have tentatively agreed on how to remodel the buildings for joint use.

The church property is appraised at $500,000, the chamber at $200,000 and the museum at $310,000. Of the three, however, only the chamber building has been reinforced to meet seismic safety standards.

Belknap is also recommending that the city seek the chapel’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Early Ojai benefactor Edward Drummond Libbey commissioned architects Frank Mead and Richard Requa to design the bell-towered chapel in Mission Revival style, along with the Ojai Post Office and other local landmarks.