Ojai : Chamber Head Joins Annexation Panel
Responding to pleas from retail merchants, the Ojai City Council has appointed the president of the Chamber of Commerce to a panel studying how to form a larger city in the Ojai Valley.
Julie Wellings, a jeweler, will join the city’s 26-member advisory panel.
Councilman James D. Loebl recommended Wellings after being criticized by merchants when he spoke to the chamber. The merchants said their interests were not represented on the panel.
The chamber board later asked the council to appoint one of its members, said Margaret Westrom, chamber director. Wellings said she was one of 80 who had applied to serve on the committee.
The panel will have its second meeting in April and could take a year to determine which unincorporated areas are good candidates for annexation to the city, officials said.
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