OJAI : Building Ban May Remain Until 2023

A moratorium on building in Ojai Valley could last until 2023 unless residents reverse their historical stand against widening California 33, county officials said Monday.

But members of a special citizens task force said they are in no hurry to widen the road between Ventura and Ojai. They say they would prefer to keep the highway to two lanes as a way to control growth in the Ojai Valley.

The 10-member task force appointed by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors met Monday to begin revising the Ojai Area Plan.

Last updated in 1979, the plan sets land-use policies for 81,000 acres in the Ojai Valley, stretching from Foster Park north into Los Padres National Forest and east from Lake Casitas to Koenigstein Road.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if any big changes come out of this committee. We have a real cross-section of people,” said Chairman Tom Jamison of Oak View. Ojai Mayor James D. Loebl, who for decades has opposed widening California 33, is representing the city as task force vice chairman.

County supervisors ordered the plan revised in 1988 after banning the construction of new housing subdivisions or businesses that would increase traffic through the unincorporated town of Casitas Springs. They said the moratorium will last until commuter congestion decreases, or the highway is widened to four lanes, or a bypass is built around Casitas Springs.

County Planner Lisa Woodburn said state officials report funding for the bypass might not be available until 2023.

The task force is expected to make its recommendations to county officials by September, Woodburn said. The revised plan will be released for public review before supervisors consider it next year.