OJAI : Further Study OKd for Low-Income Site

Facing strenuous objections from neighbors of a proposed low-income housing project, the Ojai City Council has ordered further study of six alternative sites before it allows a nonprofit developer to build the project.

After a three-hour public hearing Tuesday, Mayor James D. Loebl ordered consultants to provide more details on all seven sites studied in an environmental report before the council considers the project for approval Nov. 12.

Cabrillo Economic Development Corp. is proposing to build two-story townhouses for 108 people on North Montgomery Street near the city center. In addition to state and federal funds, Cabrillo will receive $300,000 from the city’s Redevelopment Agency and waivers of Ojai’s growth-control law if it sells or rents the units to low- and moderate-income families.

Neighbors submitted a petition Sept. 4 with nearly 500 signatures of residents opposed to the Montgomery Street site. Tuesday they accused city planners of ignoring their concerns at two prior hearings. A dozen people argued that the project would have a significant effect on schools, sewers, water, city traffic as well as their mountain views.

“It’s being shoved down our throats,” said resident Michael Morris. “We are packed in that area now and it’s already overdeveloped. We’re not bigots. We’re not rednecks. I am low-income, as are many of my neighbors. But why cram another project on the poor when there are other locations?”

City Manager Andrew Belknap said Ojai has an obligation to support low-cost housing. “The friction between the environmental impacts and benefits of providing affordable housing make for a tough decision,” he said.