OJAI : City Studies Plan to Find Illegal Rentals
The Ojai City Council decided Tuesday to hold a workshop and public hearings on a proposal to have city building inspectors visit all property sold within the city limits before the transaction can be completed.
A breakfast meeting with the Ojai Board of Realtors next month will allow officials and real estate agents to discuss the proposal before the hearings.
No dates have been set for public comment on the plan, which city officials say would help them ferret out illegal rental units.
Some area real estate agents have said the ordinance might hinder their sales efforts, City Manager Andrew Belknap said.
“Will this ordinance impede people’s ability to buy or sell a home in Ojai?” Don Cutler, an Ojai real estate agent, asked the board.
The ordinance is an attempt to curtail zoning and building code violations resulting from the illegal conversion of guest houses and other secondary structures into rental units, Belknap said.
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