OJAI VALLEY : Residents Get Help With Permit Process
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday amended an air pollution ordinance to allow Ojai Valley residents who cannot get water hookups to remain atop the county’s waiting list for building permits.
The clean-air ordinance was enacted in 1982 to cut air pollution resulting from traffic on California 33, the Ojai Valley’s main road. Under the ordinance, only 72 building permits were issued for 1992.
But many residents who were in line for a permit were not able to use it because they could not secure a water hookup, said county Planning Director Keith Turner. The Casitas Municipal Water District, which provides water to the area, restricted new hookups during the drought.
Before adoption of the amendment, any landowner who was unable to complete the permit process within a four-month period was dropped to the bottom of the waiting list.
Under the amended ordinance, applicants will not lose their spot in line if they cannot secure a water hookup, Turner said. The amended ordinance also allows applicants nine months instead of four to complete the process.
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