OJAI : Council OKs Change in Parking Limits

Heeding complaints from local businesses, the Ojai City Council has voted to change regulations instituted in June that limited parking in parts of the downtown area.

The council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce from 40 to 15 the number of spots in the Matilija Street parking lot reserved as two-hour spaces for shoppers. The remaining 25 spots will once again be designated all-day parking for employees of downtown businesses.

Council members approved the changes for a one-month period, allowing officials more time to see if the new limits work. They cautioned that the project could be revised again.

The limits were suggested in a parking study done for the city last year as a way to provide more parking for shoppers than is available along the Arcade in downtown, City Manager Andrew Belknap said.

People who drive to work downtown have also been limited to two-hour stays in the lot since the beginning of June, prompting anger on the part of those who think that they should be able to park in the lot while working.

Merchants have also presented a petition with more than 100 signatures to city officials.

The city’s Redevelopment Commission, which advises the Redevelopment Agency, on Monday suggested converting the two-hour limit to four hours as a compromise, Belknap said. But the merchants were unhappy with that offer and took their case to the council.

“We’re really trying to find a balance, and obviously everyone wants convenient parking,” Belknap said, “but there’s just this friction between the need for retail parking and the need for all-day parking.”