Builder to Ask for More Units

The Santa Paula City Council will consider the request of an Ojai developer tonight to add four units to a 15-unit apartment building, six months after the council rejected his bid for a 21-unit project.

To earn the “density bonus,” the developer must set aside four of the apartments for low-income tenants for a 10-year period.

In February, the council narrowly rejected a request by developer David Allen to increase the zoning of the Garcia Street lot to build up to 21 two-bedroom units, with one-fourth set aside for 30 years as affordable units. Several council members said the project could result in overcrowding.

In response to the council’s rejection, Allen changed the project to include seven units with three and four bedrooms each.

Jeff Hamilton, an assistant city planner, predicted that the new project would have a “considerably better chance” to gain the council’s support.

“There is not as much room for the city to turn down a request for a density bonus,” Hamilton said. “By the same token, the developer has responded to the city’s concern of reducing density.”