OJAI : City Plans Campaign Against Housing Rule

Rather than immediately sue the federal government or remove itself from the Area Housing Authority of Ventura County, the city of Ojai instead will engage in a full-court press of elected officials.

City officials were informed last month that the local housing authority would no longer offer Ojai residents priority on the waiting list for Whispering Oaks, the 101-unit complex in downtown Ojai that accounts for more than half of the agency’s public housing for seniors.

The council had allowed the project to be built in the early 1970s based on a promise by the housing authority that it would guarantee local residents first crack at admission.

But faced with losing priority status for its citizens, the Ojai City Council decided Tuesday night to write letters requesting help from senators, congressmen and even President Clinton.

“The agreement we came to was to aggressively seek the assistance of all of our elected officials,” Councilwoman Nina Shelley said. “We’ll ask them to discuss with (federal housing officials) the reason they have not replied to our concerns.”

According to Housing Manager Dave Roddick, the Area Housing Authority can no longer grant Ojai preference because of an order from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which said the practice was illegal.

City Council members said earlier this week that they may be forced to fight the HUD decision in court or withdraw from the housing agency altogether.

Mayor Steve Olsen said the letters to elected officials were going out this week. “We don’t want to have to sue the federal government, but we’re going to do what we feel is necessary to see this issue resolved,” he said.