OJAI : Assessment Hike to Assist Arcade

Needing to raise money for maintenance of Ojai’s 77-year-old arcade, the Ojai City Council voted this week to increase its assessment on shop owners in the downtown area.

Under the new budget, property owners will pay a rate of .2221 per assessment unit, which will generate $78,375 for cleaning and some repairs of the arcade. Units vary depending on size and location of an owner’s lot.

Under the new assessment, which will become effective July 1, property owners will pay about 13% more to the city annually.

But some property owners who own stores not actually on the arcade objected to having to pay more for the upkeep of a structure that does not directly benefit them.

“I think the problem is the arcade (property owners) are having trouble coming up with the money,” said Barbara Bowman, who owns three shops across the street from the arcade. “There must be an equitable (decision).”

But City Council members contend that the historic structure benefits the entire downtown area, attracting tourists who do not limit their spending to stores just in the arcade.

“Every picture, every brochure put out about this town shows the tower and the arcade,” City Councilman Robert McKinney said. “I think it is naive to say that these businesses along Ojai Avenue and Matilija (Street) do not benefit from the arcade and should not fund it.”

The city spent about $1.8 million in 1989 to retrofit the aging and crumbling arcade, a masonry structure that was built in 1917. At that time, the city outlined a five-year maintenance plan for the arcade that would address problems such as cracks and structural repairs.

City Public Works Director W. Stan Moore said the arcade received about $6,200 in crack damage during the Jan. 17 earthquake in addition to long-term wear and tear.