Building of Straw Gets OK

Ventura County issued its first permit Friday for a straw-bale building, approving construction of a reception center at the Ojai Foundation’s spiritual retreat.

The permit will allow use of straw material to construct a 300-square-foot main building, 275-square-foot porch and 274-square-foot trellis on the foundation’s sprawling property in Upper Ojai.

Plans call for the Ojai Foundation to hold workshops on alternative architecture. Participants will learn about alternative building materials and work with others in April to build the foundation’s straw-bale structure.

“It’s going to be built by people who are going to learn by doing,” said David Goldstein, an analyst with the county’s Department of Environmental and Energy Resources. The department received a $56,000 grant two years ago to help fund so-called green building projects.

“By helping the Ojai Foundation be first, we’re helping [develop] the process for people who want to do it in the future,” Goldstein said.

Though straw and grass have been used for thousand of years in home construction, there appears to be renewed interest in alternative building materials. There are 300 to 500 straw-bale houses in California today, according to the California Straw Building Assn.

The county’s first straw-bale building was constructed a year ago by Pierre Constans, a Meiners Oaks worm farmer and landscape designer. But he ran into trouble with local authorities, because he failed to get the proper permits. He was trying last month to scrape together the money for a conditional-use permit.

For the Ojai Foundation project, the permitting process took months longer than anticipated. The foundation’s architectural planner had to demonstrate that the structure would be safe while addressing concerns about moisture, fire protection and pest infestations.

The building will consist of straw bales, recycled steel and other ecologically friendly materials.