City Council — 2021-01-26

We're live. You can try that again. All

right, we're live now from Ojai. Can we have a call to order? We have quorum. Gail will you please take roll call?

Great

public comments on those that was pulled

Um, let's see.

We have we have no public comments on any of the consent calendar items. Okay

all right um

it would then be appropriate to Madam Mayor take a vote on the other consent items and then turn to the two that were pulled

okay all right uh can we have a vote on that Gail please?

So I'll move to approve C E F G and item B

And A and B as well. AB.

I don't have AB in mind so...

1A? They're listed on the agenda but there's no accompanying paper, no accompanying particular item in the packet.

A,B,C,E,F,G,N,I

There you go. As Bill supplemented my motion I'll second his.

Okay. All right, so can we have a vote on that? Gail, please?

Council

Member Blatz?

Yes.

Council Member Francina?

Yes.

Mayor Sticks?

Yes

Council Member Haney?

Yes

Mayor Pro Tem Weyrich?

Yes

Okay great all right so that's approved and then we will go to D right let's go to Thank

you.

Mayor, I just wanted to clarify on the, it's the regular meeting on last, on the previous Tuesday and it's the, I wanted to just verify the motion that we had on the climate committee.

Wait a minute, I'm not in the right place. D is mine says closed session

Should have your book, your closed session and then the regular meeting minutes. So this is the part Council member Haney's referring to as the

race.

I don't for

Yeah.

it?

Yeah. Did we discuss that or is that agreeable James?

Yeah, and I've talked to the Climate Committee and we talked through how this is going to work. And right now they don't have a Zoom account that would allow a lot of the public to attend so they also asked if they could use our accounts. So the way we are setting it up is we have a staff person who's put it on our climate committee page on our calendar on the city website. The next one is currently scheduled for February or I'm sorry March no February 3rd At 10 a.m., and it will be via Zoom, and we'll have the Zoom links up too. And so our staff person will set up the Zoom, and then the committee will just be able to run with it.

Perfect. And so I'm expecting that staff would obviously get hold of the chair of the climate committee and get their agenda, so that it's posted and then if there's any action or anything after the meeting that they would post that also?

We can do that. So how we had done it the first six months was we had posted on the website and the calendar the date and time and where it was, which now is by Zoom so that people can attend. We hadn't been posting actual like a Brown Act agenda with items listed on it.

Okay, that would be fine. I just think a central receiving point for the community to know where to go and what to do and how to do it would be better than a private entity running a Zoom meeting. Okay right yeah so let me start to put it up on the calendar okay so we're clear so we've clarified that we're all in agreement as to what we motioned and what was approved

But a great opportunity for all of us to learn from these experts. It's exciting.

I'm not 100% sure what you're asking. We

have to make sure we're not hobbling the climate anyway, because it is an emergency and we are so lucky to have them. So the last thing we want to do is get in the way of their work. Of course, we want to be able to understand what they're doing You know, they're the experts. We're not so it's

really Mary Council this is where I'll jump in as your lawyer. So tonight's agenda of course is the minutes of the prior meeting not revisiting this item. I understood Councilmember Haney to seek clarification as to what was enacted last time? The city manager has provided an explanation of what he will be doing as consistent with that prior direction. If there's any desire on the council to change that direction different than the way the city manager has expressed it, then that could certainly be done but that would require returning to a future meeting with another

agenda

item and so my recommendation would be if there is concern from any member of council that the way the city manager described how the meetings will be run for And bring it forward at future agenda items at that time in this meeting.

Yeah, as long as we're not getting in their way. Okay, well again

that wasn't what I was looking for. I just wanted to confirm what the motions were and what was approved and I think we've done that.

Okay great. Suzette did you want to say something?

Yeah, my understanding was that they're functioning the same way. The difference is that they're going to publicly, you know, they already in the past did publicly announced their meetings. I always knew when the meetings were because it was on the city website. And then, but the difference is that there's going to be more effort made so the public can see where these you know it's more visible on the city website. But they're not under any Brown Act constraints and the city will handle the Zoom meeting aspect. Is that all correct so far?

Yes, that's the main difference. And they're going to come back is it next meeting with so with a report and as far as completing a task in six months? I don't know that that will depend on what their what they come back with. Next next time, you know they. Okay

so now we're getting into the debate again and I would like to

end this

conversation. So

this is where again i'll jump in where we are beyond as noted we are beyond the agenda item the minutes from last meeting not revisiting this discussion if anyone on council would like to change what was done last time that's fine but that would have to return at a future meeting and Because I understand that the Climate Emergency Committee will be providing their report at the next meeting or the meeting immediately thereafter, depending on when they complete it. Therefore it would be reasonable to... It's already coming next meeting for the council to revisit it. So my suggestion would be the city manager can write the agenda item broad enough to allow both review of the plan that the Climate Emergency Committee comes back with and a further discussion of their structure if desired.

That's where I'll ask James. Do we know what when that's coming back? It's coming back

on the next council meeting. Well, I would think they'd also have to have a posted meeting and hold a meeting

that would be required by Council action. Yes.

So soon as that happens, it will come back to us. I look forward to it. I think we set up a good format for him. Okay. We would need a motion to approve D or do you want to wait till we're done discussing H?

I would recommend the motion now on this item and then take the second item up.

I move to approve D. Second.

Gail, can we have a vote?

Council Member Heaney?

Yes.

Okay great all right uh the next item Randy was

is H it's just um again it's just for information I've received some phone calls regarding rumors that are going around that if people don't Um, joined any type of litigation with the regarding the Ventura River watershed adjudication that their wells are going to be capped and there's going to be punitive things happening to them. And I had sent the city attorney a letter just Briefly asking if any of that was true, his response was there could be some issues for people if they do not join as well as what might happen to some of us like myself who aren't going to join because I don't have a will and I don t foresee that.

If anyone would like that response, I would be free to ask the city attorney to share it. Otherwise, I received the answer that I needed. I just wanted to make sure that it was clear to the public that no one is going to be going around capping your well And that no one is going to go around doing anything crazy in this community without some input from the City Council, OBGMA and all the other governing bodies regarding water in this city.

I just want to go on the record and say I am not standing for that statement.

And I'll note two additional points. Number one Council Member Mahaney, I understood that you would hold item H which the Rosenberg Rules Ordinance not Item I. Nonetheless, I will still provide a brief comment as it is on the agenda tonight. Um, I am the City's attorney and as city attorney I do not represent any individual. I do not have individual clients so any individual who owns a water well anywhere in the city of Ojai would be advised to seek their own counsel The city's provided some generic information on the city's website, which includes a link to the court approved form answer and the court approved form templates, which are available at OjaiCity.org. Navigate around to the watershed implementation point and then you can click through from there to the court approved notice website.

The other point I would note is that as presently structured it is unlikely to be the case Default judgment will result in an order capping a well. However, unlikely is the key term that would be up to any individual owner to understand the impacts of default judgment and to assess the situation. It also may be the case that if the default judgment is issued against an individual well owner they may find it more difficult to use their well in the future because of the fact that they would not have been part of this suit if the matter does not settle and does proceed to a full adjudication of their water rights They wouldn't be part of that adjudication and may find it difficult to use their well in the future. Again, I would strongly urge folks if you haven't, if you are a property owner with a well seek individual counsel to consider the matter individually before making any decisions regarding.

And to do so take a look at City's website and take a look at the court approved notice website link through the city's website. And last be advised that the current deadline to file an answer is this Friday January 29th, 2021. If you have been served and I would recommend those who haven't served and will have a well again to consult your own attorney as I'm not nor the city are not your attorneys. Thank you.

I appreciate that, Ryan. I appreciate your comment. I'll resend what I said and ditto what Matt just said. But the most important thing is that we let the citizens of our community who are watching this or will go to our site understand what's at stake coming this Friday.

And I'll move approval of H.

And i'll second.

May we have a vote? Gail please.

Member Francina Thank you. Can you hear me? Council member friends. You have to unmute Yes, yes for I

think. Yes Hello. It's item I

know H No. We're on H through the council

Is that, that's what we're consenting right? Well actually H

is- Yes it was. It was I in my book it looked like an H so it is I and I believe Matt corrected me at the beginning of it.

Okay. We had pulled H that's why I just want to get this bookkeeping

done. I would recommend just taking a vote on H just to confirm the record is clear as it is an ordinance and we would wanna follow formalities there And just to recall, item 1H is the ordinance that would adopt Rosenberg's Rules of Order and that would set the council's regular meeting time to start at 6.30 p.m., rather than the current 7 p. m.

Great.

I'm sorry for that.

That's okay. So we need a motion for that?

That'd be my recommendation just to keep the record clear. Move to approve.

I'll second. Okay great all right Gail may we have a vote please?

Okay, and this is on agenda item 1I. Mayor Sticks? I misspoke. I'm looking right at H and I said I. My apologies. Mayor Sticks? Yes. Mayor Potomac Rick?

Did you say me? Yes!

Yes.

Your microphone is cutting out.

Okay.

Can I add just one comment real quick on the watershed adjudication? I think the critical thing to keep in mind is that there is a January 29th 2021 so this week there's a deadline approaching And on our website, we added a big at the top of our page. There's three big buttons now and one of them is watershed adjudication information. So anybody who's watching who has some basic questions can visit our city website and that link

so Great. Thank you, James. Lovely. Okay, so we're going to vote on aye now?

Yeah, I was already approved. Okay.

So we're done with that. So then 721 when we go to the public communication

or

James, is that okay? Okay,

yeah, we could we could go straight to that. Yeah.

Okay great. Um, okay. Gail public communication.

We have one person for public communications, and that's Bill Miley. And I'm going to bring him in to speak. Mr. Miley? You

should

be able to... Yes. Okay go ahead.

Hello. Hi Bill.

Hi

Bill! Good evening. For the record my name is Bill Miley. My family and I have lived in the city of Ojai for 52 years My three children have gone through public elementary, middle school, high school. My comments tonight are all about the Maricopa Highway Demonstration Project. Several years ago I actively participated in the charrettes held for the active transportation plan our city is now demonstrating.

But hey an important question hardly anyone asks is why do we have a four lane divided highway from The Y to L Road Law. And hey, why is there a four-lane divided highway in Oakview? Well recently I wrote an opinion piece that the Ojai Valley News published and this is what I believe happened. It was all about eventually extending the Ojai Freeway through Casita Springs, Oakview, Miramonte, Ojai, and I believe on to Santa Paula.

We moved to Ojai in 1968 and immediately I'm very proud to be a member of the board of supervisors. Joined the committee to preserve Ojai to stop the freeway at Foster Park, and we did stop it. As you all know. In brief. In the early 19 sixties. I assume the city council at that time and what his supervisors got convinced to anticipate the fever freeways future similar And approved a four-lane expansion on Maricopa, which is what we're now trying to get rid of.

And hopefully in the future, get rid of the one in Oakfield. Ojai is not a four lane highway city. The rest of it, it's all two lanes. Let's remove this aberration. It doesn't belong here. It belongs through a freeway system. After 2035, No petroleum fuel cars can be sold in California, much more gentle. Let's bring justice to bicycles, walkers, road crossing pedestrians and right now vehicles dominate that section. It has problems it still need to be fixed but that's what the demonstration is for let's keep Ojai gentle reduce vehicle domination We stopped the freeway. Let's remove this weird four-lane divided highway and return it to bikes, people, dogs, horses, skateboards, cars, and other vehicles.

Justice for all. Thank you. Goodbye. Thank you.

Thank you, Bill. Gentle. Great. OK, that's it. Gail?

Correct. We have no more public speakers.

OK great. So James now we have a public hearing the staff report.

Yes, thank you and I have and I think we're going to be getting him getting a couple of people into the meeting here so I'll give Gail a second to get the applicant in but The public hearing tonight is, we'll have a brief presentation that Lucas Seibert our Community Development Manager will give. It's just a couple of slides to show you what we're talking about.

This item is on our agenda because it's already been reviewed and recommended by the Planning Commission by a 5-0 unanimous vote last month in December It's an expansion or I'm sorry, in addition to the existing RTK Studios. So most people in Ojai are familiar with the RTK Studios tile business. This project is expanding their building and it includes a parcel map adjustment for a lot merger which the Planning Commission can recommend but can't approve. The City Council has to approve it. So that's why this is on our agenda tonight. We have the applicants with us, I believe being let in which is Mary Kennedy and Richard Kite.

And we are... Gail, is Lucas on?

Lucas is on. And I've promoted Mark Whitman into the meeting as well. Mary Kennedy is listed, but she's not showing in attendance yet and I'm not showing Richard Kite here either.

Okay all right well in the meantime you know it's a fairly simple project I think like I said the Planning Commission recommended it on a 5-0 vote Lucas our community development manager. Can you walk us through it?

Sure, let me pull up the brief presentation that I have here. I'm going to share my screen here right now So good evening. The item we have before you tonight is RTK Studios expansion. What I have here is the existing studio as it exists, which is on the top. On the bottom is the existing one-story single family residence. That residence is currently vacant and would be demoed as a part of this project in There we go.

The next slide is showing the existing studio, kind of in a light gray. Below that is the proposed expansion. You see the new addition that's highlighted here. This is all storage commercial and really being used for distribution purposes. To the back of that is a proposed residential unit For both Mary and Richard to continue to reside there on site when needed.

So that's what's proposed here, in addition to that... There we go. To the rear is actually two parking spaces that you're seeing here. There's currently really one parking space onsite and we're looking at having that expanded The code actually requires up to five, a maximum of five or minimum of five here. But through the PDP process which I'll go into here in a minute they're asking for requesting a reduction from five to two.

So there's four applications that are being applied for regarding this project. It's a tentative parcel map which city manager James had just mentioned earlier And that is really for the merger. You could do a lot merger or parcel map, in this case they opted for the parcel map because there was a fairly large project being proposed here versus just a merging of two lots with no plan for proposed development. And it just into that as a plan development permit. That's really required for revisions to the development standards within the VMU, the village mixed use zoning district which is where this is located in looking at reduced parking Reduce driveway width from 24 feet to 12 feet, setback reduction on the south side and then turnaround radius revisions to the rear for delivery trucks to enter on the south side.

And then do a kind of a three-point hammerhead turn and then come back out within the same driveway they entered in on. The conditional use permit is actually interesting because with this, the use itself as it exists currently is non-conforming. However, a conditional use permit allows for the expansion of a use like this as a non-conforming use as long as specific findings are made which have been provided within the draft resolution for City Council consideration.

And then lastly, is a design review permit. And that's really for the elevations and the exterior pieces of this proposal. The proposed expansion is, as I had said before, merging two lots into one. It's an expansion of the existing use RTK Studio and really we're looking at a single story structures and then a two-story proposal within that darker gray area that I had highlighted earlier.

It's about 3,500 square feet in total. And then the onsite relief which is what I was mentioning earlier reduced parking Driveway width, truck turnaround to the rear. And here you can see the elevation and it's really the west elevation or the facade of that building facing Kenyatta Street. So here on the left, you can see the existing studio and then as you tapered to the right, you see all the new construction that's being proposed, all those ends that you see there And then to the kind of stepping back is that two-story, second story element that's being proposed.

So with that staff recommends City Council adopt the resolution approving a design review permit, the tentative parcel map planned development permit and conditionally used permit as the findings required within the Ojai Municipal Code can be made then subject to the conditions.

Thank you, Lucas. And with that, I don't know if we have the applicants with us. I see Mr. Whitman who I believe is representing the applicants is with us so we'll take any questions and then we can open up the public hearing after we take those questions.

And also if I can interject, the applicant has signed in now Mary Kennedy, she's available if you want to have her come in.

So I just have three questions to staff. The general plan, the VMU land use designation, does it meet those requirements?

Yes.

And the tentative parcel map application was submitted and approved?

That's what's before tonight

yeah okay and then is this creative and innovative development in your opinion?

Yes, through the justification and description. Yes.

And do you believe it's compatible with the community? With the neighborhood? Yes. Yeah I think it's stunning. It's an incredibly beautiful project so thank you.

Bill? Thanks Randy.

Yeah, I also like what I see so far. Quick question however Typically, when we have accessory dwelling units which is what this amounts to on a project we stipulate it is not eligible or prohibited to use for transit occupancy uses. In other words vacation rentals I did not see that language in here. Is that an oversight or intentional?

Um, it's not intentional. I have seen that in previous conditions. It's something that could be added. I don't see any issues with that.

It

is not to say that that stipulation is precluded from being enforced.

If I could jump in there, Mayor Pro Tem Weirich, the prohibition on short-term rentals is already included in the existing City Code So it would apply to this site regardless, but certainly if desired, it could be added as a further condition. I'm just saying our

practice in the past has been to include it in the conditions.

That's true. Certainly that has been the practice and I'm not quite sure why they didn't get included in this one, but we would have no legal objections. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay so if there are no other staff questions for staff, we can proceed with opening the Public hearing Mayor Sticks.

Let's do it.

Gail, do we have any public comments for this item?

We have Mary Kennedy listed who is the applicant and Mark Whitman. I can open up their microphones to ask if they have comments. Sure. I'll start with Mark. Mark, if you can unmute your microphone There you

should be. Can you hear

me?

Yes, yes, I have no. I have no comments on this here to answer any questions for the project.

Thank you. Thank you Mark.

Now I'll unmute Mary Kennedy.

Hi Mary did you have any public comment or are you just here if there's questions

and no public comments just here if there's

All right, so I think we are ready to close the public hearing.

Let's close it. Thank you Mary, thank you Mark.

Any questions for the applicants? Or any questions period, I think I saw... Oh okay.

Bill, yeah. I'm gonna move approval. I think it's a great project, well designed, well reviewed, great people, great intent Want to add the amendment prohibition against transit occupancy use. I'll second it. Okay.

Great, Gail may we have a vote please?

Great job guys.

I'm so glad they're thriving here in Ojai, I love

it!

All right

thank you Lucas we'll let you go and thank the Planning Commission for... They did a thorough review too so we appreciate it.

Yeah. Thank you Lucas for getting down on the weeds there. Thank you. Okay so the COVID report

Okay, so we had big news yesterday. So I'll walk through that a little bit more.

Everybody was taking advantage today.

It seemed like it already when we wrote this item last week, we were preparing to not have much of an update and then that all changed yesterday. So, I think you're hopefully able to see the screen here. Let me get this going. So. This item is just our standard COVID and or emergency response update. We'll start with just some basic statistics because although there was good news yesterday that we'll get to, we do need to remember that the numbers are starting to stabilize but we're still in the midst of one of the surges here and the key to continuing Exercise, you know, safe protocols and follow guidance and staying safe. So that's reflected in this PowerPoint. You can see In October, we had 14,000 cases in the county. We had had 14,000 cases in the first eight or seven months or so and you can see in the last three months since then there's been an additional 50,000 cases bringing us to over 67,000 cases countywide.

In the 93023 again similar but a definite increase over the last two months although that's also seeming you know, start to stabilize. And then the hospitalization number has come down since the last meeting. The ICU has come down slightly since the last meeting. So those are the key factors when we talk about what's able to reopen is that hospital and ICU capacity so those we need to keep stabilizing.

So we wanted to start with just kind of a picture of where we're at and reminder for everybody to stay safe and keep being careful over the next couple months as we work towards vaccines. This chart again is one that's available on the county public health website, and you'll see there that towards the right end of the graph which is where we're currently at how there is just this noticeable increase.

And that's starting to come down, but we're still higher than we had been for the first several months of this. You'll note that we've had 133 cases in the 93023 zip code in the last 14 days. That includes Ojai, but it also includes other parts of the Valley. So we are still seeing a surge although it's starting to come down And so the big news is the stay-at-home order has been lifted. That was the state order that had gone into effect in early December, which had shut down a lot of things like outdoor dining, limited hotel stays to essential travel only and was a very restrictive order. And so now that the four week ICU projections are starting to come back down To a better number, the state has lifted that order.

That allowed the counties to then go back to the prior system which was that four-tiered color coded system. So Ventura County yesterday at 1.15 p.m., announced that we are following this the purple tier and so this is a little blurry but I think it's a useful chart just to give people ideas. The purple tier is widespread So it is the worst on this four tier system. I think at one point we had moved, if I remember right, we were either right at or we had briefly moved into the substantial wave at one point but we've pretty much been widespread the entire time that this system's been in place which is the most restrictive of the four and just to give you an idea like we're pretty far off We have to have an adjusted case rate of seven cases per day.

And right now, our adjusted case rate is 57.8 I read yesterday in some of the materials that I think they say Ventura County has the second highest case rate after I think it was San Bernardino County in Southern California so You know, COVID is still here and we still need to be careful. Be safe but it's just we're starting to get some of those key metrics more under control.

Similarly the positive test rate actually is where in line it needs to be I'm sorry no that's not right it should be less than eight percent I believe If we're more than 8%, we're in the widespread category and we are at 12.8% of all tests are positive, so we need to get that down 4.8%, you know, to be able to move into substantial. So both of those metrics were still pretty far off at this point. So I think the reality is we're gonna be in this purple tier for the time being, at least, you know, I think it's gonna be a little bit of time here as vaccines get rolled out But the purple tier is a big improvement over what was previously allowed under that state order.

Restaurants, gyms, fitness centers, places of worship, playgrounds, recreational facilities, all of these that we have are typically allowed to reopen but just have certain requirements such as some of those need to be outdoor only Which includes restaurants, gyms and fitness centers in places of worship. And then very few are allowed to do indoor operations.

These are what can currently do indoor operations. Probably the biggest changes are these personal care services can reopen, nail salons can reopen and hair salons and barber shops can reopen. So the key thing was that those things could reopen indoors, restaurants can open outdoors Churches and gyms can continue to provide outdoor services. Hotels also can, it's no longer required to be essential travel. Hotels can open for travel. So with that, that's the latest update. It all kind of occurred yesterday. The other thing that's working in sync and that we need to keep working towards is the vaccine rollout The County of Ventura is in phase 1A, which is the healthcare sector and those 75 and older. There was a lot of confusion over the last two weeks because some counties announced that they were gonna start doing 65 and older vaccinations but according to the county we spoke with them, the reality is that they announced that but none of the counties that announced it really had the doses to do it so they haven't actually really honored that at this point And so Ventura County has been very careful to remind people that we're still focusing on healthcare sector and those 75 and older.

As of January 19th, the county administered 30,000 first doses of the vaccine out of 33,000 that the counties received. So that's 93% of the doses. The big challenge right now, we've continued to stay in contact with the county. We're trying to talk to the county about potential sites here in the valley for a vaccination site and the key issue is dose supply.

And for example they expected to get 10,000 cases this week which is already a pretty low number for a county our size of a million people and they ended up getting 8300 doses this week So it's when you make plans and then you get fewer doses than you expected, which is kind of happening. We are seeing this on a statewide level but it's definitely occurring here in Ventura County so the reality is they are preparing to have other sites available but until they start getting the doses to ship to those sites I don't expect a change in the next week or two.

And this was just a useful chart to show kind of the timeline. It's been about a month since Pfizer approved, you know with COVID everybody makes the joke about time working very strangely right now and it feels like the vaccine has been around for a while now but it was approved December 11th. The first shot was administered December 16th and then a lot of things have happened since then but you get January 26th, and we're still working on the health care industry in seniors 75 plus. And my understanding is that they're hoping to or they're planning to get to 65 and up in early February was what I had been told recently.

So for us, the other big news is that we've extended the Monday Sarzadi Park COVID testing through February 22nd with one exception which is President's Day February 15th. That will not be operating so every Monday for now through February 22 from 10 a.m to 4 p.m residents of the county or of the valley can attend that testing at Sarzotti Park So right now for us, those are the three key things is continuing testing, rolling out vaccines and then getting businesses reopened with the state change of order. Those are the three we're working on and there's not any emergency action needed or recommended at this time.

Randy then Bill.

Mayor, I just had a couple things first of all James obviously thanks thank you for participating in those long county meetings do we have the VenturaCountyRecovery.org do we have their website posted on our website? Yeah we do and it's

vcrecovers.org Anybody who wants to Google it. But yeah, we do have it. We have it on our website