City Council — 2023-10-03

Order, thank you. Could we have the roll call please Weston?

Yes Madam Mayor briefly so as you'll recall this item has come up a few times Most recently, the Council directed two meetings ago that we try to strike a deal at the September 12th meeting. So two minutes ago. We tried to strike a deal with interested parties on proposed ordinance that would regulate valet parking and we have come up with a proposed ordinance that has been agreed to by Attended by staff subject to council decision and by the plaintiffs in the valet parking lawsuit who have stated that they would dismiss the lawsuit if the council were to introduce and adopt the ordinances proposed, and also by the Ojai Valley Inn.

It was indicated that they're okay with the proposed ordinance as structured. We have one minor edit that I'll cover briefly but in a nutshell, the ordinance is similar to the prior ordinances under discussion but with an adjustment to regulate rather than always prohibiting valet parking And with a critical creation of a new area called the on-site valet parking zone, there's maps around and the text is in the staff report that defines an area roughly the middle half of the city.

In that area, valet parking would have to be only on site meaning, thank you, so meaning that valet parking has to begin on the same premises as which the car is dropped off. So not moving it to another site, not parking in a public right of way, it has to begin and end on the same premises, the same land. And also within that area, the valley parkers have to park the cars on the same premises. They cannot traverse public rights-of-way in moving the cars around as well so it's fully onsite. It has to be purely internal circulation of the valley parked vehicles on the same premises And there's an exception for up to six special events at each property by city permit or events that are non-commercial valet and residential uses.

The ordinance for the area outside, so the two edges of the city, the west edge and the east edge or eastern portions, there the only rule is that no Valley parked cars can be parked or temporarily stored in the public right-of-way, or in any public parking lot. But valet parking could still happen on multiple sites. So you could have cars received at one site and parked at another and driven across a public road to get from where they're received to where they are stored. But nowhere in the city can anyone park valet parked cars on a public right of way or in a public parking lot as proposed.

We have one edit to the map to reflect the text, and I proposed adjustment to the text to make the boundary clearer. I'll cover that in just a moment. The other thing to note is that none of this relates to bicycle parking. This is all vehicles. Valet parking. So bicycle valet parking or bicycle parking is entirely separate. This is about cars and trucks and vans and motor vehicles.

It also would apply solely prospectively, so any project approved before the ordinance took effect such as a Roblar Hotels proposed 18 space offsite valet parking operation will be unaffected. This is future only not backwards. The proposed correction to the mapping, do we have a way to put this up there? Is in the southwestern part you see this sort of trapezoidal shoot southwest, cut that off. The intention was to be from the southern edge of San Antonio Street south to a line intersecting with Saddle Lane and Creek Road so it would be cutting out that and we're gonna see if we can get a revised map on the screen and we passed out revised maps there and here so I'll take the liberty and show it orally You've got the southwestern boundary, right now it extends through down to south of Vianova.

And the idea was to cut it off here so it'd be San Antonio Street South to a line intersecting due west of the intersection of Saddle Lane and Creek Road cutting off that southern southwestern trapezoid. So that is the proposed update to the map and the text which shows up in two places in the Western Boundary delineation. And the last thing is that the discussions with the plaintiffs also brought to mind the note that there is this idea or this concern about persons with mobility challenges and what to do for folks with mobility challenges And there the negotiators recommend, and staff concurs on this recommendation that the city proceed if the council so approves with a feasibility in a needs assessment as to whether there is a need for public and private parking management strategies for persons with mobility challenges.

The idea being to figure out two questions, number one is there a significant need for city intervention or city assistance in the space of persons parking who have mobility challenges? Which could look like a number of different programs but is there a need and if so what is the scale of that need? And if there is a need and this scale is significant as opposed to just one or two people significant enough to warrant investment of city resources, then what are some options to handle that?

To meet that need so to speak. So we would recommend that the council, if so inclined, authorize that initial step which would be the feasibility needs assessment. And we will look to Mark and his staff to develop the how there but start with an appropriate feasibility needs assessment for parking management strategies for persons with mobility challenges. Recognizing that in part valet parking can help folks in that situation but isn't the only solution.

And with that staff would recommend that the council introduce the ordinance As proposed what the adjustment is discussed to the southwestern boundary and we're here for any questions or Comments, then I would suggest as an order of operations. We take council questions Then public comment and then counsel discussion in action is desired

Thank you very much Matt. Thank you for all your hard work on this mayor pro tem

Was the zoning change driven by the Ojai Valley Inn so they could use their parking, their off-site parking?

That was part of it. Yes. It was to ensure that the Ojai Valley Inn would be unaffected. The other goal of it was to ensure that the original intent was to define a, as the plaintiffs put it, a core area that would be given a different set of rules than the periphery

So that rule applies to any business in that area. For example, if Beck wanted to do something or...

Right, if Beck which is outside the boundary wanted to set up some sort of off-site valley parking system they would be able to do so in compliance with the other rules and regulations And I will note that there are hotels on, extant hotels outside the Onside Valley parking zone on both east and west sides. Not just the inn. So the inn and the Rancho Hotel on the west side and on the east side, the Hummingbird and Casa Ojai are both on the eastern portion thus able to do offsite valley although none of those four hotels only the inn currently does valet.

Okay, and then I have another question that I want to be crystal clear on. And so would the public. The plaintiffs or the people behind the initiative have no objection to off-site parking, private off-site parking that customers find on their own. The objection is strictly having a valet driver who then moves the car to an offsite parking, which is not gonna be allowed. And then that person hopefully a young person in very good shape is gonna run back to the business.

And the reason I asked that because at one point it was whispered in my ear back in 2021, that there was a fear that there could be offside parking even outside the city limit and now that I understand it better That's highly unlikely, right? Because every car the valet driver whatever you want to call him has to go back to the business without a car.

Right, typically they stay within walking distance. So my understanding is that the plaintiffs object to the idea of the offsite valet parking where someone can leave their car at one site and then it gets parked elsewhere because it allows that business to not be bound by the number of parking spaces they would otherwise need on-site.

Yes

I understand. That's my understanding where they are and I believe they're present tonight or at least a rep there so

they

can also speak for themselves.

But there's no objection to the other alternative, which is a private.

I'm not entirely sure about we didn't discuss that, so I wouldn't want to put words in their mouth as to whether they do or do not object to something we didn't discuss.

Well, my recollection when we had the meeting was that there wasn't an objection. That might

be a great question to pose.

Yes. I mean, I'll ask the plaintiff. Thank you. Yeah. OK.

Any other questions from council? Okay, all right we will move on to public comment. Let's start with Jody Kaler then Leslie Hess then Skip DeMuth.

Oh and as public comments coming up I'll also note my colleague Lily Wyckoff the litigator on this on the lawsuit piece of this is on the zoom and available if there's questions on that end but obviously if we settle them we the litigators can not have to get out of their get on the table but I want to note she's present thank you

I Support foot traffic for business the quality of life that walking is the social equity the business equity Maintaining our charm and simplicity No need to bring the car in and out twice Passing this ordinance would be nice.

Thank you Thank You Jodi next we have Leslie Hess then skip to move then Jamie Fleming

Hi everybody. I'm Leslie Hess. Thank you Mayor Sticks council and staff for all the work that you do for us. I ask the council tonight to vote yes on this ordinance. This council has been proactive and long sided on several actions you've taken recently on three ordinances that are forward looking and meaningful. You improved the chain store ordinance by tightening it up.

You adopted the local climate action ordinance and you enacted rent stabilization these ordinances protects protect Ojai. Thank you for doing those three things. What weaves these together with on-site valet parking is that they all relate to social equity and our quality of life here in Ojai. This ordinance along with the others will help keep Ojai livable for residents and attractive to visitors.

Thank

you. Can I ask

now the question?

No, you requested that one of us answer questions so that'll be Tom Francis he'll be answering. Oh

okay thank you Next we have skip to Mooth then Jamie Fleming then drew Mashburn

Greetings mayor sticks and council members. I've read the background information and proposed ordinance regarding Valley parking Regarding oh my god, I knew this was gonna happen. Oh Regarding valet parking to off-site locations and have concluded. This is an eminently reasonable piece of the effort to slow down over commercialization and gentrification of our small city From what I read no harm is done To the end or to Elrobar Thanks are due to Rachel Lang and Leslie House Sousa Francina mayor sticks and others including our capable city attorney Matt For working hard to create this complicated proposed ordinance a side benefit of passing this ordinance is that the lawsuit Challenging the clerk's rejection of the petition will go away Thank you for your time

Thank you, Skip. Next we have Jamie Fleming then Drew Mashburn then John Boetti.

Jamie Flemming, Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce. First I just want to know that it was nice to see positive changes come back from the previous ordinance so I know there's been a lot of work. Need some clarity I was sitting here and I on the ordinance the proposed ornance permits off-site Valley parking or up to six special events at each property within the zone So we're talking about within that zone. We can have off site six times Because that seems

to answer

the question

Yes, so the ordinance doesn't apply to special events that get a city permit and there's up to six special events at each location per year.

I think that's a huge step, at least in the right direction because we're actually using our permitting process which is what I talked about last time. What still throws me is that we've come up with a number six. I'm not sure why we did that and so my suggestion would be that we maybe make the number six a trigger And then I would recommend that all we do is adjust this ordinance to say, okay so if someone actually needs to go for maybe a really good reason over six it triggers more review maybe with the planning commission or some higher level. So that we just do not arbitrarily block things completely still in this town. We should always have some process in place

Thank you, Jamie. Next we have Drew Mashburn then John Boetti and then Bill Miley.

Good evening I'm Drew Mashburn 72 year Ojai Valley native in the early excuse me in in the nearly 30 In the nearly three quarters of a century I've lived in the Ojai Valley, the three legs of the stool primarily supporting its local economy have been agriculture education and tourism. More should be done to reinvigorate and save our agriculture other than our public school system all the other educational institutions seem to be doing fine however I'm concerned about our tourism in the city of Ojai and the entire Ojai Valley. Not that we don't have enough tourism but that we have way overdone it and continues to be the same. I get that tourism is needed to help sustain this city and valley, tourism has been important to this area's economic support since Ojai was called Noorda for example back in In those days, folks came from all around the world to partake in the famous hot springs.

Those tourists spending their bucks in Nordhoff supported the businesses back then and that's still desirable. Yet in all the years I've been here, I've never heard any business clamoring for valet parking in order to survive. Only recently have a couple requested as a convenience for their guests. Convenience! Convenience, not survival. I do miss many of the small-town ma and pa businesses that have all but disappeared. I certainly missed the Ojai and Ojai Valley in the 1950s, 60's and 70's before the significant increase of urbanization.

Hand in hand with that increase was an increase in tourism and an overabundance of businesses that cater primarily to tourists. A lot of those businesses are small, they need tourist dollars to survive, and the city needs the businesses for the tax dollars they generate. However, off-site valet parking should not be allowed. Such parking would undoubtedly compete with parking areas that are now self-parking uh... areas for locals as well as tourists. Self parkers will find a parking spot and walk by many businesses where they may wind up shopping in contrast those folks dropped off at specific businesses by valets will most often only shop at the businesses which they were delivered There are other reasons why I'm opposed to off-site parking, but my time is limited.

Here's a biggie for me. People want to live in the Ojai Valley and tourist flock here because of what it is at present. Valet parking is not needed to encourage more residents and tourists. Change can be a good thing. Without it, it's stagnation. But all—not all change is a good thing. And things right now are pretty darn nice. Valet parking connotes big city off-site valet parking would be a detriment to it Let's keep that our small town charm and keep our focus on what's good for locals and local businesses And yes, I support this proposed ordinance read the staff report very good

Thank You Drew next we have John Boettie then Bill Miley and then Anita cram

Good evening council I Support the this ordinance for the reasons stated in section 2 findings and purposes Specifically the desire of Ojai citizens to maintain the city's small-town character by adopting quote Reasonable regulations on the use of valet parking by Ojai businesses, unquote. And it allows valet parking for mobility-challenged people which addresses a problem that several citizens expressed a concern about in previous meetings.

It accomplishes this in a practical, efficient and safe manner. I want to commend City Attorney Summers, Councilwoman Lange, Mayor Pro Tem Francina, the initiative proponents and the OI Valley Inn for the excellent work they have done on this matter It demonstrates what willing partners can achieve through respectful, civil engagement. I urge the council to approve this plan tonight. Thank you.

Thank you John. Next we have Bill Miley then Anita Cram and then Robin Gerber.

Hello. The question valet parking yes or no banner regulate retain freedom to move about or place an arbitrary limit on it? My email to your council says we have a choice. Will we lose freedom of movement with a limit by quote, the 600 initiative signers who want to save the soul of Ojai, their Ojai? Or will we get a soul of Ojai of the 4500 plus registered voters who have supported past city councils which regulate through their decisions and not remove freedoms?

What is the soul of Ojai? Freedom of choice is a backbone of our nation. It's an element of who we are. We regulate for public safety, public health and public welfare. All three are basic elements of our laws. We work hard to prevent arbitrary limits, like recent ones in the news. We work to save our freedoms. The Council is spending $200,000 to protect the choice freedoms of unhoused folks.

We passed a resolution to protect elephants. Banning off-site parking is arbitrary. It's wanted by the 600. Remember, we have 4500 plus registered voters in this city. Simply Ojai which says they represent the 600 says if we don't get it, we're going to sue you. That's part of their soul of Ojai, not very friendly. Please protect our freedom of movement. Design an ordinance which regulates for freedom choices, not loss of a movement choice.

The one we're trying to protect is the freedom beyond business sites. Freedom retention through responsible ordinance design and planning commission regulation is the way to go. Retain freedom of movement choice, please. Thank you.

Thank you Bill. Next we have Anita Cram then Robin Gerber and then Larry Steingold.

Good evening Off-site citywide valet parking in Ojai is not in the best interest of our community or for maintaining our small town character We do not need to bend over backwards to take care of people who do not live here Particularly at the expense of our community members This for profit scheme would be a perk for visitors and up The ante for those of us who live here to try to find parking. Valet parkers are very resourceful at sequestering parking spaces for their sole use and increasing their profit margins.

Valet drop-off points in our city would be one more point of traffic snarl in our small town. This is preferential treatment. Visitors can park and walk, what a concept, walk The proposed ordinance before us tonight allows for some valet parking while still protecting public right-of-way and public parking from being overtaken by for profit valets. It's a good compromise.

On a side note, I tuned in to the Earth Keepers Summit this past week. Deepak Chopra was asked what's the school of the future? He said self-realization. He also said the Indian scholar J. Krishnamurti built such schools in India. There was one in Ojai, there is still one in England. We might think he was mistaken but no he wasn't What he said was to point, that was for our ears here Ojai.

Ojai is changing. Spirituality and exclusivity do not coexist. City Council is in a powerful position to keep the spirituality that has been a core of our community way back from when they meditated in tents at Besant Meadow, and therefore probably even before then. Today, it's valet parking. Tomorrow, it's a housing development that is marketed as affordable which isn't.

It will be another exclusive perk. I implore the City Council members to remember who we are. Every decision you make here Can take us further away from that core spirituality that Ojai is so well known for. It can bring us closer or it can remain neutral. We don't want this to become a legend, lore that oh one time Ojai was a spiritual community but exclusivity came in and squashed it. Thank you very much. Thank

you, Anita

Maybe

I'm mistaken but I seemed it seemed like the speaker is under the impression that That valet parking can go on a public parking lot or on the street, and that's not the case. Valet parking has to go on a parking lot... Okay, that's what I want clarification on. So I didn't understand your conclusion that we're gonna... Excuse me?

So she didn't say that and let's go move on.

But I but that's what I heard, and I just want to make sure

that I think we have the clarification she didn't mean that

well that I still want the clarification from the city attorney that valet parking as it's described in this ordinance or understood by this ordinance is not going to take up parking that the public would use is that correct? No no no I just want the clarification from the City Attorney

Under current law today, valet parking in the city cannot park the cars on public right-of-way or public parking lots. And I don't believe that's happening in any valley operation is operating now in the city. This proposed ordinance in section 10 to 1411.5 sub D states that directly, no operator shall park or temporarily store any vehicle anywhere in the city during any valley parking activities and any portion of the public right-of-way or any public parking facility.

So that's the current rule by default this ordinance would codify that rule

Yes, that was my understanding. I just want the public to know that the valet parking would not use parking that the citizens of Ojai would normally use unless they're spending the night in a hotel which is unlikely. You know what I'm saying right? That's correct. There's a

difference between parking the citizens would use, that's not a legally defined term versus The parking on public rights of way or public parking lots. Those are legally defined terms. Okay,

thank you.

Okay next we have Robin Gerber then Larry Steingold and then Sherry Ann Cate.

Mayor, members of the council, I'm Robin Gerber. I live in the city. I want to talk about three untruths that this issue has brought up. First of all, the 600 or so voters who signed the Hess-Francis Simplio High Notice of Intent to file a petition are not necessarily in favor of having a valley parking ordinance. The 600 signed a document to allow a petition to be circulated, to put the valet question on the ballot.

The 600 signed a statement mostly full of the Hesse-Francis simply Ojai gobbledygook about preserving our historic rural town that's being overrun by tourists losing our soul supposedly run amok valet parking endangers all that so who wouldn't have signed? 600 people did not vote to ban off-site valet parking. They did not even sign the actual petition that laid out the plan to ban valet parking. They signed a document to take the first step, to get a signed document, to get a signed document to take the first step to get citywide vote.

So anyone who gets up here or sits where you're sitting and says 600 Ojai voters want this ordinance is lying On truth number two, the Hess-Francis Simplio High efforts costing this city a great deal of time and money have nothing to do with valet parking. Banning valet parking was a cynical tactic to stop the El Roblar Hotel. Do we not remember how Council agreed to the Planning Commission's approval for the hotel? But then Hess, Francis and Simply Ojai forced yet another hearing before city council more staff time more money. And when they lost again they tried to bring the initiative that has become the legal knife that has forced us here today if these people want to govern why don't they run for office instead of hiding behind lawsuits appeals and complaints?

The truth is that valet parking was never about valet parking it's about stopping development And on truth number three, we needed this special meeting. Nope! We needed a special meeting to move forward on the Code of Conduct and other priorities you spent an entire meeting work on. This meeting was jammed on the calendar because of the legal costs of delaying settling Hess & Francis and Simply Ojai's legal terrorism.

Apparently Leslie Hess has untold sums of money to fight the outrage of Valley Parking but the city does not. So tonight you're poised to encourage more governing by whatever arrogant citizen or voter has bags of cash and lawyers on call, but at least try to tell the truth.

Thank you Robin. Next we have Larry Steingold then Cherianne Cate and then Jay Simons.

Larry Steingold, resident. I fully expect you people to approve this ordinance because of Hess-Francis Simply O'Height lawsuit. Why? Because they put you in office! They supported you so you're rolling over and helping them makes great but the attorney says oh wait there's no money involved so what you don't have to recuse yourself if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's a duck So I fully expect that.

The Ojai Valley Inn, great. Mothership, your words. They're being carved out. Why? Because it's a separate lot. It's on the other side of the bicycle path. They would have to go through the process and get a variance but your own number H Says future regulation of valet parking, yada, yada, yada. And requires all parking and temporary storage of vehicles parked by an operator as part of valet parking to be located on the same premises as the business.

Let them merge the lot Let them merge their lots, let them get a variance from the county and go about it the right way. Don't carve them out. He who has the gold rules, right? They've got the gold, they're the mothership, roll over for them but let them do about it. Don't carve them out otherwise carve everybody out. But the idea that you want to have no valet parking I don't care okay but the fact is how many businesses How many buildings, how many usages have to get changed or closed because they can't get the parking because you won't give them a variance and they don't have the right parking to go about their business? Suzanne's for example. And I have no idea but if they have 22 car parking and they're required because of the new ordinance to have 30 car parking and they need eight cars somewhere else Are they going to valet, though?

No. They're going to tell their customers go park over there and walk across the street with no sidewalks or maybe there are sidewalks on that side or not. Or do we have shuttles? Maybe we have a shuttle business for the handicapped, ADA. That's a good thing. Why not? Who is going to get the contract? Are we going to put it out at the bid or is somebody going to get it as a grant?

Okay, but it's more importantly just be honest. Why are we doing this? You want to regulate parking and not have it on side streets fine no kiosks on Ojai Avenue they would need three cars to park in valet parking anyway so you can regulate this thing to death but don't prohibit it there's got to be a pathway to somebody to get valet parking Just like the Rancho Inn, they had to get parking to have their venue. They were told hey you need parking spaces so they went up and tied up a church, they tied up a property around the corner, they tied up some other ones. No problem! They're not having valet. They're having people walk back and forth. Do you remember the conversation? What if they're drunk? What if they're stoned? It's going to be...they're gonna be walking all over the place.

Not a problem. That's okay. But just be honest why you don't want valet parking. Because there will be businesses that can't operate, they'll sell. I'm not against prohibiting valet parking but you need to have a pathway to get to it.

Thank you Larry. Next we have Sherry and Kate then Jay Simons and then Renee Roth.

Well forgive me for always going to the past but bear with me for a moment. I remember in the early 90s going to Chaparral Auditorium and it was to reevaluate the general plan, to receive public input about what did we want in our general plan? I'm sure a number of us in the audience were there. The place was packed and they had these giant flip charts all around the room and each one of the flip charts had a different element of the general plan, and with space underneath for people to write with markers what did they want to see going forward in the general plan for our city?

The overarching preference of everyone, almost everyone there was they wanted to preserve the small town character of Ojai. Valet parking in no way is a characteristic of a small town. I don't know of a single small town that has any kind of valet parking unless it's on the business property itself, ala the Ojai Valley Inn. The city manager and the city attorney's proposed valet parking ordinance represents a compromise.

What a concept as long as businesses park their patrons cars on their own business properties except for a few occasional events during the year most of us could probably live with that Just addressing Jamie Fleming's comment like, well six could be a trigger. I already think six is too many because that's every other month and every business could do that every other month and now we've got special events in valet parking all the time but I'm okay with the compromise as it's written so I urge a unanimous yes vote on this proposal And thank you all very much for the time and effort that you put into this. I know it's not an easy job trying to protect our precious little city.

Thank you.

Thank you, Cherianne. Next we have Jay Simons then Renee Roth then Karina Wright.

City Council staff, again thank you for the hard work that you have done on this. This is not an easy thing in any sense but I am here to speak in support of the proposed ordinance. I urge you all to pass this and It really does go back to it, because I think if we had something like this in place a couple years ago, we would have avoided the whole El Roblar thing. And I agree in a sense that in some senses there's a sense of trying to control the development or the development that a lot of us in Ojai feel like is changing the very nature of our community.

And that is increased traffic, increased tourism. And these things are subtle and they are delayed in the sense when you pass something you don't see a lot of results until like six 12 months, a couple of years down the road. And we're seeing that so with the El Robar I you know it's obviously it's water under the bridge. It's happening fine but I really hope that this ordinance will protect Ojai going forward from developments like that

thank you. Thank You Jay next we have Renee Roth and Karina Wright and then Joe McDonald

Good evening, Mayor and members of the Council. I am Renee Roth. I live in town. So first of all, Mayor, how did we get here? How many times has this been on the agenda for the City Council? Really, how many times? Six times? Seven times? Eight times? This has been on the council with staff having to do a report to try to figure out what to do about somebody who's complaining about our little town and how to keep it a nice little town. So really, how did we get here?

It seems rather dysfunctional and dishonest to put this on a special meeting agenda like this. It really does, it really stinks to me. So as far as I'm concerned, this is really dirty city politics. This is dirty politics. This is how dirty politics is run. You put it on the agenda, you have many people who say they're going to sue you, they're going to file a lawsuit, they don't like what you're doing and they're gonna threaten you and they're gonna manipulate you Betsy to put it on the agenda again and again. This has got to be humiliating personally for you to have to do this over and over again So a small group is attempting to plunge us into more chaos and uncertainty over valet parking.

Really? Really, don't you think the city has better things to do than to monitor how many times somebody has come up and requested a permit and they get a checkmark for six or seven or eight and they're out there it's not allowed You know, I just really am opposed to this kind of public policy. This isn't how it's done. This really is not how it's done. So we need real engagement. We need real leadership.

We need real transparency. We need to get people engaged For the first time, somebody asked the Ojai Valley Inn, oh you might not be able to use your parking lot that's right adjacent to your property? That just came up. It is just like that's not how you run government or make public policy. You work together. Jamie Fleming came up and said at the last meeting, we don't have a problem with valet parking. We really don't. And there are methods in place for how to do this. There are methods in place. We have a planning commission. We can meet. We can talk about it. But let's try to cooperate and come together. How about if the help of Ojai Parking Lot is able to be used for across the street?

The Ojai Arts Center Theater. People have said why can't we use that as a public space for people? Thank you

Renee.

Let's cooperate, get people together to up our parking options.

Thank you and just to confirm Go ahead Councilmember Lange

I just wanted to clarify For Renee and others that That actually I was the one who reached out to the city attorney to ask to have this on the meeting It wasn't Betsy it wasn't the mayor and that's because of legal deadline So I just wanted to to clarify that so So there is the reason for the...

Thank you, Council Member Lange. Karina Wright? And I'm just going to ask the audience to please refrain from side comments because it's very hard to hear when you're talking. Next we have Karina Wright then Joe McDonald and then Teal Rowe.

So good evening, thank you Mayor Stix and council members for holding this meeting. I really came down here tonight to applaud you and let you know that I support you in your vision to make sure that Ojai is developing in a way that we can all feel good about. And having to put forth ordinances like this is a big job and I know we addressed this a couple of years ago Really panicking. I was panicking. I was imagining this whole L.A. scene with traffic and people getting out in their stilettos and why did I move to Ojai if we're just going to have this so I really want to support you in going forward and figuring out this compromise which you did which is not Necessarily how I would do it. I would just say no So that's why I'm not in government so thank you for that and I urge you all to vote yes on that and You know things change, and that's why maybe next year or three years from now People will say you know what we need more valet parking And that's why these ordinance are not forever so this is what we need right now to Protect our small-town feel and I urge you to vote yes, and thank you for your time and for your service

Thank You Karina next we have Joe McDonald then teal row

Hi there, City Council. I'm here to ask you to vote yes on this ordinance. I don't think valet parking is the right vibe for Ojai and it would increase traffic if we had it and so thank you for bringing it up to this meeting and please vote yes. Thank you.

Thank You Joe next we have Teal Rowe

Good evening, Mayor and Council and staff. And thank you so much for the compromise that it sounds really good. It reads really well. Thank you council member Lang for bringing it to the special meeting tonight and all of the time that it's taken years. Appreciate it a lot. Please vote yes for this ordinance. Thank you.

Thank you, Teal. All right we will move on to Zoom any comments on Zoom Weston?

Yes mayor we have two raised hands for this item first we'll have Jerry Schwenk and then Nora Harold. Jerry you have the floor.

Good evening my name is Jerry Schwenke I live in the city of Ojai and I absolutely support this ordinance. I want to thank City Council and staff and everyone involved for They're hard working, they're good work and bringing this ordinance before us. And my initial problem with valet parking was not so much who was parking the cars but where they were going to be parked because what I have a problem with is off-site commercial parking Ojai residents who live adjacent to the Ojai Business District probably have a hard time getting to sleep some nights.

You know, wondering when some were going to wake up and somebody is going to be bulldozing the lot next to their house to put in a private park a commercial parking lot. To service their business with those nice big bright. A high-pressure halide lamps that buzz all night and a security fence. I am absolutely against anything that promotes, that brings commercial encroachment or commercial intrusion into Ojai's residential neighborhoods, you know? And I think that this one is a real win for residents of Ojai.

We're getting back to putting people above profits It's about time, you know. So thank you everybody who has brought this forward for us. Please I just, I'm not urging you on begging you please pass this ordinance. Thank you.

Thank You Jerry.

One more raised hand Nora Harold. Nora you have the floor? Nora, are you there?