City Council — 2024-02-27

Thank you very much.

There would be love within the community. The office room ought to be open on the weekend as a holiday. There is a woman who has health issues and she is willing to have a spare key to watch the coffee room over the weekend and the holidays. We would be able to have our own, you know, as people. This would be so helpful. It is necessary. I noticed that in one of the buildings here, there is a dining room and a kitchen.

We ought to use that room. There would be more space. It would help having the kitchen to make our meal. The food can't be put into the cabinets. Although I noticed, I just wanted to prove my name in the community. Outside there is a real problem with smoking close to the coffee room. It's really a lot of secondhand smoking so I was kind of concerned You need to do something, get rid of the secondhand smoking. It's too close to the coffee room door when it opens!

And I think it would be a good idea to move back past that beautiful patio and have lunch chairs for them to sit there so they can sit further away from the coffee room.

Microphone, please.

There's a button on the base that will turn on a light.

So, I think it would be a good idea that we do that. I hope that we can do this and the Council will compose that. But I pray that we can have women like Willie come about to spare a key so we can have the coffee room open on weekends and at the holidays It would be much better. It really helps. I think it's a good idea to have the coffee room open, so this is what I'm asking and I hope it will work out. Okay um I'm not finished there are more ideas that I want to help out But I would like, I'm happy for all of them to have some chairs and a lot more things to keep.

You know, like about deaf children and hearing children to learn sign. I will get into that later but today I just wanted to start out more at the under house and I think it's a good idea right here in the community to be more of a seed for this community which would help us to have proper relocated. I think it's a good idea Thank you, Barbie. Yes, yes, Barbie. Barbie.

Okay,

I just want to thank Barbie for your written comment. And I will ask the city clerk to be sure to forward it to Rick rain and to make it a public comment.

Thank you. Thank you, Barbie. Next we have Rachel Hunt and Ama Akibbo and I think it's Avery Lee.

Hi, I'm Rachel hunt. And I'm here to basically just support the suggestions that Barbie made recently like on the for laundry, a lot of the members Can't access the program that's laundry love, which is a wonderful program. But it's hard like she says because of disabilities. It's not accessible to them so I've been coming here and picking up campers and laundry and taking it. And laundry love has been working with me but it's, it's becoming like even more burdensome. One option would be providing transportation on those days and working with laundry love to have like maybe like a van or something that helps transport them back otherwise I agree with her that it seems like there'd be enough space to put something like that here.

And also with regarding to the coffee room, having that open on the weekends because like most currently with the last storm I mean no one had a way to heat up their food. To just kind of get out of the rain for a little bit and something more comfortable like she said she mentioned the woman with health issues. She has volunteered to help hold the key. I know her, I would trust that she would be responsible to do that. She's been a longtime member of Ojai community and her children live in the town, but unfortunately can't have her live there, but it would really be a huge benefit to her. And then lastly like she mentioned the cigarette butts so you know No offense to cigarette smokers, everybody makes those choices but it shouldn't be affecting other people's health and also too just the overall morale.

It kind of sets a bad tone. And so we know we have the campers that smoke I've encouraged them to go off property, but it's kind of hard to encourage them when we have staff members smoking right there continually. Right in front of the elderly people. And so we have staff members involved in this project that are doing that maybe they could be encouraged, everybody could be encouraged to go off site to go smoke cigarettes.

So I think that's all for today and anything I can help with to meet their needs you can reach out to me or whatever however though because I love to support them, I consider them my friends and family.

Thank you, Rachel. All right next we have Ama then Avery and then Carlos.

Hello, I am a 16-year old and I worry about not having enough water. I grew up in Nigeria with these same concerns and never thought that these would be the same fears I'll have here. Climate change does not discriminate it affects us all rich poor brown white straight gay old and young my name is Amo Okibo and i'm a junior at the Thatcher School and I'm a part of the Mayor's Youth Council I want to inform this audience about California's rising drought and water scarcity concerns. Ojai might lose its essential resources if nothing drastic is done. Currently, 4 billion people, almost two-thirds of the world's population are affected by water scarcity daily. In these water deprived areas there is an increase in the destruction of wildlife, increased poverty, higher likelihood of diseases, economic decline, and many other atrocities that come from water scarcity.

Ojai has already experienced water scarcity as its residents had to live with a mandatory water conservation plan. But recently, Ojai has been blessed with so much rainfall some may argue that we are drowning from all the rainfall. Lake Casitas is now 72% full and Ojai has never looked greener or blossomed this well. So my speech today raises a cautionary alarm. While many countries bear the costs and pains of water scarcity, its effects may be worse in Ojai for several reasons. California serves its direct districts from groundwater. However, years of unregulated pumping means California's groundwater is running out. Additionally, California is highly farmable and surrounded by invasive species with low rainfall rates the state could become a dried up desert Ojai should take these unusual water abundance seriously.

The city should practically promote environmental sustainability, ensure economic stability and build a resilient community. The Ojai Council should seek to manage demand by advocating for effective household water usage. Ojai schools should continue to create programs that teach the students about the risks of water scarcity and the importance of saving water. For instance, a county could have a Save Water Week during which it will share a lot of information about water usage effectively in homes. These are all temporary solutions to reduce the demand for water.

Ojai is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We cannot afford to lose this beauty to draw on the possibility of water scarcity. We can start today to do something about it. Thank you.

Thank you. And just a reminder to everyone well we cannot discuss these, we can agendize these items for future and we really appreciate your comments so thank you know that. Okay next we have Avery then Carlos, and then Suki saying.

Hello, I came here to talk about the homeless issue as well like Barbie. But as I heard from the two speakers before me, I'm not nearly as well informed about this issue as they are. And I just know that in our Youth Council meetings we've been discussing this issue and possible solutions and I just come here to say that I think it should be a topic of discussion for the future so thank you very much.

Thank you Avery Next we have Carlos, then Suki and then Julie.

Good evening, my name is Carlos Ochoa. I'm in 11th grade. I attended Thatcher School and am a member of the Ojai Mary Youth Council. The problem I am addressing today is the current need for a formal right to housing policy to be developed by the city of Ojai. Currently there are around 30 homeless individuals living outside of City Hall who require and need guaranteed proper access to housing and funding But this is only a small fraction of citizens without housing security. There are more living in poverty throughout the city of Ojai. Homelessness is a problem that is faced all over the world.

Homeless citizens cannot afford housing, nor can they even find opportunities for employment because whenever they apply to jobs, they need to have a required quote-unquote home address in their application. I have witnessed a lot of homelessness before, being an individual who has grown and raised in the city of Chicago which has hundreds to thousands of homeless.

My goal is to improve the state of Ojai and deliver recommendations that can combat this issue. As a result there are multiple actions that could be taken to decrease homelessness My proposal for you is to explore many options, including construction of a new residential building. Not only to blend into the traditional or popular architectural styles of Ojai but also to mainly supply homeless people with shelter and care.

If this project ever becomes unpopular we could always plan to sell or repurpose the building and donate those funds toward the unhoused Please take time to consider this proposal. I also advocate for installing more tents, which whenever needed for the unhoused individuals who desperately need housing and warmth. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ranks poverty at the top of their list. Assisting our own local unhoused population will get Ojai one step closer to achieving this objective. Thank you.

Thank you, Carlos. And we appreciate your applause if you could hold those though and just You have appreciation. Thank you. Suki, and then I think it's Jolie. Did I say that wrong? I'm sorry. And then Leanna.

Good evening, I am a boarding student at Besant Hill School and a member of the Mayor's Youth Council. I wanted to share my opinions and views on an issue here present in Ojai. I will be touching on the topic of glue traps today and my own opinions on why the council should consider banning the distribution and use of glue traps

I'm really sorry. That's an agenda that's on the agenda later this evening, and this is general public comment no no no worries. Do you want to make a general public comment or do you want to save it for later I know you have to get back per exam.

Um, I don't have any comments.

Okay sorry. Can

we make an

exception? No no i'm sorry uh okay but we'll talk about that next meeting and we'll fill

you in. And mayor she

of

course could, sorry to interrupt, she could submit some written comments which the council could read.

Yeah Suki you can always send us a letter so if you want to take your comment and send it in then we can all read it that would be really we would appreciate that thank you so much for being here um okay uh surely so I can't What's your, did I read it wrong? Okay. Thank you.

Hello my name is Juliana Dupree and I'm from Berlin Germany. I'm a sophomore at Doesn Hill School and I'm part of Mayor's Youth Council. Thank you for inviting us to speak on an issue of utmost importance the unaddressed threat of water scarcity in our beloved city Ojai. We are facing a future where water, our most precious resource could become a rare commodity. It's a future that seems unimaginable yet is a real possibility if we do not act now.

California is no stranger to a drought yet it is returning the feature of our climate Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco Bay Area already have a shortage in water so we can't afford for Ojai to be next. Ojai is a place in which people live in nature and on indigenous land all of the native plants and animals need to be in a good climate to live and succeed If our community goes through with water scarcity, it will threaten our ecosystem.

We must start taking steps towards sustainable water use. We can do this by implementing water conservation measures, investing in rainwater harvesting, green soil planting and promoting education about water scarcity. More specific So measures that we can take are installing gray water recycling systems in city buildings to reduce water extractions from Lake Tresidas.

On average, a greywater system can save about 2,600 gallons of water per year. This would be a step in the right direction and could inspire homeowners to do the same. Additionally, if not done so already, drip immigration systems can be installed on public lands. This would prevent much water loss by reducing evaporation and runoff. The installation of these systems is also very easy in making this realistic plan.

Every drop of water we save today is an investment in our future. Let's work together to ensure that the future generations of Ojai residents will have access to clean, safe and abundant water. Thank you for listening.

Thank you, Jolie. Next, we have Leanna McNally and then Alula Alderson and then Leon.

Hi, my name's Leanna McNeely and I live in the house adjacent to the city hall parking lot. First of all, I need to go off topic and just say these kids are amazing. I'm so impressed with them. I have a few comments regarding the encampment behind City Hall. In early December census and survey was taken of those in the encampment to determine the numbers and the most critical needs of the population. At that time there were 26 people camped behind City Hall And the campus was theoretically close to new campers with a sign posted to that effect. Shortly after the closure, several more homeless relocated to the City Hall encampment bringing the number to 32.

Early this month, the city erected eight wilderness tents with plans for four more as a temporary measure to shield the most vulnerable of the homeless. As soon as these tents were occupied, at least two more men previously residing in Rotary Park have joined the encampment over the weekend new campers surfaced at Clough Park. In January, the city applied for a grant to put 18 to 20 permanent tiny homes on the Kent Hall lot. The 10 to 20 people included in the census but not moved into the tiny homes will be housed at motels until they are able to make the move to more permanent housing. The grant proposes eight more people will require services before the end of the grant period. That number as of this week is already close to being met two years before the end of the grant period.

That plan has several other identifiable issues. It will cost the city by a conservative estimate over $27,000 a month for motels for the first 10 people served. It will cost the city an additional $22,000 per month conservatively for shelter for the already eight accounted for in the grant that is almost $50,000 dollars a month. The grant application states the city is working with the county for permanent placement.

I don't know that there is permanent placement in the City of Ojai, and the city hasn't shared where that magical placement will be. There are nights when there are people sleeping in cars, four or more cars on many nights. There's always at least one in the lot next to my home 10 feet from my house. Lower Libby lot has a handful of campers every single night. It's obvious that the need is much greater than the proposed solution. Chasing grant money is a recipe for creating a patchwork of inadequate solutions that will ultimately cost the city more in maintenance and be less effective And because the current plan does not address even today's needs, it will result in a growing encampment behind City Hall for the foreseeable future. I challenge the city to have a greater vision.

Adopt a more realistic plan for housing this vulnerable population, one that would shelter those currently in need of housing, one that could grow to meet the inevitable growing demand

Thank you, Leanna. We've got to keep moving I'm sorry next we have a Lula and then Leon and then David Chapman.

Hello, my name is Alula Alderson and I'm a senior at Ojai Valley School. For the past few months, I have had the opportunity of being part of the Mayor's Youth Council. It has allowed me to learn about local government and the various ways I can contribute to effecting change in my community. Today I would like to talk to you about e-bike safety in the Ojai Valley. Several months ago, my best friend was riding her e-bike when she was hit by a car and broke her leg. Since the accident she has undergone three surgeries and is yet to fully recover. I have seen her endure intense physical pain but equally as agonizing emotional pain as dance is one of her greatest passions.

Countless teenagers in Ojai ride e-bikes to get around. It's easy, efficient and eco-friendly however when used unsafely I've seen firsthand the harm that can result. You don't need a license registration or insurance to ride an e-bike however there are certain rules to abide by. In California the operator of a class 3 bicycle which reaches 28 miles per hour must be at least 16 years old must wear a helmet and must not transport passengers I frequently see e-bike riders in Ojai disregarding these laws, and it concerns me greatly. I urge the City Council to consider ways e-bike safety might be improved in our valley.

The local police department could take a more active approach toward enforcing the aforementioned state laws. Alongside this, a fine could be introduced and signs posted throughout downtown Ojai. Another idea would be to host e-bike safety educational workshops. On behalf of Ojai's youth, I urge the council to address the pressing issue that is e-bike safety. Thank you for your time.

Thank you Alula. Next we have Leon then David Chapman and then Carol Wade.

Good evening City Council my name is Leon Naran. I didn't write anything down because I'm going to speak from the heart. I'm going to speak for the low income people, the real locals here at Ojai I was going to speak about the new bike path that's being built in Oak View. I know you guys probably don't have much control of that or maybe you do, I don't know but the local people, the people that live here and they're living paycheck-to-paycheck, people that can't find jobs here in Ojai because there are so little job opportunities here have to travel down to Ventura and spend gas money to go to work.

These people Work and keep working and living paycheck to paycheck. And having to go to bonds, having to go to other places just so they can shop when they can be perfectly fine shopping here. But you're supporting the Ojai Valley and tourists in the LA people that come here to have a fun weekend. So they could get drunk at and the old high pub. You are putting the interests of tourists 1st over the local people.

And I'll move on from that when these kids talk about the homelessness and. All that, I can bet you money that none of these kids actually talked to any of those people over there individually in a human to human level. Well, I have I have sat and drink and smoke with these people over at the arcade back before he banned them. And I just saw how they're living here.

Why are you giving these people houses and taxpayer money? These people put themselves in that situation. They, you are encouraging and enabling these individuals And to just keep doing drugs and all that, and drinking. I know one person here, two people here specifically that are alcoholics and they drink all the time and I've drank with them. And I have actually helped these people. I have invited one of them to my home, an individual who died last year named Jeff Gore who lived here in Ojai.

Who used to have a house here in Ojai, but then became homeless. He I invited over to my house and let him shower. I gave him food. I gave him shelter and I helped him. You don't save the world by helping a whole group of people and stupid shit or stupid ass up my back. You help the world by helping 1 man at a time and showing that man kindness or woman who And showing them kindness so then they know that there's not some, so much evil and disingenuousness in the world.

Show them that there is kindness in the world and they will hopefully show kindness back. This is disgusting. Your non-existent leadership. The men here not being men. Thank you.

Thank you Leon. Next we have David Chapman, then Carol Wade, and then Bill Hecht.

David Chapman, tonight I want to talk to you some more about the homeless encampment here at City Hall. The lower areas of the encampment based on our observations are still a mess with bags of trash everywhere even though trash bins have been provided by the city. We have observed that the new wilderness tents have belongings stacked outside the tents even though the storage huts have been provided by the city As the previous speaker Leanna had noted, we see that the camp is expanding. We know two new occupants have arrived and possibly a third, the naked guy from the Clough Vista Park that was reported on next door.

Looking at the park this morning, that person has moved on and is likely to move down to the camp. These additions indicate that the city is not going to or has a capability to manage the number of occupants as even more move in. On the sanitation side, one of my neighbours found a dead rat outside their house the other day. The rat issue is still an issue for local residents in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

It is clear from those of us who have seen homeless encampments insidiously grow over time that developing a strategic approach needs to be developed by the city The homeless issue, as you all know is complex. Our city administration I think it's out of their depth on this issue due to the complexity and the fact that it is new to Ojai. And I fear that will, that the city will end up making a series of bad decisions repeating the errors that other well-intended cities have made. Thank you.

Thank you David. Next we have Carol Wade and then Bill Hacks.

Hello. Thank you very much for being here. I have a great deal of appreciation for all of you, it feels as though i've spent a lot of time here lately and I have watched you as you listen and contemplate and work through many different issues sometimes well sometimes not as well but you work hard as you try to do that and I really want to acknowledge that and appreciate that so I am coming specifically today to say thank you for this journey that we've been on concerning the ceasefire now resolution.

Over a period of, I think four months we worked on this or people came forward to talk about this from both sides and I want to acknowledge that it was not an easy time for any of us It was a journey, and with any journey we go up and down and up and down. It felt like there was a great deal of that from week to week and month to month but I want to say that it was also very inspiring to watch as very desperate opinions came and the that you listened Even though there was no way to find a middle ground necessarily, you listened and you listened well as more and more people came forth. And I know that that was not an easy thing to do. I appreciate that and I'm glad that it made me once again believe in democracy.

I mean, obviously I vote or maybe not so obviously but there are things that I've been doing for a long time as a citizen of the United States and certainly a citizen of Ojai. Sometimes it feels as though it's worthless to do those things but when we work on a grassroots level if not there where you know like it felt especially important to talk about an issue that is actually something that the whole world is facing because we're all impacted by the conflict and the horror that's happening in Palestine. And I think that over this course of time, the fact that we could bring it to home, bring the realization that this does impact us Was really meaningful for me, so I felt compelled to come this night to acknowledge you and to say thank you.

You have kind of a Solomon job and I'm not, I don't think that I could do it but I do so appreciate that you do thanks.

Thank you Carol next we have Bill Hack

Hi, 40 years plus my wife and I started a practice in our with our young family. Something that we call thankfuls and we were still doing it today and a thankful is where we would often do it at dinnertime during dinner or the end of dinner And we'd ask everyone at the table to go around and share something that they were thankful for. And one of the beauties of this, you could be having a terrible day and life just sucks but when you stop and just think for a moment well what's something that... let me see if I can pull something out of my hat that i'm really thankful for And we would do it, we'd always find something and the sucky day would suddenly get better. It wasn't as bad.

So this is something I want to kind of suggest the City Council consider putting a ceremony like this into your practice It's a great way to bring people together and you share, sometimes you're sharing your challenges and then how you have found solutions. But it can be very simple things like we had one of our kids one time she just didn't feel like doing it that night and she said I'm thankful for the color red And, you know, it was as simple as that. So I'm here tonight like Carol to express my gratitude with the process that happened with the city council around the ceasefire.

The ceasefire group basically got what we wanted, and I'm very grateful for that. But I'm grateful for the process that something like this is very contentious and it's not easy to come to some kind of resolution. And I think that in a matter of four months, that's what happened. We came to kind of a consensus and a resolution. And I was also very impressed that the decision that was made last night did not feel like it was a political decision. It felt like it came from a place of conscience, that after the preponderance of the information I feel like the three of you that voted for it, you came to a point where I can accept this, right? I can vote for this in clear conscience and I'm very thankful that process took place Kind of what I'm expressing is back in the 70s during the peace movement, we had a saying called there is no way to peace.

Peace is the way and that's what I think happened here. Thank you very much for all you do.

Thank you Bill and we have one more Robert Lofman

Good evening, my name is Robert Loffman. I was born and raised here, all right? And I know this is a lot of everything that's going on is because of me. Let me tell you this, because I'm a smart man, I just put a paper there and I'm gonna put you on notice, okay? Because Senate Bill 1380 for the California says housing is a fundamental right for all of us Okay.

United States Code, Section 18 Title 18, Section 241 is a deprivation of rights under the color of law. Title 18, United States Code, Title 18 Section 242 is a conspiracy to deprive us of those rights. I'm telling you When I try to be mean, follow the law. We're human. We have the same rights as you do when you go to sleep at night and in your warm bed, you get to go to the bathroom, we have running water and electricity. We deserve those same rights.

It's in the law. Look it up. Thank you.

Thank you, Robert. Mr. Mr city clerk. Are there any comments online.

Yes Mayor we do have one raised hand on zoom. Brian Martinez Valdez Brian you have the opportunity to unmute and speak

Hi, I hope you all can hear me. Dear Council, my name is Marty Valdez and I'm a senior at the Thatcher School. I'm currently taking the Building Sustainables Community class along with Carlos and Avery and we believe this council should focus on the right to housing. Throughout humanity having a shelter has been a main priority for humans because it affects every aspect of our life. It affects our physical mental and emotional well-being As of currently, 2023 from what I've researched there are around 45 unhoused people in Ojai. That's almost as much people that are in this room or what I think are in this room right now.

Now, I want us to imagine those 45 people here today. What would we tell them? And how would we say we're helping them? What plans are in place? Now I can imagine we're feeling some sort of way whether somber from this information or empathetic or energetic and getting this work started I myself live in Los Angeles with a gigantic unhoused population and walk by many unhoused people every day.

Here in Ojai, we have the potential chance to be one of the first cities to eradicate this problem. And I propose that we do some research first whether it be from the government or ourselves as a class and which ways we could help. My class has already done a little of this and we hope to put this theory into practice From there we can start making moves to combat this problem. There are many solutions, too many in fact such as housing first rent caps and tiny homes just to name a few however as of now there have been none to very little widespread action the government has taken to address this epidemic right now is the time for that and we as a youth movement have so much power in helping our friends who are unused who are unhoused at this moment We have many solutions, but I think the first step would be doing something the government does and doesn't really do anymore.

And this means going to everyday people, to the masses, to the homeless population and talking to them and organizing with them. We cannot just be dealing with this problem without knowing their stories, hearing their opinions or input on what affects them directly. Once we do this, we can accurately find out how to fix this dire situation I think from here, another solution is going off of what Carlo said is setting up a governmental building with the right to housing and having an experiment with this project and having people live in it. I think we can show Ojai what we can do for the betterment of our community and be an example for the rest of California. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Marty. That's it? That's it Mayor. Okay thank you very much that concludes public comment we will move on to the consent calendar is there a motion to approve

I'll move to

approve it. Is this where I pull an item yeah thank you

so I would like to pull sorry

can we just give the kids a hand

yes thank you

thank you thank you so much for coming wonderful

I think it's item I, Council Member.

Yes, I think you are correct. I would like to pull Item I. Item I? Okay. Thank you. Anything else?

Is there a motion to approve everything other than I?

I'll do it. Everything but I. Second? I'll

second.