Planning Commission Regular Meeting

It's six o'clock and I'm calling to order the meeting of the Planning Commission on Wednesday, February 18th. Sherry could you take the roll please? Chair Murphy? Here. Vice-Chair Chesley?

Here

We have an agenda. Lucas, are there any changes?

I do have one requested change that the commission would need to vote on which is the removal of item number six. It's the Brown Act training and then basically removing the agenda item and rescheduling it for the next available meeting.

Any discussion on that? Hearing none, Sherry would you take a... I guess we need a motion to approve.

I move that we eliminate it and postpone it to another time.

Second that.

Thank you. Sherry would you take the roll? Stewart? Aye. Raichman? Aye. Chesley?

Yes.

Murphy? Yes Our commission was short two members until this past week. I am happy to welcome one new member to the commission this evening and introduce to you Brad Stewart, and I've asked him to tell us a little bit about himself.

Thank you. I'm happy to be on board and anxious to work with all of you guys, so thank you It's an honor to serve the city. I appreciate it I'm Brad. I have five kids four of them are older and Live in Portland Oregon they're all off doing their thing post college And then I have a 15 year old here in Ojai that goes to Oak Grove And we're engaged in a couple of businesses here in town and prior to living here We've been here about 13 years 12 years Prior to living here, my wife and I lived between Geneva, Switzerland and Portland, Oregon. And we worked in the sporting goods business.

So happy to be part of the group.

Thank you, Brad. Welcome to the commission. At this time, we set aside a few minutes for public communications. This is the time for the public to address the commission on any items of business other than the scheduled agenda items. The items you raise at this time can be discussed by the Commission, will generally be referred to staff and or placed on a subsequent agenda.

We can take no action on items of that sort tonight. Do we have Blue cards for public communications. I see none. Sherry, is there anyone online? No. OK well we will move right along to this consent calendar then. The minutes of the regular meeting of the Planning Commission of January 21, 2026 Are there any changes to the minutes? Hearing no changes, I would accept a motion to approve the minutes.

I move we approve minutes of the regular meeting of January 21st.

Second

thank you Sherry roll call. Steward I brush mint. Hi Chesley

Yes, Murphy.

Yes Disclosure of site visits and ex parte contacts at this time we have several items on our agenda this evening Should we disclose these as separate items or can we do the whole thing in one fell swoop? The whole thing in one fell swoop.

Okay.

Katrina, would

you? I had no ex parte contacts but I did go to all three sites. Well, I went to the item two site, item three site, item four site and item five site. Wait, zone change?

Yes,

yes

Jonathan

no ex parte contacts and I've walked by the sites.

Yeah, I Had no ex parte Contacts but I did visit items 2 3 & 4

And The same is true of me. I have no ex parte contacts and I have visited all of the sites Moving on to the public hearing for item number two, which is an amendment to design review permit. And I would ask at this time the staff to give their presentation on this item. Oh, wait a sec.

I need to recuse myself on this item. I'm the tenant of this item.

Item 2? We have one commissioner who has an interest in that site and will therefore be recusing himself at this time

Thank you chair and commissioners, this is a proposed amendment to a previously approved design review permit related to a transom element above an entrance and To an existing building the project is located at 102 North signal and as you can see it here on this location map And here we have the originally or previously existing prior to any review and approval by the Planning Commission.

And the item tonight that's, that we're gonna be talking about is towards the left of your screen not the furthest left but the one to the right of that. And I'm gonna show you here this is what you approved previously. And I'm going to go to the next screen, which is what's approved now and then I'm going to describe what is happening here. So this is what you're reviewing this evening. And and what you are reviewing is outlined in red on the screen.

So, again, it was a design review permit related to the transom element or what we're looking at tonight. The transom element above the entrance of 102 North Signal. The building is a contributor to the California Register of Historical Resources. California Register listed downtown Ojai Historic District On the on January 8th, the Historic Preservation Commission reviewed and considered this amendment and Unanimous unanimously approved there the amendment to their previously approved major work permit with WP P 25008 Again you previously approved The previous screen on October 1st, 2025 and the previously approved area just for what's in this circle here included a replacement of an existing storefront with a wood frame system proposed to be flush with the exterior wall with an open the door opening inward.

And a new transom was approved to be installed above the storefront replacing an existing stucco panel Additionally, the stucco and rocks would be repaired and finished above the new transom. The amendment includes repairing the existing stucco above the new storefront system and there is a transom there but it's not where the transom was going to be and we do have the applicant here to go into further description if necessary well he should be online The reason for the request was because the contractor discovered that during the process of removing the existing concrete to install rocks above the previously approved chansom that Doing this work may be detrimental to the integrity of the structural framing because they were having to cut in to the existing concrete four to six inches and to install that rock And so instead of doing that, they want to continue the reservation and restoration efforts and seeking to restore and introduce some of the original materials and style.

As you can see here There would be stucco above the transom as opposed to, I'm going back to the previously approved one. As opposed to rocks above the Trancas and the rocks were to match the existing rocks that are on that side of the building. I think it sounds a little bit more confusing than it is. So the current request also includes a new exterior wall sconce above this tenant door and the one to the left on your screen, that's an existing tenant space that's not otherwise being altered.

And these light fixtures are handworked iron in a classical Industrial style and they meet the night sky standards of the municipal code So the applicants intention as I already said is to restore the existing entry And this amendment continues the intention and is specifically respecting the integrity of the current entrance by pulling back and not cutting into the existing support beam Staff is recommending approval of the project as amended and I do believe that we have mr. Becker online if you have questions Further questions for him. Thank you

Thank You So basically, we are looking at a situation where you're replacing rock with stucco And adding lights

Adding lights and Not removing the existing an existing beam to put rock instead. Stuck going, stuck

going. Yeah. OK, thank you.

And if you'd like, I can also go back to I can go back to what it looked like before anything was was removed or remodeled or renovated and then again what was approved? And then now with what the amendment is, if you want me to go back and forth just to see

Has the Historical Commission weighed in on this?

Yes, so they saw this amendment and unanimously approved this amendment. And also they saw it before and approved their work permit. So they approved an amendment to the work permit.

Do you have any questions Katrina?

I just have one of staff. Is all the work is completed correct?

I haven't been there this week, but they have been working.

Okay because I went out there and it looks great. I just didn't know if there was anything else they were doing So I'm assuming the work is completed.

Okay again, I haven't been out there to check so

okay Thanks

Brad. Yeah, did the historical committee review the lighting on this? Yes they did. And what was the opinion? This is something I would equate with kind of a 1950s industrial style rather than Spanish revival.

The

thinking on their part

they approved the lighting and as part of their work permit Their concern at the time honestly was the way it was installed, but it has been reinstalled To be more appropriate more appropriately installed. It looked a little It wasn't Very sound at first so but now now I understand that it is they were happy with the lighting

Even though it's kind of far outside what you would typically and historically see on that building?

What I can say is that they approved the lighting, as it is.

Do we have any questions for the contractor online? Well,

my question is if the work is just completely done. I appreciate when there's infield findings and you have to adjust your proposal. And I believe that's what happened here. And they just completed what they wanted to complete with it. But I just want to make

sure. So, Sherry, do we have Mr. Becker online? Yeah, I just allowed him to talk.

Can you take your screen down

Hi, this is Jason. Can you hear me okay? I'm the architect for the project.

Hi yes we can hear you.

Jeff and I couldn't make it tonight unfortunately. I think he's having some difficulties raising his hand but essentially yes we didn't do any demolition prior to getting the permit so once we got the previous version of this project approved we started the work And we discovered that that concrete section above the transom was structural. You know, we couldn't remove that and we didn't want to adhere like a veneer of rocks to it. It wouldn't look appropriate with the other rocks that are full depth and full size. So that's why we tried to make the adjustments but instead of keeping the concrete section exposed, you wanna cover it with stucco to match some of the other areas in the building. There was a field condition that we had to address And as far as the work being done, I have not been there recently so I can't speak to it unfortunately.

So I know that building permits have been issued and our previous planning approvals have been issued but I haven't been there within the last couple weeks.

What the project that's out there right now, the work that's been done. Is it complete to your satisfaction? I mean or is there more to do?

Again, I have not been there over the last couple of weeks so I'm not I'm not certain that state exactly the exterior.

I think I'm unmuted now. Sherry can you hear me? Great sorry guys, this is Jeff Becker. Good evening. Sorry I'm not in town today had to fly to the East Coast and just got in but Katrina to your question yes it's completed at present what happened was as we ran into this gray beam which is massive and we had our rock vendor come out with a With his gear and he wanted to start chiseling into the gray beam, which.

Was going to be a real problem in my mind? And so we in the field decided that we need to alert planning staff and not install the rock over the great beam. We did install a few little inserts because Existed previously was at sort of an odd angle and we've tried to level it above the gray beam. And then we plastered that, that being to cover it so yes, to the extent it's pretty well finished there still some touch up painting things we would be doing but wanted to get this in front of you guys.

The modifications also in front of the HPC who is reviewing it as well.

Thank you, Jeff.

No problem.

It sounds like we had a situation where We had to course correct in the middle of a project and it looks like that has been done very efficiently If there are no further questions, I would entertain a motion at this time to approve the design review permit 25-005. I'm sorry. Excuse me. We have to open this up

for public

That there is no public card, so I think it's anyone here wanting to address this Anyone online Sherry No Okay, we will close the public hearing and move on to a Motion to accept

I make a motion to adopt a resolution approving an amendment to the previously approved design review permit DRP 2505.

I'd like to second that motion but may I make an amendment to the motion that they at least offer to the community, that they will take a look at the lighting. I think you know God is in the details as they say and it's truly a different period of lighting and I think just to keep the visual integrity especially on the street there are other people have done more wrought iron or period type pieces And so I would ask that we amend that motion to at least look at it not require them to change it but Pay the community a courtesy to try to be as period as they can

Okay,

I second that motion then

Okay, Sherry could we have her roll call steward? Aye, right Schmidt.

Hi Murphy.

Hi

Okay, thank you

Moving on to. OK,

Yes, thank you chair and commissioners Forgive me if I repeat some of what you just said this is a project This is request for design review permit and minor conditional use permit for a change of use from single-use business administrative offices to include retail and restaurant Restaurant uses as well as outdoor dining and the project is located at 302 El Paseo Road The The project site is located in a commercial zone in an eclectic neighborhood with a mix of residential and commercial uses, as you'll see on your screen. This corner site is bordered to the north by residential uses, the west by a residence, and then a restaurant adjacent to that residence. Across Kenyatta Street to the east and across El Paseo to the south are additional commercial uses.

The proposal is to introduce the or excuse me, to reduce the floor area. To reduce the floor area of the administrative offices by limiting the use to 1270 square feet, which is the second floor you'll see here on your screen. The first floor is then proposed to be remodeled to include a 1300 square foot retail space and a 1,591 square foot cafe with outdoor dining. This arrangement establishes a mixture of uses where alternative shared use parking standards may be applied pursuant to Section 10-2-1406 of the Ojai Municipal Code. The existing parking lot includes 20 spaces However, it currently doesn't meet the drive aisle width that's required with the development standards of the missile code and is therefore proposed to be modified. And the parking lot will ultimately accommodate 18 spaces where 16 are required.

pursuant to 10 to 203 of the code a change of use as well as exterior alterations make this project subject to Planning Commission review and consideration of the design review permit and pursuant to ten to 2403 Requires the director approval of a minor conditional use permit for the outdoor dining facilities on the private property however, the directors referring this consideration is to the Planning Commission because combining the permits really just is Simplifies the process and makes it more efficient for staff for the applicant and for the community The modifications to the structure are relatively minor I'll show you that screen This screen shows you the existing and when I show you the proposed on the next screen, you're not going to see a whole lot different in these at this distance and at this detail.

But I will tell you that no modifications are proposed on the north elevation And the south elevation includes the removal of a wall adjacent to the east of the entry and replaced with a glass-paned curtain wall that will extend down to grade, and that's going to allow light into the restaurant. The east elevation includes removal of a wall section towards the south end of the building for installation of two door assemblies. The door assembly furthest to the south is for access to the restaurant's outdoor dining from inside the restaurant The door assembly adjacent to the north is for access to the proposed retail Establishment. The main access to the restaurant and to the outdoor dining is on the south side of the building Through an existing entrance the West elevation includes two nor two new entry doors And these are four employees of one up for the restaurant and one for the retail establishment Section 10 to 1406 is a section that is regarding reduction of the parking requirements and this provides the opportunity for shared parking based on the assumption that patrons would be using a single parking space for more than one destination and that a single parking space would be available potentially for short-term parking To serve for a variety of different uses in the proposed scenario.

There are administrative offices with daytime and Daytime weekday hours and a full-service restaurant including evening hours with the highest patronage Most likely on the weekends and the retail establishment requiring short term parking most if not all days of the week and during the daytime business hours Projects developed under the shared use parking standards in the code are required to enter into an agreement with the city, which is recorded at the county recorder's office.

The agreement requires that the parking be operated on a non-exclusive basis and be available to the general public for shared use at all times. The applicant has provided a preliminary landscape plan And the plan includes maintaining the existing main, excuse me mature trees shrubs and there's some additional landscaping materials that are proposed adjacent to the ingress on Kenyatta as well as along the West property line Replacement of concrete is proposed for the outdoor dining area On either end on either side of the main entrance facing that same corner The proposed outdoor dining is all on Proposed on private property. There are two two tops proposed on the east side of the building straddling a new Entry to To and from this patio area and due to the angled lines of the structure I wrote about it in the staff report This seating is kind of tucked away for a semi private dining experience And there are five additional two tops proposed at the main entrance on either side of the main entrance, on the southwest side of the structure straddling that main entrance.

So there are a total of 14 seats outside and all of those seats are proposed on concrete. The applicant is here to answer any questions or clarify their proposal further than I have and staff is recommending that the commission approve the project as proposed subject to the conditions of approval that are included in your resolution draft resolution

Thank you, Maura. Would the applicant like to address the commission at this time or would you rather wait for questions?

Hello, my name is Kevin Kohan. I'm representing the property owner who's also my father, Bijan Kohan We've been in the community for over 30 years now Excited to bring this project here to answer any questions want to thank Maura and staff for their help throughout this process And we're here available to answer any questions from the board. Thank you.

Thank you At this time, we'll open it up to the public for comments. I have a card first from Larry Steingold. Good evening.

Nice, warm and cozy in here. Larry Steingold, Citizen Ojai. I think it's great use. Mixed-use office, retail, restaurant? What could be better? Enough parking? My question—and it obviously goes to parking—is that if they have full occupancy during the week, if they're open during the day or at lunch or if they ever decide to do that And the office is there and they're successful, which we all hope they are. I hope their food's great.

Love to go to a new place. Will there be enough parking for customers? Employees of the office people who are going to retail in it'll be in the neighborhood because they're gonna park on the streets on Canada and El Paso. I mean, just consider the ramifications and the predictable consequences of more parking. People already parking on Canada and El Paso is a little bit dangerous, a little bit coming through.

But again it's a good use. I hope you support it. I just think we should be aware and cognizant of that and possibly Maybe another city parking lot somewhere, something. Because if they're busy over there it's going to get worse further down because you want them to be successful and I hope it gets passed.

Thank You Larry. I have a card here from Kevin Cohen are you expecting or needing an additional? No okay thank you Okay, at this time I'll close the public comment period and turn it over to the Commission for questions and discussion. How about you, Jonathan? Would you like to start us off?

Sure. I guess I was just trying to... I mean, yeah. I think the project's mostly about parking, right? Largely. I guess more like broadly stepping back, I was trying to understand sort of some of the math between the alternative shared use parking standards and the typical parking requirement standards. I don't know, can you guys like maybe just give a quick rundown on your thoughts on those? Because it's just interesting math to me. It feels like...

I get that each one would have to be less but it seems like significantly less even though when you add them together it's still less than one of those on their own for that location for example.

Are you asking us to are are you asking staff? So well Without the shared parking standards. Yes, the parking current would be significantly more I Want to say approximately 25 parking spaces and However, because of the shared uses and the different hours of operation, the code provides an opportunity for there to be a lesser, less restrictive parking. That makes sense.

I think the director would like to add something

In addition to that, so think about this. You're in the downtown district. You park in the downtown area and you come and walk over here. You don't actually park at this location. If we were looking at it from a standalone use sitting on an island then absolutely I don't know how you get through a shared parking agreement that goes to the county gets recorded significantly reducing the number of parking spaces and then also opening up the opportunity for this to be a public parking space as well So what it's doing is by the significant reduction, it's recognizing that there's other uses that are within walking distance. Certainly across the street and certainly to the east and to the west.

To the north as well. So really all directions within this area have an opportunity for it to be walkable, right? So you could be parking within a walking distance or you could park here and not necessarily use that space to go into this restaurant but actually go somewhere else. Or you can go in the restaurant and then go somewhere else. So it's providing a lot of flexibility from that standpoint but with that flexibility comes a pretty harsh restriction in terms of how that use can be afforded into the future so I think, I just wanted to give some context from a planning standpoint. Just from a use standpoint from that context so.

Also wanted to point out in the traffic study that was prepared for the project They do a parking analysis and it says that the ordinance parking requirements is 16 9 for the restaurant 4 for retail 3 for office for a total required Number of 16, and they're providing 18. Yeah, so they're beyond what's required So I just wanted to point that out Also, anecdotally I live on the west side and I walk to the restaurant across the street. So I think this would be a good addition to the neighborhood. And I would walk, I would not drive.

A couple of questions for the owner. The first one is, I live very near this location too and on the Ojai Ave walkway there where we have the light flashing and everything you're good. Crossing over to this cafe you take your life into your hands because people are trying to either turn in too fast coming off of the hill glancing at the liquor store as they Turn left have you guys kind of thought about Plants visibility traffic making sure that you know, however your you know I can look at your plants here But it's a little tricky to see it in real time. Have you thought about keeping those sides visible there because there is kind of a three-point Connector there with people coming off the hill pretty fast usually

Thank you for that comment. Definitely we're aware of that, there's actually been discussion in the community about bull belts for that area and future improvements to the roadway so keeping that line-of-sight available for pedestrians and traffic as Maura has stated a lot of the dining is on the private property side not in the public right away so it is confined to that area so we're maintaining that sign line of sight We hope the city in the future will do some street improvements there with the bulb house, kind of doing some traffic calming devices there to help with that pedestrian oriented walking and feeling. But we felt this kind of goes with the intent of the city and the general plan of trying to create a pedestrian walkable community in this area with activating the intersection so we're hoping with this development we can kind of create a node there in the community

Are there bike racks on-site?

Currently, there's none shown on this site plan but we do plan to provide bike racks. There's ADA accessible parking available as well and a new trash enclosure which was not previously provided on the property. There will be significant site improvements made that will help bring the property up to meeting today's code standards

And the entry to the parking is from Kenyatta, right? Correct.

So there are the entrance if you bring up the site plan it is from a lot. Yeah. Canada and then does an exit only on Alpaca on El Paseo. And the intent is to keep that circulation kind of moving through the rear parking lot. That used to be a former bank building. It used to be a drive-through there, so that use unfortunately is not viable anymore. So we're looking at an adaptive reuse opportunity to how do we invigorate the property and look at new opportunities? This was something that we came up with Can provide a smaller space for tenants that can rent and don't need a large space on the ground floor any longer.

And kind of subdivide the space into different uses with different off-peak and on-peak hours, so that parking can work in the hours of operation to work together. Thank you.

There are a number of new doors being provided, as well as the glazing enlargement. I was wondering if there was any more detail on that that could be provided? It's just kind of here in like the elevation drawing but there isn't really much about... Oh, there's like a proposed door frame and assembly. I know there's paint colors but those are really about the walls

and

the

shingles

and the fascia.

If

you don't mind, there's a floor plan showing the cafe or the restaurant there that maybe it may help. There is no window or door schedule produced at this time. That will be produced during the building permit plan check process but we wanted to really open up this space and kind of create that retail open space feel so this image here actually kind of shows it nicely This area here would be opened up. The stucco that was reached previously there did not provide that light and air to pass through so there's a new window proposed there, there's a new door entry On the side there, that would be a new door entry for the patio as well.

So looking to kind of open up that space to the patio and make it more inviting to the restaurant or cafe and to the patio.

Yeah, that all makes sense to me. I mean, I think we're tasked to just kind of ensure that the visual nature of those elements work with the existing architecture in this site so I just gotta think a little more information on that. The locations, the reasoning makes sense to me. Yeah.

The door type would be similar to what is existing there which is a black frame door that is currently visible on the main entry. It would be as similar in size and look on the side side entry With the kind of like, the several kind of like. With a window paneling around it so similar what you see there on the front entry would be a similar on this side stucco.

You'll see a similar type of look and feel but we wanted to keep the same context of the building throughout

May I make a recommendation? So that is absolutely part of the design review. So it gets approved here before it goes to building permit, so as a design component of the project. So we probably really should have seen the door schedules but I'd be willing to propose that we approve the project but you come back and get approval if it's okay with you since you're our architect that we bring you The details on the door and window schedules, and if you're okay with it. I would be okay with it Because I trust you as the architect but so that's I'm just throwing it out there though. That could be an option

Yeah, I appreciate that If that's something the board wants to make a recommendation as a condition we're happy to Oblige by that and I'm happy to sit down with you and share some ideas with planning staff as well

Lucas you look like you have something to say

Okay, so a couple of things on that piece I'm loving the direction that you're going with that The only concern that I would have with it is I think we can craft a condition that spells out what you're talking about and Giving authorization to one commissioner To approve something moving forward sounds like we're taking a public hearing item and moving it to the front counter essentially instead what I would offer is final approval through The Community Development Department or even the community development director with guidance by By one of the commissioners, and I think you could assign that to to mr. Chesley I think that would be okay.

to Ojai Avenue and the conversation that was starting to come up there. I just want to make the commission, and I'm not sure that the applicants are aware of this but we have a phase two going that's currently being considered for ATP so that is Ojai Avenue all the way across all the way to the edge of the community to the city. So that piece, the bull bouts those different types of things are certainly being considered not by the city.

An applicant to what's going on with with that, but it's Caltrans mainly that Maintains that road and then we've got to get authorization to do any work there as well as utilities as well So I just wanted to point that out. I know that that there's always conversation around The pieces that happen and the interactions that happen along all Avenue so

Is the Planning Commission, do they get the ability to review that plan? Because that's kind of our bailiwick.

It is. The Planning Commission did see that in phase two or the phase one piece quite a number years ago I think I just started here. Phase two was a part of that discussion, but it was in very early stages. When I say very early, I feel like it was back of the napkin for phase two where there was a lot more information that was provided to the commission at that time. So... That's it.

Related to I guess related to this this idea of how to take a second review of the Of the door schedule and I'd recommend you know something where we have an understanding a little bit clear of what the existing Looks like, you know The image right now is sort of from an angle and it's a little hard to see just then It can be really clear. This is what is here? And this is how We're looking to you know kind of match with that in order to make it an expeditious review.

Okay, are there any other questions or comments?

I think the only other question I had, you know we're here with a white building and we have the Navajo White starting up right down the street. And it seems like that would be something for you to consider since you're not too far off of that shade. I wonder if you would consider unifying just to clean up that presentation if you will?

Are you making that a suggestion or is

that? Yeah, I'm happy to have it was Bishan. Correct. And provide thoughts on that. Is there flexibility on that or are you guys

minors in the building was actually recently painted and it was recently it was recently there were some stucco that was recently redone but I'm happy to discuss that with my father and see if that's something we can consider

Yeah, I don't think it would be anything I would see as a requirement. But certainly if it was something that could be considered, it

would match into- And get faith with speaking with Mr. Chesley here and the director. That could be an item also we can discuss in that purview as part of that director approval. So if that's a condition that you want to request, we can look at that.

Just as a thought the next time you need to paint

I do think You know that the Navajo white looks great for our downtown in it and having some kind of background buildings Which I would call this coming into town when you turn the corner and you see those buildings. It's I think it's you know, there's a wow factor there and I don't think everything has to be the same color downtown. I'm fine with a neutral color for this building in particular.

I just had a question about and it this is no big deal, but The landscaping. I know that you're basically copying what's there? But you have a couple the sedge Expect and I'm just asking if you could just maybe replace that one with a native California native there's a couple options that look just like that but just do their native and if you can limit to the What is it? You already have it there, the Nandina.