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Planning commission opens effort to consolidate Ojai design guidelines; historic preservation commission seeks formal role
Summary
At its Feb. 5 meeting the Ojai Planning Commission discussed consolidating multiple overlapping design guidelines that govern downtown and the East Ojai Avenue corridor. Historic Preservation Commission members urged formal collaboration and use of Secretary of the Interior standards when updating rules affecting landmark properties.
The Ojai Planning Commission on Wednesday reviewed the city’s patchwork of downtown and corridor design guidelines and agreed on a path toward a small ad hoc subcommittee to scope a consolidated document and a joint process with the Historic Preservation Commission.
Commissioners and members of the public told the meeting that several existing overlays — including arcade storefront guidelines, a statement-of-theme area and the East Ojai Avenue design standards — overlap across some blocks and create confusion for applicants and staff. Gina McCatton, chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, told the planning body that the HPC “recognizes the importance of updating and streamlining the city’s design guidelines, including those downtown,” and urged formal involvement of the HPC and a qualified architectural historian when work touches historic resources.
The discussion matters because a large share of buildings downtown are designated landmarks or are in the state-recognized Downtown Ojai Historic District. “Because the historic district is listed on the California register, remodeled projects within the district or in its immediate vicinity must be consistent with the Secretary of the Interior standards or have any adverse impacts mitigated,” McCatton said. Commissioners and members of the public noted the potential for owners to qualify for state and federal historic incentives if redevelopment follows historic-preservation standards.
Planning staff summarized the current map of four overlapping guideline areas: the statement-of-theme area that covers the central core, the arcade storefront historic overlay, the arcade plaza guidelines for interior plaza spaces, and the East Ojai Avenue design standards to the east. Lucas, planning staff, said the rule of thumb has been to apply the strictest standard when overlays conflict. He also reminded the commission that many fire-hardening measures are building-code matters rather than design-guideline provisions.
Historic Preservation Commission members who spoke — Gina McCatton, Brian Akins and Lorraine Sims — urged that any update align with the Secretary of the Interior standards, that the HPC be formally involved in drafting and review, and that staff enlist an architectural historian. Dawn Teeding, who has worked on Ojai preservation issues, repeated that the Downtown Ojai Historic District is listed on the California Register and that the district’s 28 resources are treated as historic resources under CEQA.
Commissioners described practical problems applicants face: overlapping standards; unclear geographic extents (for example, the various overlays stop at different block lines); and transitions between commercial frontages and adjacent single-family (R-1) lots. Staff explained that an existing code rule causes development rights to lapse after roughly three years of continuous vacancy, a provision the commission said has been used to require redevelopment proposals to “start over.”
The commission agreed by consensus to create an ad hoc subcommittee (one or two commissioners) to scope consolidation of the design-guideline documents, coordinate outreach to the Historic Preservation Commission and return with proposed next steps, timeline and an approach for whether a consultant is needed. Commissioner Jonathan volunteered to serve on that subcommittee and staff said it would coordinate meeting logistics and report back.
Commissioners and the public also suggested the consolidated document include: (1) a clear hierarchy for conflicting overlays; (2) objective design standards where feasible; (3) language to preserve the city’s mission- and western‑revival character in core areas while allowing transitions; and (4) consideration of fire-hardening and landscaping rules so that preservation and wildfire safety can be reconciled.
The commission asked staff to add this work to the planning commission work program and to pursue a joint meeting with City Council as the timeline and funding needs become clearer. Planning staff said a council joint meeting is likely on the commission’s calendar in the coming months.
A public-recorded packet and the 2018 state historic‑resources report were cited repeatedly by speakers as essential background for the subcommittee’s work.
