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Ojai council continues goals-and-tactics workshop, directs staff to synthesize suggestions for May 13 follow-up
Summary
Council continued a multi-session goals-and-tactics workshop, asked staff to consolidate suggested tactics and circulate them to council for comment, and set a follow-up review at the May 13 meeting. Public commenters urged stronger climate, housing and tourism strategies.
The Ojai City Council continued its multi-meeting goals-and-tactics workshop, focusing on economic development, tourism, climate resilience and housing, and directed staff to consolidate council and public suggestions into a single draft for council review before the next meeting.
Staff framing: City staff said they had drafted tactics for four goals that lacked assigned tactics and proposed a process to refine and prioritize the entire list before budget adoption. Assistant City Attorney and staff described options: council could wordsmith tactics in the meeting, form a subcommittee to work with staff, or ask staff to synthesize the proposals and circulate them to council members for recorded preferences.
Council direction: After extended discussion and public comment, council directed staff to synthesize the tactics document, distribute it to council members for their review and informal preferences (to be made public), and return the consolidated list at the May 13 meeting. Staff said they would prepare a version with status indicators removed, and indicated they would accept written input for goals 8 and 9 in advance of the next meeting.
Highlights from council and public suggestions: Participants proposed a wide range of tactics, including: - Exploring tourism-impact fees and day-trip visitor charges, paid parking programs and bus/tour operator levies; pursuing additional revenue options to pay for tourism impacts and public services. - Economic diversification and incubator programs, including a consultant-led economic action plan and grant-writing support to pursue state and federal funds. - Incentives for energy audits, EV chargers for multifamily housing and solar-plus-storage pilot projects; a municipal microgrid feasibility study and expanding city fleet electrification. - A renewed focus on trees and climate-resilience measures, including an expanded urban-forest program and a climate action plan that explicitly examines the jobs-housing mismatch and transportation impacts. - Housing strategies including formation of an affordable-housing commission; use of a housing trust fund for low-income homeowners and exploring rental/lease stabilization for small local businesses.
Public input: Dozens of public commenters urged the city to keep affordable housing as a top priority, to support the Humane Society's services to local pets and unhoused residents, and to prioritize tree canopy and climate measures linked to Measure C funding.
Process and next steps: Council members agreed staff should distribute a consolidated tactics spreadsheet and allow each council member to indicate support or lack thereof prior to the May 13 meeting; staff will compile votes and return a refined package for further discussion and (potential) adoption during the budget process.
