Planning commission approves Ojai Valley Inn winery expansion with conditions

The Ojai City Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a design review permit amendment, an amendment to an existing conditional use permit and a tree permit for renovation and additions to the winery at 821 West Ojai Avenue. The commission’s action included conditions that require additional landscape screening, further study of fire-hardening options and modifications to the bike-path crossing adjacent to the site.

The amendments approve the project as shown in materials dated for the meeting and add specific mitigation steps requested during the commission’s December review and public comment. Staff said the revised designs reduce the apparent massing on the west façade, shift and screen parking near Ojai Avenue and add new fencing and planting intended to reduce noise and headlight glare.

Why it matters: The winery sits within a mixed commercial-residential zone near the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa campus. The commission and members of the public raised concerns about noise, views from Ojai Avenue, tree protection and safety where vehicles and resort shuttles will cross the county-owned bike path. The project’s revisions were intended to respond to those concerns while preserving the property’s longstanding event and winery use under the existing CUP.

Commissioners and staff said the amendments address the principal issues the commission flagged in December. Planning staff described comparisons to other venues that have longer, more detailed conditions because they are adjacent to residences, and noted that the existing winery’s circulation patterns and earlier use history differ from the motel-based venues often discussed.

What changed since December: The applicant raised the wooden fence along the Ojai Avenue frontage to the code maximum of 42 inches and added an internal laurel hedge intended to be planted at roughly 6 feet and maintained to about 7–8 feet, a combination the applicant said will screen parked cars and dampen headlight glare. The applicant also shifted the parking area slightly to allow additional planting, and described breaking the west elevation into multiple lower rooflines and recesses so the addition reads as a composition of smaller volumes rather than one large wall. The architect said the largest mechanical well was reduced from approximately 57 feet to 43 feet in length.

Noise and events: Staff clarified that the city’s commercial noise thresholds apply to commercial zones and that the property is commercial. The staff report and conditions require that outdoor speakers be oriented away from nearby residences (the permit includes a requirement that speakers for outdoor events “point toward the west of Ojai Avenue”), and the resolution incorporates standard noise monitoring and enforcement language tied to the city’s noise-ordinance measurement points.

Bike path crossing and shuttle access: The commission required additional safety measures for the crossing of the County of Ventura bike path used by hotel shuttles and golf carts. The applicant removed asphalt pavers from the center of the crossing and proposed a consistent asphalt surface through the crossing with visible paver bands on either side; the applicant agreed to widen the paver bands to improve warning distance (staff and the applicant discussed increasing the band width from the existing 48 inches to a wider band). The applicant said short-term maintenance and a potential lease for the crossing would need agreements with the county and the city council.

Tree protection and landscaping: The project proposes to remove certain volunteer oaks and other trees where trunks have grown through the existing chain-link fence; the landscape plan shows replacement planting and bioretention areas to capture stormwater runoff. The project’s tree permit includes mitigation values and an arborist-approved approach for work near protected tree root zones.

Votes and conditions: Commissioners approved the project after a motion and a second; the roll call recorded four yes votes and no recorded no votes, abstentions or recusals. The approval as adopted included the added conditions discussed in the staff report and three additional conditions presented in the packet: (1) speaker orientation to the west of Ojai Avenue, (2) additional tree-protection and monitoring requirements, and (3) modifications to the bike-path crossing and safety band widths. Commissioners also requested that staff and council consider a future study of the city’s noise ordinance and of outdoor seating/parking relationships as part of broader code updates.

Applicant and next steps: The applicant team said final details — construction documents, fire-code compliance, precise planting lists and final bike-path maintenance agreements — will be completed during plan check and coordination with the county. Staff said some conditions (tree mitigation, landscape design and fire-safety details) will be enforced at plan check and building-permit stages.

Quotes: "We raised the wooden fence to the highest allowable per code height which is 42 inches. That was the easy thing," said Chris (project representative), describing changes to the frontage. "We added that 400 linear foot fence all the way across and it's 6 feet tall," he said when describing the new noise-mitigating barrier along the property’s rear where it faces Country Club and the bike path. Mara (principal planner) told the commission that staff compared the proposal to other local venues and noted those venues had different constraints because many were motel properties using parking lots as event spaces. Sylvia (project architect) summarized architectural revisions: "We broke up that elevation and the overall volume of the addition ... to make it look like more a composition of buildings rather than one big building." Kathy Nolan (landscape designer) told the commission that final planting selections will be submitted in the construction documents and that fire-resilient, code-compliant species and spacing will be addressed in the final landscape plans.

What the commission did not decide: The commission did not adopt any citywide rule changes; commissioners directed staff to explore broader issues — outdoor seating and parking policy, and potential noise-ordinance updates — with city council at a later date rather than embedding new code language in this permit.

Staff and attendees: Planning staff described the project’s findings for design review, conditional use and tree permit approvals and answered technical questions on measurements, landscaping, and whether the CUP runs with the land (staff confirmed it does). The applicant will proceed with plan check filings, and the city and applicant will continue coordination with Ventura County regarding the bike-path access and any lease or agreement required.

Ending: The commission’s vote allows the winery renovation and event facilities expansion to proceed subject to the conditions adopted. The applicant and staff said they will return to city review only as needed during plan check and permit issuance.