Planning commission recommends city council approve Habitat for Humanity’s five‑unit affordable housing project with parking restrictions

The Ojai Planning Commission voted to recommend that city council approve a five‑unit, single‑story, deed‑restricted 100% affordable housing project on North Montgomery proposed by Habitat for Humanity, adding a recommended parking restriction and traffic safety measures.

Habitat for Humanity CEO Darcy Taylor told the commission the project is designed to serve seniors, veterans and low‑income homebuyers and that the organization structured the project to keep ownership affordable. “We designed a project where it is affordable for the particular types of clients that we think will buy these homes,” Taylor said. She explained the organization’s preference for a land‑lease model in which the city retains ownership of the land and Habitat owns and maintains the structures under long‑term agreements.

Why it matters: The commission’s recommendation advances a city‑sponsored affordable‑housing pilot in downtown Ojai that uses a lease model and deed restrictions to preserve long‑term affordability. Public commenters supported the housing while raising parking, notification and maintenance questions; commissioners weighed unit count versus neighborhood parking impacts.

Key project and process points: Staff explained that a five‑unit configuration is critical to qualifying the project as a housing project for density‑bonus incentives; dropping to four units would remove those statutory incentives and shift review to variance findings. Habitat described how CC&Rs and maintenance agreements (or other instruments) would govern common‑area maintenance if the city retains the land under a long lease; Habitat representatives said they typically limit HOAs to keep homeowner costs low.

Parking and traffic measures: Commissioners and the public expressed concern about on‑street parking impacts along Montgomery and Franklin. Staff reviewed a sketch showing that enlarging on‑site parking would require about 2,300 additional square feet of paving and could reduce the unit count. The commission’s recommendation includes a parking restriction as a proposed condition (tiny homes limited to one vehicle each, two spaces for the two‑bedroom unit) and also flagged a proposed three‑way stop at Franklin and Montgomery to improve safety.

Public comments and conditions: Supporters urged the commission to move the project forward (Heidi Whitman: “Please do this project… we need the housing”), while neighbors urged careful limits on density and enforcement of deed restrictions and maintenance responsibilities. The commission discussed local preference and eligibility (veterans/seniors/workers in Ojai) and heard that state and local affordable‑housing law can allow local preference criteria to be built into land‑lease and affordable‑housing agreements.

Vote and next steps: The commission voted to forward a recommendation to city council to approve the design review permit and tentative tract map for the five‑unit project with the recommended parking restriction; the roll call in the transcript records ayes from Stewart, Raj Schmidt, Chesley and Murphy. The recommendation and proposed conditions will go to city council, which has final authority to approve tract maps and any lease terms.

What to watch: City council action on the tract map, the final form of lease/maintenance agreements, deed restrictions specifying the duration of affordability, and any final traffic/parking mitigation (including a possible three‑way stop at Franklin and Montgomery).