Ojai council advances Habitat for Humanity plan, pauses on land transfer to iron out priorities and agreements

The Ojai City Council on March 24 heard a presentation from Habitat for Humanity and its design partner on a proposed five‑unit, deed‑restricted affordable home project at 408–410 North Montgomery Street and agreed to continue a decision about land conveyance and resident‑priority rules to a special council meeting on April 16.

Darcy Taylor, chief executive of Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County, told the council the organization focuses on homeownership for low‑income buyers and requires sweat equity from applicants. Taylor said Habitat’s model leans heavily on volunteer labor and modest subsidies so buyers can afford a mortgage: “We only take about 10% in government funding in all of our projects,” she said, and described past projects and expected mortgage ranges for Habitat buyers.

Lucas Seibert, the city’s community development director, set the regulatory background for the site, which the city acquired years ago and carries a deed restriction for affordability. Seibert noted the parcel’s zoning math yields a five‑unit entitlement for the site under the local overlay, and the design team described a proposal with two tiny‑home duplexes and one modest two‑bedroom home (unit sizes roughly 400–900 square feet), six parking spaces and six bicycle lockers.

Council members and residents pressed Habitat and staff on several details that will shape final approvals: who gets residency priority (if the city contributes land), whether existing city housing funds would be committed to the project, whether lowering unit count from five to four would be feasible without losing important state density‑bonus incentives, and how common areas and maintenance would be governed.

A central point of the conversation was eligibility for outside funding: council members and staff emphasized that certain county and state funding streams and program incentives depend on meeting minimum unit thresholds and other criteria. Staff and Habitat said the five‑unit configuration preserves concessions that would not be available at four units and that dropping to four could increase the project gap. Taylor said Habitat has been working on the proposal for years and can adjust CC&Rs, maintenance agreements and resale restrictions to hold the homes affordable long term.

Public commenters included neighbors who asked for clearer language in the final resolution on maintenance responsibility and stop‑sign or circulation changes on nearby streets; others supported the project as an important path to local homeownership. After discussion the council voted to continue a separate decision about whether to convey the land (lease or gift), the residency priority approach, draft CC&Rs, the draft homeowner agreement and a preliminary stop‑sign determination to the April 16 meeting so staff can bring back draft documents for review. The council directed staff to post sample CC&Rs and resale agreements and to coordinate a public‑works review of the requested stop sign for North Montgomery and Franklin.