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Planning Commission reviews concept for City Hall campus master plan; commissioners press for clearer historic record and phased implementation
Summary
The Planning Commission heard a detailed concept presentation from the Ojai Valley Green Coalition on March 18 for an 8-acre City Hall campus master plan that includes a new garden house, community garden, restrooms, expanded restoration and ADA improvements. Commissioners and public commenters emphasized preserving historic features and asked staff to clarify which estate elements are character-defining before final design.
Ojai City’s Planning Commission spent the bulk of its March 18 meeting reviewing a concept master plan for the City Hall campus, an 8-acre parcel centered on the Smith Hobson House historic landmark. The plan, developed by the Ojai Valley Green Coalition with city staff, proposes a nature-based park with demonstration gardens, widened ADA pathways, a small amphitheater and event lawn, an orchard and community garden, restoration of the Middle Stewart Creek corridor and a new "garden house" of roughly 1,200 square feet with a possible 300-square-foot commercial kitchen and restroom facilities.
Kathy Nolan, representing the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, said the concept is the product of years of community workshops, surveys and site tours and that the master plan is scheduled for completion by May 31, 2026. Nolan described the proposed garden house as a flexible learning and event space, discussed alternative construction methods (straw-bale, cob finishes, solar orientation) and highlighted plans for tree management, invasive species removal, and repurposing removed wood for nature-play elements.
Public commenters and several commissioners urged caution about altering historic features. Craig Walker, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission speaking as an individual, said the commission should treat the entire estate carefully and noted that an object report for the grounds was never completed after the 2017 landmark designation. "Just because a particular item isn't called out in the landmarking agreement...doesn't mean that those things aren't historic," Walker said, urging review under the city's preservation and environmental procedures.
The city attorney, Bethany Burgess, told commissioners that Resolution 17-44 designates the Smith Hobson House and estate but excludes some outbuildings; she explained that ordinary repair and landscape maintenance typically do not require a work permit, while demolition or exterior alteration of structures would trigger a minor or major work permit and could be referred to the Historic Preservation Commission. Commissioners pressed staff for a clear phasing plan and for early structural analyses (for example, of the carriage house) and object-record clarification so routine decisions do not become ad-hoc disputes during implementation.
Nolan outlined an estimated sequencing: master plan completion by May 2026, design development and engineering and consultant RFPs to follow, and potential construction beginning as early as June 2027 if funding and approvals align. Commissioners recommended that staff investigate how the 1993 Libby Park master plan relates to the site, prepare a prioritized phasing and budgeting analysis, and coordinate with the Historic Preservation Commission and city council on any unresolved landmark questions.
The commission did not take action on the concept (it is an advisory review) but provided detailed comments and direction to staff and the applicant. The public and commissioners repeatedly emphasized balancing restoration of historic estate character with new programming, long-term stewardship and operational responsibility.
