LOCAL GOVERNMENT | By Keila dos Santos

Supervisors Punt STR Vote Into Next Week

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June 13th, Ojai, CA — After two-and-a-half years of deliberation, the ordinance regulating short-term rentals (STRs) in Ojai Valley is still on the drawing board. Last night, after 66 written statements and over 110 public comments, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors punted the short-term rental issue down the road again until next week.

As written, the ordinance would ban short-term (AirBnB-type) rentals in non-coastal, unincorporated areas in Ventura County, such as Ojai Valley. A partial ban was enacted in newly defined coastal areas, such as Faria Beach, but as for the fate of Ojai Valley, the issue remains undecided. Sent back for revisions, the re-written ordinance will exclude all other non-coastal areas with the single exception of Ojai Valley; where these types of rentals are already banned inside of city limits.

The regulations offered by the Board were designed to preserve neighborhoods, but the public was widely divided on their perception of the issue. A major sticking point was that virtually all of the regulations cited only applied to home shares and historically designated short-term rentals. All other types of STRs, within zoned areas, would be outright banned.

Supervisors, deliberating an exception that would help get the ordinance under way, presented several options. One of those would extend the grace period for owners to recoup their investments, from two years to five years. Another option would permit STRs to stay open if the owners were to demonstrate an economic hardship from closing their operation. The third option, which indicates a dramatic compromise in the conversation, would permit licensed “non-conforming” properties (STRs) who abide by all other regulatory parameters to remain permitted until the properties are sold or transferred; the stipulation being that any owner would only be granted permission for only one property.

The Conversation

Marci who identified as “Ojai Mom” stated, “I don’t want any hotels on my neighborhood, who’s going to be accountable when I’m home alone with my two young kids … when I’ve got strange guys bothering my daughter?”

Jerry Dunn, veteran travel writer and editor (and contributor to the Ojai Quarterly), spoke of his experiences visiting small towns and being heartbroken at the results of development. “Ojai is the last unspoiled place and we spoil it by stacking tourists and destroying family neighborhoods. Once a fragile lovely place is lost, it’s lost forever.”

In a written statement submitted prior to the hearing, professor and historian John Broesamle spoke of challenges during the Thomas Fire, suggesting that the proliferation of (STRs) impeded the neighborhood’s ability to communicate effectively, as nearby neighbors were uncertain about how to reach absentee owners.

Gray Areas

Susie Arce, a seventh-generation resident whose family has been in Ojai since 1847, wrote to the board that, “Property owners should have the right to determine how they use their property as long as it does not constitute a serious threat to the quality of life in their neighborhood. The additional income from the bed tax would be valuable in maintaining facilities in the area. I am outraged by the audacity of a small, zealous group of people (most of whom are newcomers) and their belief that they have the right to impose unfair restrictions on others.”

Elise DePuydt, a supporter of the ordinance, addressed the public at large in her letter to the supervisors, saying that, “Those who say the proposed ordinance is a total ban on vacation rentals are mistaken. The ordinance sets forth regulations for licensing home shares and whole-house STRs in select historically-listed homes in the valley.” This argument resonated with a few others who also made the claim that this measure was being interpreted incorrectly by opponents.

Nigel Chisholm, another endorser of the ban, wrote in to confirm his messaging from several conversations prior. “I will not repeat myself except to say that reasonable laws need to be in place to protect the nature of this little town from greed, selfishness, and short-sighted behavior.”

Families on the Fault Line

Some advocates for the ordinance believe that the increase in short-term rentals (aided by the quick growth of Airbnb and VRBO) has affected the housing market and thus the ability for families to subsist in Ojai.

Kevin Ruf, President of Ojai Valley Unified School District, brought to light the fact that they recently had to close Summit Elementary school due to a significant decline in enrollment. Within 20 years, enrollment in OUSD has dropped from 4,172 students to 2,518. This figure is disproportionate when compared to the rest of the county. When analyzed against the nearby district of Moorpark, which has only encountered 10 percent decrease, Ojai has lost nearly 40 percent of its prior enrollments.

Ruf went further to say, “Even if (this only impacted a few and) we lost twenty students, the revenue from those 20 students would support two full-time classroom teachers and a custodian.”

Olga Jones spoke as a certified financial planner who has been working with families since 1999. Through a variety of challenging times for the community, she “did a lot of pro bono work … (I) have helped a lot of families survive by recommending STRs.” She suggested that “The homes that would become available (if a ban were implemented) are not affordable housing.” From her perspective, using these properties to supplement family income was smart, and in many cases, necessary, for these families to live in Ojai.

Meiners Oaks resident, STR operator, and father of eight, Daniel Fairbanks, pleaded with Board Members in a letter, “If the new regulations go into effect, we will lose almost half of the STR income and will possibly not be able to remain in Ojai, displacing this family of nine members who have called Ojai our beautiful home.”

On Housing

Realtor Trent Jones said, “This ordinance goes directly against what the planning commission recommended, which was not to create any ordinance that carves out one part of the county with special restrictions … as an Ojai Valley realtor (I) know first hand that 99 percent of the homes people are purchasing here are to live in and not to rent out.”

Julie Hahn presented statistics from a study that was conducted for TRU Ojai (TRU stands for “Temporary Rental Units”). She said that the legal licensed STRs in the unincorporated valley constituted only .1 percent of the total housing stock. When assessing the economic impact of these properties, she said that these legal rentals in Ojai hosted 16,900 visitors per year. Of these visitors, on average they spent $143. When using these numbers to predict the economic impact of a ban on STRs, the total was approximately $7 million dollars (between lodging and shopping) and $416,000 in tax revenue for the City of Ojai.

Wendy Lockwood, a long-time real estate agent, said “The community of the valley has been ‘home sharing’ for years, decades really. During annual events such as the Krishnamurti talks, the Ojai Tennis Tournament, The Music Festival, locals opened their homes to attendees and musicians, most often without charge. It was simply a privilege to share our community with others and to share similar interests with guests … My question to you is, ‘How is their (guests who book homes for events) Ojai experience more important than ours in the community?’” Home sharing would still be legal, if the measure passes.

Boutique hotelier Julia Whitman expressed her grievances as a responsible owner and operator, proposing that, “This amendment unjustly punishes local citizens and property owners who have followed county rules, paid taxes, and have thoughtfully and lawfully operated in the county, often for many years.”

In his letter to the Board of supervisors, Paul Crabtree (one of the named authors of The Arbolada Report surmised, “This has been a very long process, but we are finally at the finish line. I support the TRU ordinance as an uneasy compromise, to help resolve a difficult community issue. STRs are a business activity, and businesses always have inherent risks. In this case, the greatest risk was investing in a business that had, at best, a grayness in its legality.”

The Sharing Economy

Ultimately, the emerging share-economy has created growing pains all over America, but especially in a valley that houses fewer than 23,000 citizens. Proponents on both sides have demonstrated an astonishing amount of stamina. Hopefully, upon the resolution of this issue, these passions will pivot to neighborly discourse on less divisive, community-building initiatives.