The City of Ventura is currently in the final stages of drafting an ordinance that will require Ventura property owners to apply for an annual permit to legally rent out their Ventura properties. (Applies to condominium units, single family homes, second dwelling units as well as apartments)  Property owners will be required to pay for the permit which will include an exterior inspection of the property by a code enforcement official.  Upon inspecting the exterior, the City official may require an interior inspection for an additional fee.  Obviously, they will require property owners to fix any substandard conditions or non-permitted uses and be assessed for any violations.

The City of Ventura’s stated goal is to eliminate substandard living conditions and one key method is through a permit process. The permit fees are to be used to financially cover the costs of implementing the ordinance.

Questions to consider:

• Are all rental owners in the city being asked to subsidize other property owners who are not complying with regulations already in effect?  
• How much of the fees collected go toward the administration and collection of fees and issuing permits? Is it cost effective and does it resolve the problems?  
• Will this program really help crack down on garage conversions and boot-leg units since owners of these properties would be unlikely to register their units with the city?  
• Are inspections of brand-new construction, or units in condominium/townhouse communities, really necessary?  
• The city already has existing laws that allow staff to inspect units and require owners to bring them into compliance.  Does this improve/strengthen existing laws?  
• Will the city actually do the inspections?  The city already charges properties with 4 or more units for inspections but often allows the owner to do their own inspections and simply fill out a certification form. 
• What does including the Ventura Business License/Permit No. in an advertisement have to do with the proposed Rental Housing Preservation program? What does it accomplish?  

The final proposed ordinance and resolution will be on www.VCCAR.net once it has been posted by the city.  You can also find more information on the city’s website at www.cityofventura.net/fire/building_safety/safehousing

What you can do: 

Attend the Ventura City Council meeting on Monday, November 24th at 6:00 PM

Get the word out.  If you are unable to attend the council meeting, write or contact the city council members and make your concerns known.  You can find contact information for the Ventura City Council is on the City of Ventura website.

UPDATE: 11/18/2008
The Ventura City Council will NOT be discussing the Ventura City Rental Housing Preservation Ordinance on November 24th.  The date has been changed to December 8th at 6pm.  This new hearing will probably NOT have an ordinance to be voted on, only a staff report.  There will now be more public input before the city council votes on a specific ordinance.

UPDATE: 1/14/2009
Last night, the Ventura City Council abandoned the proposal to inspect all rental homes and duplexes and charge a fee.  The city will be shifting two city inspectors who examine new construction to code enforcement.  They are still considering requiring that rental owners register with the city and pay a small fee, but for now, mandatory inspections are out.

Heal the Bay, an environmental group, issued it’s “Beach Report Card” that assigns grades of A to F to 517 beaches on the California coast based on measured bacteria levels from April 2007 to March 2008. 55 of Ventura County’s 56 beaches rated an A during the spring and summer months. Rincon Beach received the lone B.  In the wet winter months, water quality is not as good due to run off from and test beaches measure much higher bacteria levels.

The Ventura County Star quotes Mike Grimmer, Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card manager in today’s newpaper:

It’s amazing how good the water quality is there (in Ventura County),” said Mike Grimmer, Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card manager.  “If you’re at an open-ocean beach and it’s dry weather, you have almost a 100 percent chance of swimming in clean water,” Grimmer said. “We’re making some strides on wet weather. Unless we live in a society where there’s no trash anywhere, a lower standard is always going to be expected during wet weather conditions.”

For more information on Ventura County “Beach Report Card”, visit:

Heal The Bay Ventura County Report Card Map  
Heal The Bay Ventura County Report Card Text
County of Ventura Water Quality Tests

Last week I stopped by the Fisherman’s Wharf in the morning to take a walk around. I was amazed at how much worse the disrepair and damage was from the last time I had visited.  These four photos (above) are just a sampling of what I saw.

If I sound a little bitter, it’s because Fisherman’s Wharf has a special place in my heart.  Even before I moved to Oxnard in 1986, I enjoyed Fisherman’s Wharf.  Always a nice place to take a stroll, enjoy the atmosphere and maybe snack on a little fresh seafood.  I’ve taken many a buyer relocating to Oxnard there for lunch.  Every time I bought a new camera (pretty often), I’d visit and and test out my new toy.  I took the photo above Labor Day weekend in 2002.  Restaurants and shops were open and colorful banners adorned the light posts.  Back then it was still a bright and cheerful place and folks were enjoying the last weekend of summer just as they have done for so many summers before.  Little did they know that it would never look this good again nor did they realize that almost a year would pass before the faded remnants of the banners hanging from the light posts, tattered and shredded, would be finally taken down.

It’s clear that Fisherman’s Wharf’s days are numbered.  A developer has acquired the lease from the county (who owns the land) and has big plans for the site as I learned last week at presentation on the future of the wharf.  (I will discuss that in an upcoming article.)  It’s obvious that there is so much damage to the buildings that restoring it would require rebuilding major portions of it and is not economically feasible even if there was the will to do so.    

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Fisherman’s Wharf that will be  celebrated nowhere except right here, (at least in this universe) please enjoy a few of my favorite photographs of a place that holds many fond memories for me—and perhaps you too. 

I hate traffic!

Before, I go on, let me disclose that this article is not intended to be an impartial analysis.  I’m biased and no admirer of Tim Flynn, the Oxnard City Councilman who is a major proponent of this measure.  In my opinion, though well-intentioned, Tim’s combative style of leadership is divisive and he is quick to resort to bullying and displays of temper to get his way.  I have seen him in action more than once.  Of course, none of that has any bearing on whether this initiative is good thing for the City of Oxnard. (It’s not.)

Penny shared with us that the current initiative is the second attempt to get this measure on the ballot.  The first time backers were unable to get enough signatures to qualify.  The new petition circulating is nearly the same but has some minor changes. 

The object of this initiative is to require that no residential project of 5 (or more) homes, or a commercial project of 10,000 feet (or more) could be built if any intersection within 5 miles of the project was or would drop below the letter grade C* even if for only one hour during peak traffic in the preceding year.  According to the out-of-date traffic study the supporters are using, nearly the entire city is subject to these restrictions.  Any project over these limits would have to be approved by the voters of the city.  It would require developers to upgrade those intersections to build even a modest project.  The Catch-22 is that if any of the intersections involved a State Highway such as Oxnard Boulevard (State Route 1), Vineyard Avenue (State Route 232), Fifth Street (State Route 34), only the state can upgrade it. 

Here are some of the key points “Citizens for a Safe and Prosperous Oxnard” would like us to consider.

The new Oxnard Traffic Initiative is flawed and misleading.  It’s not the solution to the issues facing Oxnard. Residents put concerns about public safety, access to health-care, educating our youth, open space, quality housing and jobs before traffic. When you consider traffic issues, they are not limited to just intersections.  They include competing priorities like quality roadways and they include regional issues such as freeway delays; areas over which the City of Oxnard has limited control.

This initiative does not provide one cent towards making traffic improvements. It is full of double talk designed to hide it real purpose.  (No growth.)

The flaws and negative side-effects of the proposed initiative are many. 

• By requiring a citywide vote on almost every private project over five units or 10,000 square feet it will make it unfeasible for small contractors to build in our city and that will hurt our economy and cost jobs.
• It will make it more difficult to address blighted areas and the need for affordable housing in our community.
• It will be more difficult to fund important services in our community or even have the resources to address traffic needs due to a potential loss of City revenue of over $129 million in one time traffic improvement funds and over $11 million per year in on-going funds.

There is more information at their website: www.StopTheOTI.com. 

To hear what the supporters have to say, visit: www.oxnardtrafficinitiative.org/.  Just don’t read the copy of the initiative they have posted on their website.  It varies in some significant ways from the actual text submitted to the Oxnard City Clerk.  You can see the correct document here.

I do hate traffic and am in complete sympathy with the effort to do something meaningful to help eliminate or lessen it.  The Oxnard Traffic Initiative is not the answer.  It is just too broad and Draconian in it’s scope and will hamstring the City of Oxnard for years to come.

*Level C is defined in initiative as “Stable and acceptable flow but speed and maneuverability somewhat restricted due to higher volumes.  Motorists intermittently wait through more than one signal.  Occasional backups behind left turning vehicles.

Ventura County Officials Unveil Updated Display Case in the State Capitol-

The new display is a stunning tribute to Ventura County and it includes photos by acclaimed home town photographers Tim Huaf and Joe Virnig, brief histories of our communities, and historical photos from the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. Special thanks to Ventura County business owners Chris and Laura Meissner who made the generous donation to the county that enabled the display to become a reality.