Elephants Were on the Agenda

Ojai City Council Series Part V

This is part of an ongoing series on our city council in Ojai. If you’re not caught up, you can start here with part I. I encourage you to attend at least one of your local city council meetings if you are able. Politics is a form of one’s spirituality in action.

I walked in with things to say and a decision not to speak with the option to change my mind if something came up that I felt strongly about. If I had spoken about what I was thinking about it would have been a rehashing of something I had already addressed. I felt like it would have looked as if I was really piling on and since I had already spoken about it once, felt like that was enough for now.

The item about establishing rights for elephants in Ojai was a late addition to the agenda, and it was almost last on the list. I was not even sure we’d be hearing about it due to time constraints. Councilmember Rule added it with the support of Councilmembers Lang and Francina. You may notice I am using the term “Councilmember” as opposed to the binary Councilman/woman terms I had been using. In the spirit of “know better, do better”, I am applying this here. I am sorry I was slow to get there.

Request to Agendize Ordinance to Protect City Elephant Bodily Rights
That the City Council discuss the topic of bodily rights for elephants and direct staff whether or not to move forward with a City ordinance providing such protections.

Huh, okay, as far as I know, there are not any elephants in Ojai. Initially, I thought maybe it was just a performative measure. After some thinking on it, however, I thought, if they do get to it, what’s the harm? Perhaps it would open the door for more rights and protections for our most vulnerable, animals and otherwise.

I had a little sit down with the elephant spirits and asked for their help at the meeting. We are quite fond of elephants, Jon and I. They are remarkable beings with acute intelligence and sensitivity and strong social and family ties humans are just beginning to understand.

Across the spiritual spectrum, elephants are seen as protectors, bringers of good fortune, tribal wisdom, harmony, removal of obstacles, and leadership. Of course, this is a human projection upon these sentient beings and I would be remiss, especially in light of the agenda item, if I did not mention this. But in the land of spiritual symbols, healing, and/or make-believe, it sure seemed like Ojai was in need of some elephant magic. I could not help but glance at Ganesha sitting in front of the door to our home when we left and asked once more for a peaceful and fruitful meeting. Jon had sent some reiki earlier on.

I was not feeling exactly perky when we left the house as we’ve had almost 200 earthquakes here in Ojai, as IN OJAI, over the past 4 days starting with a 5.1 while we were also experiencing Tropical Storm Hilary. I was just about to put a peach cobbler in the oven, baking is excellent when a post-hurricane storm is about to make landfall, when the house started to roll and shake. Sookie, one of our three dogs, bolted for the front door which had been open due to all of the gorgeous rain and my desire to feel it as much as possible. I called her back to me, and Jon slammed it closed. All three of the pooches were freaked, as were we. Sleep has not been easy. The last big one, a 3.9, was at 4:40am the morning of the city council meeting.

The room was surprisingly quiet when we entered, and it’s not like we were early or anything. We were there just about 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. I was not sure what to expect after the grueling experience of the last three meetings but a gallery only about one quarter full was not it. I thought there may be backlash from the Name Redacted and his supporters but he was not there nor were most who had spoken on his behalf.

Mayor Stix called the meeting to order and began by thanking everyone who had been instrumental in shepherding the valley through the “hurriquake” and everyone involved in making sure our unhoused community had shelter during the storm. She named community members by name and acknowledged each of them along with those in city government who had helped. They opened up Kent Hall, which is part of the city hall property, and this was used to shelter anyone who was in need. Councilmember Whitman at the end of the meeting reminded the Mayor that she had left someone off of her thanks, herself, as she was an important cog in the community effort that took place that stormy Sunday.

The agenda and consent calendar were then approved mostly without issue. The only issue had nothing to do with internal conflict between council members and more to do with a mistake where funding was concerned for a collaboration between the city and the Ojai Land Conservancy. It would need to be reworked and come back in front of the council at another time.

So other than this, we were off to a smooth start.

Next was a presentation about recently passed community member Terrence Gordon Hill who served on the Ojai Historic Preservation Commission for twenty years. Councilmember Whitman spoke about Terry as part of the tribute who he had known since he was 9 years old and openly cried his way through it at times. It was moving and touching and an example of the power of vulnerability expressed through a being aligned with a male body.

Public comments were next, and I held my breath a bit, waiting for the potential backlash and/or onslaught of abuses that are often directed at our Mayor. There was none of this. In fact, there were just a couple of public comments, and then we were moving on to the agenda.

I was breathing easier at this time as it seemed we were heading into a meeting of collaboration instead of conflict.

The main items on the agenda were these:

Introduction of an Ordinance Regulating Cannabis Lounges and Cannabis Dispensaries
Recommendations
That City Council:
1) Open the public hearing, accept public testimony and close the public hearing; and:
2) Consider introducing an Ordinance allowing up to three cannabis consumption lounges in the C-1 Zone East of Park Road, M-1 and MPD Zones and permitting cannabis dispensaries to expand into the C-1 General Commercial Zoning District, which excludes the Downtown Commercial land use designation, 1.5 FAR Overlay Zone.

Public comments were 100% in support of this along with encouraging the council to apply an even more liberal approach when it came to hours of operation, extending the boundaries just a bit where zoning was concerned, allowing food and beverage to be served, and exploring outdoor patios/rooftops. At some point someone in public comments referenced “valet parking” and thankfully everyone chose to ignore that. For those of you who do not live here or who do and are catching up the “Valet Parking War” of 2022/23 was one for the books.

The three owners of our cannabis dispensaries all spoke. They will also be the three who would be opening the lounges if approved.

The council voted unanimously to approve the measure and Ojai will be getting three cannabis lounges.

I, as well, am in support of the legalization of cannabis/marijuana at the federal level. I am also in support of the release of anyone being held in jail or prison for the possession of these substances and the overturning of every single conviction. These laws have generally been applied in a discriminatory and racist fashion and it is time to make amends and begin to heal this wound.

Draft Ordinance regarding amendments to existing unlawful short-term, transient, and vacation rentals to further strengthen the City's prohibition on short-term rentals within the City Pursuant to Title 4, Chapter 24 (Prohibition on Advertising for Unlawful Short-Tenn, Transient, and Vacation Rentals) and pursuant to Title 10, Chapter 2 (Zoning Regulations) of the Ojai Municipal Code. Applicant — City Initiated
Recommendations
That the City Council:
1. Open the public hearing, accept public testimony, and close the public hearing; and
2. Adopt an Ordinance (Attachment A) of the City Council Title 4, Chapter 24 (Prohibition on Advertising for Unlawful Short-Term, Transient, and Vacation Rentals) and Title 10, Chapter 2 (Zoning Regulations) of the Ojai Municipal Code regarding unlawful short-tem, transient, and vacation rentals.

A little bit of history: In 2016, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 862, and created Chapter 24 (Prohibition on Advertising for Unlawful Short-Term, Transient, and Vacation Rentals) which expressly prohibits advertisements for unlawful short-term, transient, and vacation rentals for less than 30, days for any form of compensation, in all residential zones.

Public comments were 100% in support of this, although there was a recommendation by one speaker that short-term-rentals (STRs) be allowed in commercial areas (the council’s response to this was that if commercial areas were to be opened up to residential occupancy, affordable full-term residences would be the way to go due to our crushing housing issue here in the valley and the skyrocketing rental costs.)

I did choose to get up and make a comment on this issue largely due to the lack of community involvement at this meeting and because I have strong opinions about this one as I am directly affected as a renter. I voiced my support for the measure and stood in support of the council in taking brave and bold actions to increase the crackdown on illegal STRs.

Interim City Manager Mark Scott spoke about his experience of living in the town of Indio and watching it be destroyed by STRs as his once neighborhood turned into a hub of illegal hotels.

Councilmember Lang spoke about her similar experience in Joshua Tree.

Councilmember Rule voiced her frustration that the city had not yet conducted a housing workshop with the intention of addressing our housing issue and that perhaps the STR issue should be folded into that one. Others pointed out that this was more of a “hotel” issue than a housing issue (although, from my perspective, it does affect the housing supply as STRs dramatically decrease the number of units available for long-term renters).

Councilmember Francina’s concern was for people wanting to rent out a room in their home. Currently, our law states that any rental must be for a minimum of 30 days. Her worry seemed to be about those trying to use Airbnb in its original intention, to provide affordable short-term housing for travelers and offer a bit of extra money to those offering it. Unfortunately, greed has taken over, and what was once a community-sourced way of traveling has become a monster pulling in over 8.4 billion dollars in 2022 and, again, displacing people and destroying whole neighborhoods in the process.

Councilmember Whitman and Mayor Stix spoke in full support of increasing fines on the illegal units running in the city (there are many more running in the valley at large) along with increasing the minimum stays from 30 days to 60.

The measure to update the ordinance with stronger language and an increase in fines and bring it back to the council again for a vote passed, unanimously.

PHEW! Two for two!!

This was so pleasant. There was discussion, collaboration, and smiling without a single council member interrupting anyone and no need for Mayor Stix to use her gavel.

Approval and Acceptance of Easement Dedication – Trolley Shelter Stop at 205 West Ojai Avenue in front of Bank of America
Recommendation
1. Receive a presentation on the Bank of America (BofA) Trolley Stop Shelter “Shelter”; and
2. Provide any changes or comments on the preliminary Shelter design and approve the design; and
3. Authorize the execution of the permanent easement and direct staff to record; and
4. Authorize the execution of the Temporary Construction easement and direct staff to record; and
5. Authorize staff to solicit bids for the construction of the Trolley stop shelter.

Lindy Palmer, interim Public Works Director, who has been working on this for over a year, gave her report.

The council voted unanimously in support of approving the design and moving ahead.

Three for three!!!

Selection of Executive Search Firm to Conduct the City Manager Recruitment
Recommendation:
That the City Council report on their interviews with representatives from 3 executive search
firms concerning the upcoming City Manager recruitment, discuss the relative merits of each firm, and hopefully direct staff to prepare contract documents to retain the services of a preferred firm.

A report by Mayor Stix was given about what had happened during the two-hour-long closed session of the council which had occurred just prior to the open meeting I was attending. They had interviewed three firms and were unanimous in their decision to go with the one they chose, expressing how difficult of a decision it was as all three were excellent.

Our former city manager, James Vega’s final city council meeting was on July 11th, and our city now is in the very capable hands of interim City Manager Mark Scott until the search is concluded. From what I have seen of Mr. Scott, he is a wonderful addition to the dais and the behind-the-scenes operation of our city with 40 years’ worth of city manager experience, from smaller communities to larger ones across California.

The council has chosen the firm of Ralph Andersen and Associates spearheaded by Heather Renschler - President and Chief Executive Officer

Councilmember Francina gets the prize for the funniest moment of the night when she said, “If you’re watching, Heather, make sure that the candidates watch this meeting.” (meaning the potential city manager candidates) at which everyone on the dais started laughing and then those of in the audience caught onto the joke and Councilmember Francina added sweetly, “This is how we are all of the time”.

“Peace and love, Heather,” said Mayor Stix as she proceeded to thank Mark Scott and Matthew Summers our city attorney for putting together the selection list and interviews.

Councilmember Rule made a motion to approve
Mayor Stix seconded
And the vote was once again unanimous.

FOUR FOR FOUR!!!!

We were actually going to make it to the elephants.

Request to Agendize Ordinance to Protect City Elephant Bodily Rights
That the City Council discuss the topic of bodily rights for elephants and direct staff whether or not to move forward with a City ordinance providing such protections.

This was Councilmember Rule’s item. She is an advocate for animal rights. She offered an explanation as to the item. There is currently an appeal filed making its way to the California State Supreme Court regarding an animal rights case specific to the elephants housed in captivity at the Fresno Zoo. The case would grant the elephants habeas corpus.

“They have a fundamental right to exist without benefit to humans” - Councilmember Rule

The discussion centered on the difference between welfare laws and rights with regard to animals and how “rights” offer much more stringent protections than welfare laws do.

Her intention was to support the actions of the “Nonhuman Rights Project” in their efforts to create bodily autonomy rights for elephants which would then open the door for more beings umbrellaed under this policy.

The ordinance would state: “Elephants can not be held captive in Ojai unless they have standards that an accredited sanctuary would approve”, said Councilmember Rule.

Public comment was almost one hundred percent in support of and included compelling testimony by Anita Cramm regarding her time working with elephants as a zookeeper decades ago and the horrors she witnessed and experienced there. She has since become an animal rights advocate.

There was a slippery slope argument made by a community member who regularly comments (he commented on almost every item that night), and Councilmember Rule respectfully and deftly responded to it.

Councilmember Whitman wondered if perhaps this was more of a spiritual or metaphysical (“I may be using the wrong word”, he said) issue, but Councilmember Rule asserted that it’s actually not. That it is a simple issue of bodily autonomy, again respectfully countering and discussing.

Councilmembers Francina and Lang along with Mayor Stix expressed their support.

A vote was taken unanimously in support of having the city staff draft a simple ordinance and then bring it back to the council for a vote.

FIVE FOR FIVE!!!!!

Wow!

It was a long meeting, around four hours in length. The council wrapped with a couple of items for upcoming agendas and a bit of a conversation about the Council Priorities Workshop that will be open to the public and will be happening on August 30, 2023 at 4:00pm at Kent Hall. Mr. Scott expressed his hope that the meeting would be rich with councilmember input and would not be three hours of community comments leaving the council with minimal time to actually do their jobs and work it all out between them.

By the end, there were three of us remaining in the gallery, John Bueti, Jon, and myself. The council had to go back into closed session again to get to the one remaining piece they had not gotten to prior to the regular open meeting, so the three of us were excused. It had been a really long day for them and they were not quite finished.

We filed past them thanking them for a great meeting and saying our goodbyes with smiles and nods in return.

The air was cool and crisp from the recent rains, and the sky was filled with stars, as the three of us talked about how the spirit of the elephants was strong in the room that night.

And for the moment, healing has come to Ojai.

Read Part VI Here