We all know fear is the strongest motivator for the human race. There are a few people in our town who have the resources to underwrite a slick media campaign to spread fear of the homeless, and in particular this project, among the citizens of Ojai.
Misinformation, disinformation and half truths have been circulating in petitions, ads and social media.
These are the FACTS:
ONE: The Cabin Village is NOT an intensive treatment center. This is a complete mischaracterization of the project. Neither psychologists nor psychiatrists are part of the program. No one on site will be dispensing or monitoring medications. There will be behavioral health specialists on site several days a week to work with the residents suffering from anxiety, fear, self worthlessness and other common issues that accompany being without a home.
TWO: References to armed guards at tent town have been made, insinuating that the OTT residents are violent. These comments are designed to create hysteria and fear of the homeless. The fact is, of the 7-8 regular security personnel at the Ojai Tent Town, 2 of them carry guns. The city did not request they carry guns and the city does not pay them to carry guns. The security personnel do not carry guns to protect themselves from the residents. They carry guns because that it is what they do- they carry in the grocery store, they carry in their car, they carry at the park. They carry guns...everywhere, all time.
THREE: The completion of the Cabin Village will not attract more homeless people from out of the area. To be eligible for residency at the Cabin Village and even currently at Ojai Tent Town, you must be an Ojai Valley resident and vetted by Help Of Ojai.
FOUR: The Cabin Village project will serve 30 people. Period. There will not be additional tents or structures erected to house more than 30.
FIVE: The Public Works Yard is not a fire trap. The interior of the Public Works yard has been just that, Public Works Yard, for decades. It is so barren the city could actually acquire fire insurance for the project.
SIX: The project will not be an eyesore. Were it visible, you would see that the current public works yard is an unsightly junkyard. However, it is surrounded by native trees, making the Cabin Village project virtually invisible from any street.
The project will be built in the interior of the lower public works yard. The design will be in the Spanish Revival stye, consistent with the aesthetics of Ojai. The construction contract has been awarded to a local builder specializing in sustainable building materials. A local landscape architect has been contracted to turn this currently barren lot into a sustainable and attractive property, populated by native plants and trees. This will be an beautiful project and one that the citizens of Ojai should be proud to have in our town.
SEVEN: Yes, tent town and the cabin village will be fenced. This is to protect the residents living in this project from the people in our town who would seek to disrupt the residents or do them harm . There have been instances of trespassing and attacks on these residents by our city’s citizens.
EIGHT: We have all read that perhaps the current residents of Tent Town are okay, but who will live there in the future? Surely it makes sense that the residents themselves do not want aggressive or disruptive neighbors. All the Cabin Village residents will sign a lease, pay rent, and be required to adhere to written behavioral guidelines.
NINE: There has been a wringing of hands about the lack of parking in the maintenance yard and increased traffic. There are currently 3 cars owned by the 30 resident. That is unlikely to change. There should minimal to no impact to traffic patterns in and out of the proposed sit.
TEN: The lack of a sidewalk enabling people to safely walk up to Libbey Park and Help of Ojai has been made into an issue. The city administration has repeatedly stated that an ADA compliant sidewalk will be built. This is a non issue.
ELEVEN: There are complaints that the Public Works Yard is by a park. Let us please remember that the current site is IN a park consisting of an ecologically sensitive riparian woodland.
TWELVE: There is much discussion regarding the sustainability of this project and worries about how it will be paid for in the long term. There is a plan in place for long term funding.
If the grant were rejected, the city would not evict the campers, who are predominantly elderly (2/3 of them over the age of 53, and most with disabilities). The city would pay to maintain the status quo for the long term. That would leave 30+ people in tents with inadequate toileting and bathing facilities for the long term, all at a cost to the city of $500- 600k per year.
The grant will fund the project for 2 years. The 2 million dollars saved by utilizing the Public Works Yard, a property the city already owns, can be deferred for future use, giving the city another 2-3 year runway for maintenance and service costs. During that 4-5 year runway, the Ventura County offices of the Continuum Care will identify and apply for grants to sustain the project, just as they wrote the successful grant for this
project. Additionally, the city administration is suggesting that the city council vote to set aside $100,000 annually to use in the unlikely event funding were not forthcoming. Grants are much more likely to be approved when there is an existing project with a successful track record.
THIRTEEN: Ventura county will not partner with Ojai and provide the land for the project. The Ojai Administration worked for months with the county before being told definitively that county land would not b offered for the project. The county will not give land to the city, but they will support the project by find funding. There have been over a score of projects in Ventura County, all based on the same model. Every
project of this type in Ventura County has been built within city limits; Thousand Oaks, Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Paula and others all have projects on city property. So while it would be great to have that option, it is not on the table. That includes the use of the county land the Honor Farm sits on.
FOURTEEN: A negative domino effect on the downtown, affecting businesses, real estate prices, etc., been cited if this project were to move forward in the proposed location. What would the domino effect be if this project were abandoned and the 30+ people now in the park at City Hall were evicted? These folks would all migrate downtown. At that point, yes, the domino effect might well happen.
FIFTEEN: There is a push to continue looking for a more suitable property than the public works yard. Here is the reality; there is no more suitable property and there is no more time to look for one.
It has been repeatedly said that this project should be located away from people, ignoring the fact that it is people who actually will be living in the project. By the terms of the grant, any site selected must be located close to services such as groceries, pharmacies, and support services such as the Food Bank at Help of Ojai. The Public Works Yard checks all those boxes.
Locating it out of town is not feasible and a change of location out of town would likely not be approved by the state grant committee. Dale Hanson and a team of realtors spent a number of months locating acceptable sites meeting the criteria of the project (3/4+ acre, $2 million range, close to services) Of the sites available, two were on the Avenue and non starters. One was on Bryant Circle, much too expensive, as well
by the Weil Tennis Academy. One was across from Nordoff. None of those sites was deemed acceptable.
IN CLOSING:
The grant has a hard deadline of June 2025 to spend half the grant monies. The clock is ticking and the continued opposition to this project has resulted now in an urgency to move this forward.
It is unfortunate that in order to advance an agenda, disinformation and half truths need to be relied upon. It is sad that the money of a few influential residents can shape the narrative surrounding this project
Ojai is better than that.
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For more detailed information, click on the following link to see our Fact Sheet: