The City of Ventura is seeking community input on the regulation and enforcement of short-term vacation rentals (STVR) in Ventura through an online survey at https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/172/Short-Term-Vacation-Rentals. The input will inform staff recommendations that will be presented to the City Council early next year. The survey is open now through November 27, 2018.

Short-term vacation rentals are residential units that are rented for less than 30 consecutive days. These units are currently allowed in the City with a permit and consistent with existing regulations. The City may consider amendments to the existing regulations and enforcement.

Before taking the survey, community members are encouraged to review the STVR information on the City’s website that includes the Municipal Code, performance standards, how to report violations, and other various materials at https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/172/Short-Term-Vacation-Rentals. Community feedback from previous public meetings is also on the website. For questions please call the Business License Office at (805) 658-4715.

The Ventura City Council directed staff to engage various stakeholders and the community to review and consider possible changes to the short-term vacation rental ordinance and related policies.

by Richard Lieberman

The City Council has voted to ban motorized scooters at least temporarily. The council will review it at later date when data from cities that have approved the scooters become readily available. Cities all over the state are making an effort to manage these devices. It is not just in California that people are struggling with the negative knock-on effects of using electric scooters. Scooter accidents happen all of the time in Denver. As a result, legal action has become a very common practice.

Suddenly with little or no warning these devices appear on the streets in the hundreds. Cities are scrambling to get a handle on them since they showed up about a year ago. Cities have tried outright bans, looking at options for strict regulation, letting them operate independently or implementing pilot programs with strict oversight.

In other cities that have had the experience the personal mobilization devices seem to have showed up overnight. Sometimes they are just dropped off by the companies that own them. Riders download an app on their smart phones that gives the location of a close by scooter. The rider then picks it up and rides away. The business model that the city has seen is one where there are no set parking places for the devices and a rider drops the scooter off just about anywhere in the city. There appears to not have been any attempts by the companies to get into Ventura County.

Downtown Ventura, a popular tourist attraction with its seaside promenade, would be a likely target for an e-scooter company according to a staff report which also noted that these devices would be picked up and impounded, according to the proposed ordinance.

“The city does not currently have regulations on the shared mobility devices”, City Attorney Gregory Diaz said. While the city has had informal discussions on the issue, it wasn’t until recently that a company offering the e-scooter model applied for a business permit. By banning their use, the city can effectively stop the companies from beginning to operate without first getting a regulatory license, Diaz said.

Regulatory licenses are typically required of massage parlors, pawn shops, adult businesses or other industries that may have been problematic in the past. Diaz said that city staff would need to research regulations and how the scooters would work in the city, and those are the same people working on the Thomas Fire rebuilding effort and long-delayed public works projects. “This isn’t intended to be a permanent ban. There are other priorities we have at the moment. It may make sense in the future”, Diaz said, just not now.

The e-scooter have worked well in Portland, Oregon, where a healthy system of bike lanes already existed, and the city regulated their prevalence. At least three council members expressed concern about the city’s liability when it comes to mishaps and accidents.

The staff report also mentions “While there are benefits of the shared mobility devices , there are issues associated with them that will require detailed analysis by the city to ensure they do not create immediate nuisance conditions to which the city is just not geared up to deal with at the time the business is established.”

by Richard Lieberman

During a recent Ventura City Council meeting the council voted unanimously to adopt a provision that will increase your electric bill by 7-9%. The council approved a measure that will put Ventura at the forefront of a measure that will require 100% of Ventura’s electricity be sourced with renewable energy.

In recent years alternative energy providers have emerged shaking up an industry that traditional had no competition.

Last February the Ventura City Council voted to join the Clean Power Alliance. The alliance offers community choice aggregation, which works by allowing cities and counties to buy and invest in renewable energy.

Once it is up and running the, the alliance will be the state’s biggest community choice aggregation provider in terms of members.

Ventura, Camarillo, Moorpark Ojai, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and the county have all joined along with Los Angeles County, which gave the alliance a $10 million loan to help with startup cost, and 23 other cities in L.A. County.

Although actual costs are still unknown and will not be fully known until November, cities must set a default rate which is the percentage of renewable energy customers who do nothing are automatically enrolled in.

Electric utility customers who want to stay with Edison or who want a different percentage of renewables can do so, but they must manually opt out or change their default. The change can be accomplished on-line, or by mail. The options that will face Ventura Southern California Edison customers contains three tiers: 36 percent renewables, 50% renewables and 100% renewables.

The alliance predicts savings of from 1-3% for 36% renewables, no change in cost if 50% is selected, and a 7-9% premium cost for opting 100% renewables.

City staff had recommended to the council that Ventura go with the 50% renewable tier, but after several public speakers advanced the 100% alternative as the best, smartest way to face a future of global warming, sea level rise and continuing drought, as an effective way of reducing the city’s carbon footprint the council agreed.

Currently the alliance is projecting savings on Edison base rate in the 36% tier of about 3 percent, 1% or less for the 50% tier and addition costs of up to 9% for the now approved goal of 100% renewables.

Camarillo, Moorpark and Simi Valley have set their rates at the 50% level, while Ojai and the county set their rates at 100% renewables. Oxnard has yet to set a default.

Clean Power Alliance Executive Director Ted Bardacke said he anticipates those rate differentials holding true even with a significant decision made by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The commission voted unanimously to change the way “exit fees” are calculated on community choice aggregation customers who leave investor owned utilities (like Edison). The fees are charged to ensure every customer, whether they are served by a community choice aggregation or an investor owned utility pays for power already purchased on their behalf.

PUC commissioners felt the new exit fees more fairly spread the costs between investor-owned utility customers and community choice customers.

Last year 32 percent of Edison’s energy came from renewable sources, according to Edison also offers customers the option to increase that percentage of renewable energy to 50 and 100 percent at additional cost.

The council also considered and approved to continue with plans for a new parking garage in downtown and the city is soon reviewing architectural plans and drawings.

The council also released Thomas Fire new construction permit numbers and they now stand at 82 permits issued, with more forthcoming.

Council passes a contract for temporary generator rental which will include ten generator rentals for emergency power.

New signalized crossings, traffic striping, and pedestrian-activated flashing beacon crossings have been installed at the Five Points intersection in Midtown to improve safety and access through this intersection located at Thompson Boulevard, Main Street and Telegraph Road. Drivers are advised to take proper safety precautions, yield to pedestrians and bicyclists in the right-of-way and share the traffic lanes in a safe and cohesive manner.

The Five Points intersection improvement project includes the installation of new access curb ramps, sidewalk and passageways through medians, traffic signage and striping, and concrete median islands.  New bike boxes (bright-green box on the road with a white bicycle symbol inside) have been installed on the eastbound and westbound lanes of Main Street at the intersection. As a reminder, drivers should stop behind the white stop line (behind the green box) when the traffic signal is yellow or red; do not stop on top of the bike box. When the traffic light turns green, drivers and cyclists move through the intersection with cyclists going first. Bicyclists should enter the bike box from the green bike lane.

Two new pedestrian-activated flashing beacon crossings have been installed on the eastbound lanes of Thompson Boulevard; at Frances Street, and on the south side of the intersection. Motorists are required to stop for pedestrians however pedestrians should make sure cars are stopped before they begin to cross the street.  These improvements are important to increase motorists’ awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists at intersections especially at multi-lane crossings such as Thompson Boulevard.

The City of Ventura Bicycle Master Plan identified the redesign of the Five Points intersection as an opportunity to improve pedestrian and bicyclists’ access and safety. Last year the City of Ventura was named a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.

by Richard Lieberman

The Ventura City Council at a recent Monday evening session has approved a plan to join the city of Oxnard for an up-to-six-month “pilot shelter” instead of the traditional foul weather seasonal homeless shelter.

According to the proposed plan, the new 24-hour homeless shelter will offer services to the homeless such as employment help, housing assistance, mental health and substance abuse issues among the homeless population. The proposal will use the Oxnard Armory, owned buy the city of Oxnard to house the proposed year-round shelter.

The city of Oxnard, Ventura and the county would each pay $185,000, with the funding share to possibly be proportioned based on the actual use of the shelter by Ventura and Oxnard persons experiencing homelessness, the staff report states.

Both cities would be using the shelter until they open permanent ones. Oxnard is looking for a site to put a permanent shelter in its community, while Ventura is working on a plan to lease the first floor of a Ventura County building located on Knoll Drive in Ventura.

The Knoll Drive location needs many improvements including sprinklers, bathrooms, showers, and asbestos abatement among just a few. The city is also seeking an operator and has already conducted three interviews of potential operators. The site could potentially be up and running by next winter. Costs are estimated to be in the $2 million for the proposed improvements and $1.2 million to run each year. Half that amount would be the city’s share. “Significant concerns were expressed regarding existing safety concerns and that the shelter will worsen this already challenging environment,” the staff report says in part.

There were also concerns expressed about property values.

Another option would be a shelter that would open just when the weather reaches a certain temperature or rain is predicted at a certain level. Based on the past two years, such a shelter would open approximately 22 days from December through March and cost $15,000 to $20,000.

A location has yet to be identified, but city staff and the Ventura Social Services Task Force identified several faith-based organizations willing to volunteer once a site has been determined. The city already has the cots and linens to use in a temporary space.

The city has also adopted a “declaration of shelter crisis,” which paves the way to get money through the state’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program. The county will receive nearly $4.9 million to distribute early next month. Oxnard, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Simi Valley and the county have already approved the declaration staff reports indicate.

The council also approved a new two-year contract with members of the Service Employees International Union. The contract gives the group a raise of just over 5 percent and a one-time payment of $500 instead of retroactive pay. The previous contract expired on June 30^th.

The new contract runs from July 1^st, 2018 to June 30^th, 2020, and cost is estimated at $1.3 million.

The two-year cost for all labor groups approved so far is $3.8 million. This figure does not include members of the city’s fire two fire unions which have yet to reach an agreement on a new contract.

Ventura Water will start upgrading manually-read meters with new meters that will automatically relay customer’s water usage to the City’s water billing system through a secured network. The project began on October 1, 2018 and will replace water meters for approximately 32,000 Ventura Water customers over a 3-year period.

The new meters will allow customers to track daily water use and be notified of leaks with Home Connect, a new online water tracker.  “Ventura Water relies heavily on accurate and timely data,” said Ventura Water General Manager Kevin Brown. “The meter upgrade project will modernize our system and equip both customers and staff to better manage our water resources through real time water usage data and greatly improved leak detection.”

Customers will receive a notification in the mail 1-2 weeks prior to their scheduled upgrade. The City’s contractor, Professional Meters Inc. (PMI), will be installing the new water meters. Customers do not have to be at home for the replacement to occur.  Once the exchange is complete, customers will receive a door hanger detailing the work performed and additional contact information.

The City asks that customers provide easy access to their water meters by making sure the meters are not blocked by bushes, vines, equipment, or other materials that would prevent PMI personnel from replacing the meter. Meter boxes are typically located near the sidewalk. Customers with a meter behind a locked gate or a meter that is otherwise inaccessible should call PMI at 1-866-965-0657 to schedule an appointment for the new meter installation.

PMI installers will have easily identifiable uniforms and their vehicles will have identifying logos.  If an installer cannot show you an identification badge, or if you have a concern about the identification, please call the PMI call center at 1-866-270-9629 or Ventura Water Customer Care at (805) 667-6500.

For information on Ventura Water’s Meter Upgrade Project and updates visit www.venturawater.net.