Dispatch from a Tourist Town
A quick report on the Ojai Valley Inn’s expansion plans, including a "shuttle path" through the bike trail.
Note to readers: an earlier version of this story stated that The Winery plans include a “parking lot named for the Chumash.” OVIS Senior Vice President Chris Kandziora clarified Dec. 6th at 5:30 p.m. that the “Chumash lot” is not part of The Winery plans, but an internal term used for another parking lot at the Inn. I regret the error.
Greetings readers!
First: I made a few updates to my last pickleball story, including statements from No on O proponent Karin Quimby and City Attorney Matthew Summers.
In other news, I attended an Ojai Planning Commission meeting yesterday evening to learn about the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa’s proposed expansion at 821 W. Ojai Ave. (the former Topa Mountain Winery). They’re calling it… The Winery.
And couldn’t resist the urge to share a few details.
First, a little background: The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa (OVIS) acquired the W. Ojai Ave. property in 2022 for $3.5 million, according to property records. In fact, the Inn owned the property from 2007-2013, before selling it to former Topa Mountain Winery owner Larry Guerra. The Inn took the opportunity to buy it back when Guerra offered to sell, said OVIS Senior Vice President Chris Kandziora.
So — the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa bought a winery, which they’d like to redevelop into The Winery. Why do I care? Because I’m obsessed with this particular “AAA Five Diamond” resort’s political power within the City of Ojai — and I see their influence increasing as tourism becomes a larger piece of the local economy.
Let me provide a quick primer on Ojai’s transient occupancy tax, or TOT — a 15% tax on hotel rooms. TOT is the single largest contributor to the City’s 2024-2025 General Fund ($6.6 million of $16.3 million). Sales tax (alongside property tax) are the two other significant sources of general fund revenue (together, TOT, sales tax, and property tax make up the “big three” contributors to the general fund.) According to the City of Ojai’s 24-25 budget, “[The] Ojai Valley Inn and Spa remains the top producer of TOT revenue and sales tax revenue for Ojai.”
This is why my ears perk up when I have to opportunity to learn about the Inn’s future plans, because — like it or not — the resort defines the broader public’s impression of the Ojai Valley, not to mention a good chunk the City of Ojai’s budget.
Ok — enough of that.
The first most interesting thing I learned about last night is how the Inn conceives of itself. Kandziora spoke at length about how the resort began redefining its marketing strategy a decade ago:
“…More than ten years ago. The resort itself, I would say it wasn’t really performing how it is today with occupancy and rate. It was maybe struggling a little bit. We as a leadership team were really kind of looking at ourselves, saying, ‘You know, who do we compete against?’
“And the majority of our competitors are ocean resorts. You’ve got the Montages and the [Ritz Carlton] Bacaras and all of these resorts all the way down on the coast… what can we do that makes us different than our other competitors?
“There was a time when I first started that, I put on our website, you know, ‘we’re 12 miles from the ocean, you should bring your surfboard!’ I tried to drag the ocean closer to Ojai, and it didn’t work. It just didn’t work. I mean, I spent so much time trying to convince people that, ‘Yeah, I know it’s hot here in the summer, but the ocean is so close, and look at the Ventura Pier!’ All of these things. And none of that marketing worked.
“So we went through this kind of like, you know, soul searching process of, ‘Who do we want to be? What can we own that nobody else can own?’ And, you know, it’s this valley. It’s our backyard.
“And you know, when people are talking about farm-to-table, farm-to-table — we’re true farm to table in this valley, we’re valley to table. We have one of the longest running organic farmers markets in the state right here. Why don’t we elevate the experience of living here: with the olive oil, with the honey tasting, the citrus trees, and try to own this more epicurean experience that no one else really can do?
“So the creation of the farmhouse itself was really to pay homage to the first industry of Ojai, which was farming.”
(The Inn unveiled the $20 million dollar event space, known as The Farmhouse in 2020, according to the Ojai Valley News. According to the Inn, “The Farmhouse [is] where rustic charm meets modern luxury.”)
Kandziora continued, “And so we created [The Farmhouse] for that reason and then we also incorporated all of these culinary events. We were fortunate enough to have a culinary ambassador named Nancy Silverton out of Los Angeles and start bringing all of these chefs to share their craft with the world at the farmhouse, and it’s been highly successful for us. And we’ve grown over the years because of it. So the reason that architecture exists is again, because of the history of the Ojai Valley, and how we wanted to differentiate ourselves and become more of that epicurean experience. So The Winery is like step two of that experience for our guests.”
The Winery is notably is modeled on the “farmhouse” style. Ojai Historic Preservation Commissioner Brian Aikens called in during the meeting’s public comment period to dispute the Inn’s assertion that farmhouse architecture is part of the City’s history. “I’m pretty sure that none of our [City] landmarks are barns… that’s a bit of a reach,” Aikens said.
(If you haven’t read my story from earlier this year about the past and future of Ojai agriculture — check it out!)
Alright, moving along — I have a few more details to share.
There’s one piece of the project that I’m willing to bet will inflame the public: an Ojai Valley Inn shuttle path that is proposed to bisect the Ojai Valley (Bike) Trail. Here are a few images:
Critically, according to Kandziora, (bike) trail users will maintain the right of way. The stop signs you see in the images above are for the OVIS shuttles (Kandziora also referred to this as “the golf cart path.”)
“It’s important for us to make that connection so we can have our guests bike [and] walk and then extend our shuttle service into the winery area,” Kandziora said. “The goal would be to make this safer than the street crossing.”
Before Ojai Valley Trail users start freaking out: the “shuttle path” decision belongs to the Ojai City Council, according to Community Development Director Lucas Siebert.
I’ll also note that Kandziora stated that The Winery will not be reserved solely for Inn guests — the intention, he said, is “to maintain this facility as a local’s favorite.”
The vast majority of public speakers requested the Planning Commission continue the conversation in the new year — the Commission agreed unanimously — the body will pick the issue back up after the holidays at their January 15, 2025 meeting.
I’m going to leave it right there. As always, thank you for being here.
The TOT revenue numbers are eye opening. The vast majority must come from the Ojai Valley Inn. The City could not pay for police services without this revenue.