Council debates war, peace
By Jesse Phelps

All they really wanted to do was watch a slide show. Or maybe decide how to disburse some funds, purchase some property or celebrate the court victory for Los Arboles. Instead, Ojai City Council was inundated Tuesday night with a significant group of valley citizens concerned about the war in Iraq.

Thirty-seven speakers, many determined to take their full three minutes, got up to voice their strong opinions about the prospect of City Council supporting a resolution to stand against the federal government's decision to go to war.

In a pre-emptive strike of her own, councilwoman Rae Hanstad moved to table the item, if not the discussion, until a later date before a single speaker was heard, citing ill-timing and considerations about the wording of the initial draft.

"We would not intend to inhibit public comment," said Hanstad, "But I propose that we pull it from the agenda."

Prepared anti-war speakers came with a new draft in hand asking the council to: protest the ongoing war with Iraq; declare the war contrary to the interests of the people of Ojai; call for the immediate safe return of U.S. military personnel; and urge the federal government to adopt a "foreign policy that achieves victory through diplomacy rather than war."

Mayor Joe DeVito, recognizing the potential for fireworks, moved the agenda item from fifth on the docket to first and requested that all in the audience be respectful of each speaker by holding off on applause or jeers. It hardly mattered.

DeVito asked that speakers line up initially by who wished to talk about whether or not council should take a decisive vote immediately, rather than tabling the issue for future consideration. And thus the floodgates were opened.

Speaker after speaker voiced concerns, ranging from whether Ojai would be sending the right message to those in the field were it to oppose the war, to the true meaning of patriotism,, to the role of city government in international affairs.

Soon, a line had formed going out the door into the foyer. As the speakers came and went, a striking dichotomy emerged between those opposed and those in favor of the resolution.

Some even proposed an alternative. Retired Army veteran Magnus Struder urged council "not to give any consideration to the proposed anti-war resolution. Rather I urge you to instruct staff to prepare a resolution in support of our troops in their combat role."

Struder and several other speakers opposing the anti-war resolution prompted enthusiastic applause from the audience, despite DeVito's opening request.

Claps and cheers also greeted the more eloquent statements on behalf of peace and signing the resolution. When local resident Clive Leeman vehemently followed Struder with a statement about our disappearing freedoms, which spurred the anti-war contingent into an enthusiastic fervor, DeVito had had enough.

He repeated his request for silence and respect of each speaker, at which point things began to crescendo. "Pro-war people have been clapping and you didn't stop them!" shouted one person.

After a bit of back and forth, DeVito put his foot down, offering to have the police escort anyone he found to be disruptive out the door. One speaker, Jack Harper, used his time to say, ""It's getting a little out of hand out here and I think we should just move on."
"I wish we could," replied DeVito.

After several more speakers, move on the council did. Despite impassioned pleas on every side, only DeVito was willing to make a stand, saying, "You all know how I feel about it."

The eventual vote, not on whether to support the resolution but whether to table it until another time, went four-to-one - with DeVito's opposing it - in favor of putting it off.
The time was 9:45 p.m. when council finally moved on to other items.

The first was a presentation by Tom Bostrom, whose firm has been busy putting together the preliminary stages of a Master Tree Plan for Ojai. Bostrom identified elements of the plan and priorities for reforestation in the city.

According to Bostrom, Ojai currently boasts about 20,000 non-native trees (including citrus) and about 15,000 native trees (including oaks).

Though those numbers may sound impressive, in 1850, around the time when the first White settlers were arriving, Ojai had close to 80,000 native trees alone, many of which were used for fuel in the days before oil and electrical outlets. By 1950, that number had been halved, with many of the remaining trees now of the non-native variety.

"The question," said Bostrom, "Is what do we want by 2050?"

The council was impressed with Bostrom's graphs and charts relating people to tree ratios and native to non-native ratios and by the general outline of the plan. Bostrom has divided the city into several zones and said that two approaches exist for the planting phase.

The traditional approach features symmetry, even spacing and non-native trees. The "ecological approach" features more non-natives, age differentiation and variable spacing.

The next step, Bostrom said, is to take the idea to the public and begin to educate and elicit feedback.

As the meeting wore on, the council took action on several other issues. It approved Joan Kemper's request to replace the wooden benches at Libbey Bowl and insert new benches in the "terrace area" adjacent to the tennis courts and facing the bowl on the condition that the benches have a natural wood, tan finish.

It agreed to accept a gift of property from the Ojai Library Friends and Foundation which will eventually be used for the library's expansion. The property, once the working office of Edward Libbey, will retain its original facade though it may need retrofitting for earthquake safety.

The council also set dates for protocol workshops, adopted resolutions for street lights and did, indeed, watch a slide show.

The slides, most of which depicted the businesses and beauty of Ojai, were part of a presentation by the Chamber of Commerce surrounding its joint venture with the city to create a community marketing and advertising effort entitled "Visit Ojai."

The campaign, aimed to drive tourism dollars into town, will take the form of CDs, Internet and direct marketing and was well-received by the council, which voted four-to-one - with Hanstad the lone dissenter - to allocate $7,500 to go forward.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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