Vacant Property Maintenance, Security & Registration

Vacant buildings are a major cause and source of blight in both residential and non-residential neighborhoods, especially when the owner of the building fails to actively maintain and manage the building to ensure that it does not become a liability to the neighborhood. Vacant buildings (whether or not those buildings are boarded), substandard or unkempt buildings and long-term vacancies discourage economic development and retard appreciation of property values. Vacant buildings are potential fire hazards and can jeopardize the ability of owners of neighboring property from securing or maintaining affordable fire insurance. It is the responsibility of property ownership to prevent owned property from becoming a burden to the neighborhood and community and a threat to the public health, safety or welfare. One vacant building which is not actively and well maintained and managed can be the core and cause of spreading blight.

Identification & Evaluation of Vacant Buildings

Potential Vacant Properties

Members of the public who wish to submit information to identify potential vacant buildings may do so by accessing 'My Ojai'. You may download the free mobile app or access through the portal on the City of Ojai website on the "My Ojai" page.

More information can be found at the "My Ojai" launch announcement page.

Registered Vacant Properties

To begin the process of registering a Vacant Property, please submit a Vacant Property Registration Permit Application (PDF).

The public may view Community Development Department project and permit information by using the City of Ojai Accela Citizen Access portal page, including Vacant Properties that have been registered with the City. The link can be found on the Accela Citizen Portal page. The public may perform simple searches and generate custom reports (such as by address or by keywords), including records of Registered Vacant Property in the City of Ojai. Creating an account is not required, although creating an account expands search options.

To view Community Development Department project and permit information, access the New Citizen Portal. Enter information to search for records, such as the Site Address, Contractor Information, Parcel Number. General sorting can be done by clicking on the column heading.

To search the Accela Citizen Access portal for Registered Vacant Properties:

• Access the New Citizen Portal.
• Click on "Search Cases" under Planning. In the Project Name field, enter the following: *Vacant* (Note: include both asterisks as shown)
• Select a date range as needed.
• Click "Search".
• Click on "Download Results" to save the results on your computer in an excel format, which is a report that can be customized, sorted and perform searches.