Council gives OK to continue airport plans

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A majority of the Santa Barbara City Council seemed comfortable with authorizing the completion of design plans and permits for the new terminal at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport yesterday after stressing the importance of making it as sustainable as possible.
The Council voted 6-0 in favor of moving forward with the final stages of the design process. Councilmember Das Williams abstained from the vote.

“This decision for the Council is probably the most momentous decision that we will make while I’m here, in terms of longevity,” Councilmember Williams said. “...We would really be missing the boat if at the end of this we didn’t have an airport that doesn’t use less or equal amounts of energy [than the current terminal].”
Other members of the Council agreed that designing the most energy-efficient terminal is a top priority, but seemed hesitant to delay the design process.
“This is the time to do it,” Councilmember Grant House said, adding that waiting will only add unnecessary costs that could be used to build more sustainable features. Councilmember Iya Falcone agreed, adding that the Council needs to keep in mind the “practicalities and functionality” of what the terminal is there to serve, and sacrificing some features to improve sustainability may end up hurting the project.
Airport officials said most of the focus of the design process so far has been on architecture, and with the Council’s approval they will be able to look specifically at adding more energy-efficient features before returning for final design approval.
Councilmember Williams said it would be hypocritical of the city to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol, offer support of local energy-efficiency programs and not lead by example. Councilmember Helene Schneider agreed, saying, “If it comes to us for final approval and we are mandating private builders to be held to a higher standard than we are ourselves, that will put us in a tight spot.”
Before abstaining, Councilmember Williams said he isn’t trying to unfairly subject the terminal project to an unreachable standard.
“There’s some real concrete gains here,” he said. “We’re getting there, we’re close, but we’re not quite there yet.”
Airport Director Karen Ramsdell said despite issues over the new terminal’s sustainability, she is pleased with the progress of its design phase.
“I think we are on a very positive track, and it gets better and better with every review,” Ramsdell said.
She went over the latest design changes with the City Council, describing how budgetary constraints required the elimination of the rotunda on the northwest corner of the building and automatic baggage carousels from the plans. Ramsdell said no sustainable features or materials will be affected by those changes, and the new design is more refined and simplified as a result.