Plaza changes receive big praise

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A major redesign that has been proposed for De la Guerra Plaza whizzed through the City of Santa Barbara’s Historic Landmarks Commission yesterday with unanimous praise, and according to Commission Chair William La Voie, “Is something we’d like to see go forward.”
Some of the biggest proposed changes revealed at the meeting are to raise the roadway around the plaza’s horse shoe-shaped road, restrict vehicle access, eliminate all permanent parking, turn De la Guerra Street into a one-way street between Anacapa and State streets and allow outdoor dining on Storke Placita.

The goal behind the changes, according to La Voie, is to revitalize the plaza by making it more appealing to the public.
That’s also what the City Council had in mind when they requested a full-blown plan be erected to eliminate automobile traffic in the plaza and give it an aesthetic retooling.
“De la Guerra Plaza right now is very, very tired,” said Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum. “It needs new vibrancy, we’re not going to get that new vibrancy by putting on a new slurry seal. We have to do something that’s different.”
While the majority of public speakers yesterday were in favor of the changes, a legal representative from the Santa Barbara News-Press said the newspaper does not welcome the changes.
“This is a cure that’s worse than the disease for sure,” said Matt Fisher, an attorney with Cappello & Noel, a law firm representing the News-Press. “Keep it open and that is the position of the News-Press.”
The newspaper’s main office lines the west end of the plaza.
The 35 parking spaces in the plaza loop are designated 30- to 75-minute zones and are most heavily used by those paying bills at City Hall and News-Press customers.
Fisher insisted that the plaza has been used by automobiles for at least 80 years and should stay that way.
La Voie took exception to the News-Press’s opinion.
“They’re fighting a good urban design based on their own personal needs,” he said.
The proposed design was drafted and presented by Douglas and Regula Campbell of the local design and architecture firm Campbell & Campbell. The duo said at least 15 of the 35 parking spaces would be replaced along De la Guerra Street by changing the parking from parallel to diagonal. This would be made possible, according to the plans, if and when the road is restricted to one-way westbound traffic.
The other parking spots, they said, would be replaced by opening the City Hall parking lot to a limited amount of public parking.
Blum noted that city parking lot No. 10 on Anacapa and Ortega streets is only one block away and city employees and members of the public could park there as an alternative.
“I’m not in favor just taking that parking off of there and not finding other places," she said.
Doug Campbell told the commission the plaza would still be open to emergency and delivery vehicles, but would be blocked by recessable barriers the rest of the time.
It remains to be seen how the project will be tweaked as it moves through several of the city’s commissions and boards, and Brian Bosse, a redevelopment supervisor for the city, stressed the project has just begun its journey.
“We’re at the very initial stages of this process,” Bosse said. “Nothing is set in stone.”
Though Blum said she hasn’t seen the project as it was shown yesterday, she said she saw earlier designs by Campbell & Campbell, which she liked.
“I thought it looked good enough to send it to [the Historic Landmarks Commission] and let's see what everyone says along the way,” Blum said.
Jarrell Jackman, executive director for the Trust for Historical Preservation, which owns the adjacent Casa de la Guerra, said he approves of the project as it is proposed.
“We’ve thought a lot about this and we know we need to bring our side alive,” Jackman said. “[The plaza] is not a real active place at this particular point. I think this is a great first step.”
One person who spoke during public comment called the plaza’s current incarnation “crumby,” and said he believes “it’s an embarrassment even when it looks good.”
Bosse said a public meeting is scheduled for Nov. 7 and the project is expected to go before the Planning Commission on Dec. 13.
The plan will also be reviewed by the Downtown Organization, Downtown Parking Committee, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Transportation and Circulation Committee.
While praising the project, La Voie noted the city’s well-documented, stringent planning process and possibly opened a window into the project’s future in the coming months.
“This is a hard nut to crack in a community that’s very hard to please,” he said.