Phase one ends in Plan Santa Barbara process

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Living within our resources.
It’s the subtitle of Plan Santa Barbara, the city’s regularly scheduled General Plan update. It’s also the overwhelming message delivered by hundreds of community members through public workshops, grassroots meetings and private comment cards and emails in the first phase of the update process.
As the process continues, those public concerns and suggestions will evolve into concrete public policies that will guide the city and its residents into the next twenty years.

In a summary report put together by city staff, public comments reflect a vision of Santa Barbara as a diverse, small-town community with historic character, a vibrant arts scene, environmental sustainability, and measured growth that will allow a revitalization of middle-class families.
“We want it all,” Councilmember Helene Schneider said. “I think that’s what we heard from the public.”
From the flood of comments and concerns, staff created a summary with seven main bullet points: growth, community design, housing, environment, transportation, sense of community, economy, public facilities, and community health.
Although a few points, such as a focus on healthy lifestyles, did surprise some at City Hall, local leaders felt they had been aware of most of the issues discussed.
“So far, it’s pretty much stuff that’s been on our radar,” Councilmember Iya Falcone said.
Growth and land use dominated the feedback topics, with responses varying from those who feel the city should take a hardline, zero-tolerance approach toward development to others who want to see growth in targeted mixed-use and high-density zones.
“That is the challenge for us as a community — to come together and figure out how to resolve these kinds of things,” Councilmember Grant House said. “…I think we are far from consensus. I think we’re at the beginning of a process to reach consensus.”
As the summary of public input indicates, local residents have widely varied visions for the future of Santa Barbara. Some expressed worry about suburban sprawl into agricultural land, while others focused on the scale of downtown, often citing the development of Chapala Street as an example.
Some participants argued that the city cannot build its way out of the housing crisis as others urged city planners to provide housing options for people of all income levels.
“Most of my supporters want more affordable housing, but most of my supporters also want to lower height limits and protect open space,” Councilmember Das Williams said. “Doing all three of those at the same time is kind of difficult, if not impossible.”
He said policy leaders and community members will have to search their souls and prioritize the issues raised during the initial phase of the update process, a feeling echoed by other city leaders.
“I would love to be able to come to a consensus from the residents, but it might not be possible on some things,” Mayor Mary Blum said. “We might have to proceed slowly on certain projects — see how this works, see how that works.”
Although the community is largely divided on development-related issues, the summary report did reveal widespread community support for other areas, such as improving sustainability and supporting small businesses.
Most participants urged city leaders to continue to pursue alternative sources of energy, reduce waste and protect natural resources. They also asked for more incentives for businesses and homeowners to reduce waste and energy consumption.
Many comments also focused on the rising cost of living and its impact on small businesses that already struggle with expensive leases and a shrinking workforce. According to the report, most participants feel the “mom and pop” shops are being pushed out of Santa Barbara by large chain stores.
While many of these topics have been front and center for local leaders, a focus on creating a healthy community took several by surprise.
“I come from an old school of planning where health issues are health issues and land-use issues are a completely different thing,” Mayor Blum said, adding that though it may have taken her longer to grasp a connection, she feels addressing public health through long-term planning and design is a great idea.
In that vein, members of the public want to see the city encouraging a healthy lifestyle by creating safe routes for walking and bicycling, as well as a focus on open space and parks.
In all, more than 900 residents came to four public workshops and dozens of grassroots meetings. Another 550 community members sent in comment cards and e-mails.
“I think staff has done an amazing job,” Falcone said. “Their eye toward diligence and real inclusiveness of all the various aspects of the community has been very complete.”
The Council is expected to approve a contract to start the Environmental Impact Review process in February, which will take the abstract concepts discussed during the initial phase of Plan Santa Barbara and create and analyze concrete policy options that will shape the town for the next twenty years.
“We’ve had the general start with a blank slate,” Schneider said. “Now we need to filter that down.”
Keeping residents involved in that process and making sure information gets out to the community is going to be key, Falcone said, to ensure everyone feels their voices have been heard.
For those who want to become involved, the project website, www.youplansb.org, includes recent news and upcoming events, as well as the summary report of the first phase of public input.
“I’m looking very forward into delving deeper into this now,” Mayor Blum said. “It seems like it’s taken a lot of time to get us to where we are, but I think we’re going to start moving a lot faster.”