John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – You can’t talk about Santa Barbara without talking about State Street. It runs through the center of town and for the last six years it has been going through a transition. For some its taken too long, and for others it’s been painful.
It’s one of the most beautiful downtown streets any city could wish for.
But the roadmap ahead since the closure of State Street to cars during the pandemic has been very bumpy on top of other on going economic factors such as high rents and on line shopping trends.
Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse growled at a recent hours-long council meeting – saying, ” it doesn’t take a lot of studies. It doesn’t take another consultant. Just go for a walk. It’s not happening out there, but it can happen but we equivocate and have done nothing for all these years.”
Mayor Rowse can’t believe since the pandemic more revitalization hasn’t happened. He has been counting off the “missed” summers for several years without seeing the flow of people that used to come through.
Rowse stood on the street during a recent weekday morning and said, “why can’t we just open the street, clean it and light it and bring it back to life and the bring back the activity again and then we can work on the master plan incrementally.”
The Master Plan has been months in the design, with city staff members putting in countless hours, listening to consultants, looking at drawings, hearing curb-to-curb conflicting solutions and now it is time to hit the asphalt with something that’s expected to be workable and flexible.
City Master Planner Tess Harris, has brought countless groups together and a focused team of influencial business and community leaders to be part of the turning point ideas and vision for the future. The design has had to balance the city’s historic image and meet the needs of the current and future uses from the public.
That includes how they move about, park, use shuttle transit, dine in or out and get to shopping locations. The shared space is not always easy to navigate. The framework was built over 100 years ago and has been preserved by many community design rules and oversight boards.
The draft plan was recently presented during a lengthy council meeting. It has mostly favorable reviews. The cost was estimated to be millions of dollars per block from Gutierrez Street to Sola Street.
Robin Elander is the Executive Director of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association. She says there are 1,500 businesses in that area including the side streets bordered by Chapala St. and Anacapa St.
Elander recently told the city the time has come to move forward with a plan and find common ground on changes now with room to try out new ideas in the months ahead.
“It is all about coming together to create a robust management and operations plan that stands the test of time for downtown,” she said.
The cry from the public and business owners has been loud and conflicted over the ongoing timeline in recent years while the future is studied.
Costs for consultants and trial ideas like a specially designed walkway on both sides of the 500 block added to green bike lane paint have exceeded $1 million dollars and cause taxpayers to bristle at the unclear results. The city is also in a financial squeeze and lower than normal reserves.
Councilmember Eric Friedman walked door to door to talk to business owners. He says some are on the verge of closing down. “They are worried that if we just keep doing the same thing that we are doing that is going to be the end of their businesses they’ve invested in. Some of them for decades here.”
Business owner Bob Stout has played an active role in the downtown revitalization in several different phases, including on the spot plans to survive the pandemic slow down and create outside dining plans.
He has seen the area change in many ways and when evaluating the current situation he says, “the majority of the people, not just my employees, my friends, my business friends, tourists, locals who actually come downtown, think it’s better than it’s been in the last five years.” Stout owns the Wildcat Lounge one of the most popular nightclubs in the city.
Santa Barbara City Councilmember Mike Jordan has a ten-point solution plan and wants to see cars come back at times, and the streets closed at other times. He also says some of the reports at some meetings don’t align with what he hears from the staff in other conversations. “It is really disheartening to be part of these conversations and then have the rug pulled out from underneath you,” said Jordan.
For one long time resident she sees an action plan now.
Cathy Romasanta-Eckert, a hotel owner said at a council meeting, when she looks at the street she could see, “parking parallel up State street. You’ve got bikes going both ways on the other side of State Street. You’ve got cars going up the middle of the road, solves your problem. You’ve got bike riders, you’ve got parking, you’ve got cars. Open up State Street!”
From everything seen in new drawings, bikes will be part of the Master plan, but some city leaders are fed up with specifically reckless bike riders, who they say at times not only ruin the image of State Street, but also have a negative impact on the economy.
Councilmember Kristen Sneddon said she has heard from some residents that their concerns over dangerous bike riders is the sole reason they don’t come downtown.
This has become a daily safety issue. It’s not necessarily the popularity of e-bikes – rather the riders who will speed, do left and right road course styles of riding, pop wheelies for a half a block or more and zoom past strolling shoppers. Some people want nothing to do with it. They are staying away.
Sneddon said with a firm voice, “we have to address the dangerous and reckless bike riding immediately. I think the entire thing (master plan) is in jeopardy if we can not get this in hand.”
Overall she likes the draft plan and has said, “let’s get going!”
Reyna Angel works downtown and wants to see it come alive again. “The town is stagnant and needs to flow. We need our parades back on State Street.” She was referring to the many annual parades that no longer take place on State due to a variety of concerns. They include parklets and rental bike racks in the path along with police concerns about managing a crowd of over 75,000 in a tight area. Plus the Old Spanish Days parade has hundreds of horses close to the public with no barriers. There was also a concern about safety from possible violence at big events like this. It requires extra uniformed officers and back up from outside agencies.
Illegal food and retail vendors are not under control. For the last few years at night, multiple street kitchens have been set up without permits or oversight on food quality. Some of the vendors have used city property for their set up areas causing damage to planters and sidewalks. Recently, more enforcement has taken place and the larger kitchens are no longer setting up. Strolling hot food carts are still out by businesses and theatres at night.
Some downtown business owners say their sales have gone down as a result and it’s been frustrating to contact public leaders and health officials to take action.
The Mayor says it is like a county fair, suggesting food tents and tables with jewelry, clothing and gifts are showing up with no control on locations or size. Vendors generally stay close to curbs but they cut into the walkway space and at times make it difficult or the mobility challenged population.
Rowse supports more events, activities, marketplace set ups and ideas that bring people in. “We’ve got De la Guerra Plaza. It is a space we have been talking about for decades. We’ve got the library plaza and the courthouse, great open spaces. We need our central business district back for vibrancy and revenue.”
If you count the ‘for sale’ and lease signs now during the car free promenade period one concerned group says the area is better off.
Sullivan Israel is with Strong Towns Santa Barbara. He says, “there are fewer vacant storefronts now than in 2018, it is similar to 2019 actually. In the next quarter there is going to be enough new stores in some of those remaining vacancies, it will be the lowest vacancy rate we have had in ten years period.”
The group is working on an app that will give the history of various downtown addresses.
Immediate solutions including more vibrant activities, and better retail and restaurant choices have come from the public.
Laura Hamman likes the weekly Thursday night San Luis Obispo Farmers Market, with not just farm fresh products, but food and entertainment that keeps people engaged in the downtown scene.
She says it is a “downtown that has nice shops. You know, you just want to go there and here (Santa Barbara) sometimes I don’t want to necessarily gravitate towards downtown.” She would like different business choices than what she sees.
Donald Polk was at the Tuesday Farmers Market and recalled, “they used to have events like car shows. I don’t know why they can’t bring that back, flea market type things, art shows.”
A former resident who has left briefly and wants to return, Ava Arriaga, said, “I hope there is more entertainment downtown and I think it will make downtown more lively and bring more people down here.” She likes live bands and sees that as part of the entertainment solution.
Still to come is the Yardi Systems relocation plan with hundreds of employees coming to the former Macy’s building, the Music Academy of the West performance and education site is about to have a ground breaking at 901 State St., and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival theatre project is almost done with the marquee in the final stages. It is open with movies in five theatres now.
Plus, there will be several housing projects in and around the area in future years bringing up the population, which is a key factor in the success of the master plan.
Also in the mix is the arrival of UC Santa Barbara, which is still working on a plan for the former Staples building on the 400 block of State Street which it bought recently and has multiple uses on the drawing board in the future.
Collaboration is said to be mandatory. Elander said, “and people love downtown and that is why we are so excited about it. People have the history and the memories and it is all about creating memories now and into the future.”
Whatever happens to the Master Plan, it is going to take time, patience, millions of dollars and support from the residents and the visitors coming to the area throughout the full year, not just the peak travel months.
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