Surfliner resumes Santa Barbara-San Diego service

Amtrak has resumed daily train service between Santa Barbara and San Diego after six months of track repairs in Orange County. 

Passengers were previously required to take a bus connection between the Irvine and Oceanside stations. The daily schedule will remain the same, with 10 daily round trips between Los Angeles and San Diego. 

While the Orange County section is now open, construction is expected to continue in the area through June, including installing permanent fencing between the slope and railroad tracks. The 351-mile railway is used for passengers and freight trains, moving $1 billion in goods annually. 

For more information and construction updates, visit pacificsurfliner.com/alerts and Service Alerts – Metrolink. Source: Noozhawk

Santa Barbara State of the City Luncheon April 20

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will host its annual State of the City luncheon on Thursday, April 20, from 11 AM to 1:30 PM at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. 

This highly anticipated event will feature the Mayors of Goleta, Santa Barbara, and Carpinteria as guest speakers, providing an update on their respective cities and sharing their visions for the future.

The State of the City luncheon is an exceptional opportunity for attendees to hear from all three South Coast Mayors at once. The Chamber has assembled a distinguished panel of speakers, including City of Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte and City Manager Robert Nisbet; City of Carpinteria Mayor Al Clark and Assistant City Manager Michael Ramirez; and City of Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse and City Administrator Rebecca Bjork.

Build-to-rent housing delayed in Santa Maria vote

The Santa Maria Planning Commission has delayed a decision on a build-to-rent, single-family home development that includes accessory dwelling units. 

Canfield Development has proposed a 105 single-family home Blosser Ranch development, including a community center and pool, with detached accessory dwelling units on 96 lots. On-street parking would be banned, but guest spaces would be included. 

After appearing to be evenly divided on whether to approve the project, the planning commissioners voted 3-1 to delay the item pending research on issues related to large rental properties and a specific plan for the broader area. 

Commissioners Esau Blanco, Robert Dickerson, and Yasameen Mohajer agreed to the delay, but chairman Tim Seifert voted against it.

Hastert chosen to lead Santa Barbara Airport

Chris Hastert, the new airport director for the City of Santa Barbara, has outlined his goals and plans for the Santa Barbara Airport in an interview with Noozhawk. 

Hastert discussed a range of issues, including commercial air traffic, noise, facilities expansion, the master plan, and historic structures. He aims to establish and improve relations with the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara and all residents affected by airport operations. 

Hastert plans to expand the passenger terminal to the south and add new gates and jetways, based on meeting current and future demand. The airport experienced a record commercial air traffic of more than 1.2 million passengers in 2022, but he does not expect that level of growth to continue in the short run. 

Noise from airport operations is a persistent issue, and Hastert is working to analyze the most frequently used departures and the routing of flights to encourage airlines to take different routing for those early morning departures. Source: Noozhawk

Santa Barbara Realtors offers financial assistance to affected households

The Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS® has partnered with the REALTORS® Relief Foundation to provide financial assistance up to $3,000 to Santa Barbara County residents who were impacted by the January 2023 storms. 

The relief program is available to residents who faced displacement or whose homes were damaged or destroyed. 

The assistance is provided to cover the monthly mortgage expense for the primary residence that was damaged, rental cost due to displacement resulting from the disaster, or hotel reimbursement due to displacement resulting from the disaster. 

New District Attorney gets $500,000 to study charges against people of color

Santa Barbara County's new District Attorney, John Savrnoch, has been granted $500,000 to hire a data analytics consultant to determine whether county prosecutors were filing stiffer charges and securing tougher sentences against people of color. 

The money was approved by county supervisors, who praised Savrnoch's "refreshingly open and collaborative approach." Public Defender Tracy Macuga, who had previously led the fight against the funding, expressed misgivings about the chosen consultant, George D'Angelo of Sicuro Data Analytics. 

Santa Barbara rents rose 9% in 2022

Rents in Santa Barbara, California increased by 9% in 2022, according to the annual report by Hayes Commercial Group, as apartment vacancies fell to 1.7%. 

Tenant rights activists addressed the Santa Barbara City Council to protest "renovictions," whereby landlords evict tenants to make property improvements. These "mass evictions" frequently occur under the guise of renovations, de-regulate rent and resell, said Stanley Tzankov, co-founder of the Santa Barbara Tenants Union. 

He argued that "renovictions" are the only legal method to evict tenants in large multifamily apartments. Furthermore, apartment sales in the South Coast area are flourishing, with $141m spent in 2022, the largest total since 2015.

Navy veteran appointed general services director in Santa Barbara County

Kirk Lagerquist, a retired US Navy Civil Engineer Corps veteran, has been appointed as the new general services director for Santa Barbara County, replacing Janette Pell. 

Lagerquist has 27 years of experience in executive leadership, public project, and program management. During his career, he served as the military equivalent of a public works director at large and small Navy installations, including Naval Station Pearl Harbor, where he led 41 military personnel and 575 civilians in the execution of facilities maintenance, repair, and construction. 

Guest Commentary: In Santa Barbara homeless and vagrants are not the same

In an article for the Montecito Journal, Lang Martinez, who has experienced homelessness as a former addict, argues that chronic vagrancy and homelessness are two different sets of problems and should be treated as such. 

He claims that the government's Housing First Model and programs like Project Room Key have had a less than desirable outcome for sustaining an individual in long-term permanent housing solutions. Millions of dollars are being spent on these programs, but the funds lack public scrutiny and transparency, and outcomes are not measured effectively. 

Santa Barbara residents spend majority of income on housing

Residents in Santa Barbara, California are struggling to afford housing due to the high cost of living in the city. 

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, people spending 50% or more of their income on rent are experiencing severe cost burdens, and in Santa Barbara, residents are spending up to 70% of their income on rent. The city missed California's deadline to provide a draft for enough affordable housing to account for the amount of low-income people residing in the city. 

SB County releases draft Climate Action Plan

Santa Barbara County has released a draft of its 2030 Climate Action Plan (CAP) with the goal of reducing carbon emissions in the community by 50% by 2030. 

The plan includes improving air quality, providing safer opportunities for bikers and walkers, enhancing energy resilience, preserving open spaces, and making buildings more efficient. The county will be hosting three public workshops to engage with the community and develop key strategies and actions for the CAP. 

Sustainability Division Chief Ashley Watkins emphasized the importance of community participation in achieving the ambitious goals set by the plan. The CAP draft and information about the workshops can be found at countyofsb.org/oneclimate. Source: Santa Barbara News-Press

Hippach takes the bench as first black judge in Santa Barbara County

Denise Hippach, the first black individual to be appointed as a judge in Santa Barbara County, has spoken about the significance of her appointment in a recent interview with the Santa Barbara News-Press. 

Hippach discussed her long journey to becoming a judge, including her difficulties with affording college, and her determination to pave the way for other young women of color. She explained the importance of her appointment, as it shows the strides being made to make the bench more reflective of the community it serves. 

Santa Barbara supes consider housing lease for homeless in Santa Maria | Santa Barbara County

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will consider a lease to create temporary interim housing for homeless residents in Santa Maria. 

The proposed location is a vacant county-owned land in Santa Maria, and the project involves the construction of 94 cabins to house individuals or couples until they can move into permanent housing. The cabins will be divided into three categories: 54 for chronically homeless individuals and couples, 10 for transitional age youth, and 30 for recuperative/respite care. 

The project is a public-private collaboration involving Good Samaritan Shelters, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, Dignity Health’s Marian Regional Medical Center, DignityMoves, community philanthropy, and the county. The estimated cost to create Hope Village is $5 million, and it will be operated annually at $1.5 million, with funding available for three years. 

The meeting to discuss the item will take place in Santa Barbara, and testimony can be made in person or remotely. Source: Noozhawk

Goleta council demands affluent communities help housing crisis | Santa Barbara County

The Goleta City Council has voted unanimously to send a letter to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors demanding more affluent areas like Montecito and Hope Ranch step up to help solve the housing crisis. 

The letter criticizes the county for proposing to rezone land only where property owners agreed to build housing, which councilman James Kyriaco called an exclusionary housing policy that benefits wealthier areas. 

The council argues that the county should instead consider larger-lot or underutilized sites in affluent areas to expand housing equity opportunities and protect disadvantaged communities in Old Town.