Why Does the Coast Village Road Median Look So Bad?

Why does the Coast Village Road median look so bad? Why isn’t it landscaped as beautifully as the rest of our city is? —B.

In a nutshell, the problem is that Coast Village Road is part of Santa Barbara, not Montecito—the latter having traded it to the city for sewage-system access in 1960—and it’s not a priority for politicians, despite the tax revenue it brings in. For one thing, the optics aren’t great for any politician wanting to spend city money on a fancy part of town; for another, only a handful of voters live on the strip.

There is, however, reason to hope. The Coast Village Association has been working for a long time toward creating a business improvement district (BID), funded by Coast Village Road property owners, with the main goal of fixing up the street. In the first step of a two-part process, the affected property owners have just been mailed an explanation about the BID, the impact to their property, a proposed budget, and more. They will vote whether they’d like it to continue to a ballot. If the BID gets approved by at least 30 percent, weighted by share of the proposed budget, the city council will create a resolution and take other legal steps to create a second ballot that gets mailed to the same property owners. The second vote must win more than 50 percent for the BID to succeed.

Even then, fixing Coast Village Road will not be simple, says Coast Village Association president Bob Ludwick. “The infrastructure to water the median is not in functional condition anymore. Do we go to rocks and agaves? Do we redesign it in its entirety? Maybe to create more parking and a narrower median? Then we go to the arborist issue—there are 27 mature trees in the median, and maybe another 16 along the boundary, and they have to be taken into consideration. The median is a big issue that needs a big champion, and we think the BID is the only vehicle to the rebeautification of Coast Village Road. It’s not going to get better on its own.”

So if you know any Coast Village Road property owners, let them know how you feel….

Got a question? Email [email protected] or text 917-209-6473.

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Previous Burning Questions:
••• Is Santa Barbara going to introduce residential compost bins?
••• When will Santa Barbara Junior High’s flagpole be replaced?
••• What’s the point of this light pole?
••• Why is the Hermosillo exit on the 101 closed?
••• Has Victor the Florist closed for good?
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••• What’s inside Paseo Nuevo’s State Street tower?
••• What’s the point of these markings on Laguna Street?
••• Why is there a giant red shoe off Highway 101?
••• Will the Dorinda Triangle ever get beautified?
••• Are we no longer allowed on the SBHS baseball field?
••• What does “SBTP” on this post mean?
••• What’s up with the “no e-bike” signs on local trails?
••• Why is Franceschi House in a holding pattern?
••• Why is there a train station inside this State Street storefront?
••• What’s happening with this derelict house in Summerland?
••• Is there a story behind Lucky Penny’s bell?
••• Why is there wood on some power lines?
••• Can you explain how sundowner winds work?
••• Why is there a pressure cooker attached to this utility pole?
••• What’s this concrete ramp thing on East Beach?
••• Why does “USA” get written on the street?
••• What are those poles in the ocean near the Ritz-Carlton Bacara?
••• Are people really allowed to set fires in the middle of Montecito?
••• What’s the story with the half-finished lot next to the Montecito Country Mart? 

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