The City Council’s Current Thinking About State Street

••• The city council once again discussed State Street. “The plan going forward, as supported by a majority of the council, is to keep the city’s main street car-free, flat, and flexible from Haley Street up to Victoria Street,” wrote the Independent. “The planning team described the long-range plans as a pedestrian-friendly core that would focus on existing paseos to connect areas and create new plaza-like spaces to revitalize State Street into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood. […] Two-way traffic would be allowed on the 400 and 1300 blocks [Gutierrez/Haley and Victoria/Sola].” (The rendering above was supplied by the city.) The discussion also included the problem of e-bikes racing down the street. According to Noozhawk, city councilperson Oscar Gutierrez “suggested using Super Glue to throw down ‘mini-little speed bumps’ to slow down the bikers.” Also, mayor Randy Rowse said that “CVS is going out” (which is news to me, but would hardly be a surprise) and “we are really at risk of losing the Apple Store.”

••• In an interview with Newsmakers, new Santa Barbara city administrator Kelly McAdoo said this: “At root, we are public servants, and have to remember that we are a public service agency first. So that means I want every employee, when they’re dealing with a business owner, a homeowner, thinking about, ‘if this was my grandma, if this was my dad running this business, how would I want them to be treated?’ And how can we work together to try and find solutions? We may not always be able to get to a hundred percent ‘yes,’ but even if we get to 50%, we’re doing better than we were before.” Indeed. Making it happen is the challenge; every single person I’ve spoken with who has tried opening a business here has had a hellacious experience with the local bureaucracy.

••• “Metropolitan Theatres is out at the Fiesta Five location on 916 State Street,” reports John Palminteri. No word yet on whether the city will lease it to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, as has been floated, or someone else.

••• “Santa Barbara Airport Hears From Public on What to Do With Hangars. […] What do you do when you have two buildings that are falling apart, but the community wants to save them?” Tearing them down anyway would be my vote; I can think of no better metaphor for this area’s terror of change. Don’t worry: that doesn’t appear to be in the cards. At a recent meeting, various proposals were entertained, including turning it into a vocational workshop for the Community Hotrod Project, an automotive/aviation museum, and a roller-skating rink. —Noozhawk

••• “Fuel Depot has finally opened at 370 Storke Road.” Owner John “Price demolished the previous car wash at the site to build the gas station, but the self-service car wash will return soon. Construction is underway.” —Noozhawk

••• “Goleta has three contested races for the upcoming November 5 election: Voters in the third and fourth districts will choose their city councilmember, and voters across the whole city will vote on the mayoral seat.” —Noozhawk

••• “One hundred and 16 miles of California coastline is one step closer to being designated a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. […] The plans released Friday show the marine sanctuary would run from south of the Diablo Canyon power plant down to the Gaviota coast. If approved, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the marine sanctuary would protect the region’s vital marine ecosystems while supporting ocean-dependent economies.” —KSBY

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