Some of these items are from last week, when I skipped a news roundup in favor of a post about The Win-dow opening here.
••• “Rincon Designs—Carpinteria’s iconic bright blue and brown plank surf shop that has ‘everything for the beach,’ boasts its sign out front—has had many homes since its launch as a fledgling surf and surfboard shaping spot in 1980. […] Now, the Linden Avenue owners are selling the building; Moore will be out by the end of March, and there are currently no plans to relocate.” —Coastal View News
••• “The City Council voted 4-3 to direct city staff to draft a right-to-return policy for tenant protections stemming from renovations. The issue is scheduled to come back April 8 for a vote. […] The right-to-return proposal states that property owners cannot raise rents more than a maximum of 10% after evicting a tenant to make renovations. The landlord essentially must offer the unit back to the original tenant at no more than their original rent, plus 5%, plus cost-of-living, but no more than 10%.” —Noozhawk
••• “The Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education voted to send preliminary layoff notices to 85 teachers, including arts and music positions.” —Noozhawk
••• “Months after a fire ignited a battery storage system in Northern California, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors responded to public concern by giving itself more power to oversee the county’s construction and design of local sites.” —Noozhawk
••• The Montecito Journal‘s police blotter includes an item headlined “Restraining Order Violation” that’s worth a read.
••• Vandenberg Space Force Base announced that it’s partnering with Brigham Young University on a study to “explore launch-related noise generated by rockets and missiles and heard along 200 miles of the California coast. […] ‘Imagine a future of a launch a day. We have to prepare for that, and we have to start now to prepare for that,'” said Space Launch Delta 30 commander Mark Shoemaker. He also said that more than 30,000 people have subscribed to the launch alerts—which strikes me as proof that the launches affect rather a lot of residents. —Noozhawk
••• After years of public outcry over cannabis odors, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has voted to require carbon scrubbers for operators throughout the county. […] Under the new ordinance, the county will be allowed to revoke or deny licenses for operators who are not in compliance with the requirement. Under the current plan, March 2026 will be the deadline to install carbon scrubbers unless the California Coastal Commission approves the cannabis ordinance amendments after that date.” —Noozhawk
••• “In a case that could have broad implications for commercial cannabis growers, Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle ruled on Wednesday that the neighbors within a one-mile radius of Valley Crest Farms, a cannabis greenhouse operation in the Carpinteria Valley, can collectively seek damages for the pervasive smell of pot invading their properties. […] A jury trial on the merits of the case has been scheduled for March 5, 2026.” —Newsmakers
••• “Island Breeze, Bane of the Polo Condos in Carpinteria Valley, Is Shut Down—but for How Long? Property Owners Are Bankrupt, Owing More Than $9 Million.” —Independent
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It’s amazing how city council constantly talks about affordable housing being our number one priority, then nearly every piece of legislation they approve will either increase the cost of living in SB, increase the cost to provide rental housing, or discourages the development of new housing. City Council, do you want to know why housing is so expensive in Santa Barbara? It’s you!
Every time you discourage apartment owners, you encourage hotel-building. A simple grasp of opportunity cost would teach the city council that their actions do not match their words.