The Ortega Park Redesign Is Close to Finalized

••• “Ortega Park Update: City of Santa Barbara Says Plans Almost ‘Shovel Ready’ [….] Walls and Fencing Removed, Pool Gets More Lanes, and Skate Park Now ‘All Wheels’ Park'” (i.e., for “bikes, scooters, roller-bladers, and skaters of all types”). And great news: the pool will be “six 25-yard lanes with starting blocks, allowing for competitive swim meets to be held at the park for the first time in its history.” The park just awaits funding. —Independent

••• Noozhawk looks into the reasons that Aloha Fun Center didn’t work out at the former Macy’s store.

••• An update on the election results. Of note: “The biggest nail-biter of the night involved Carpinteria’s Measure T, which would have required another election to approve a plan to build a new downtown hotel on a public parking lot. The votes in all races are still being tallied, but as of the last posting, Measure T was trailing by 72. […] As of Tuesday, November 15, 12,330 votes were still uncounted.” —Independent

••• “The construction of a new state-of-the-art building for Santa Barbara High School’s Visual Arts & Design Academy, VADA, was approved by the Santa Barbara Unified School Board. […] The project is expected to be completed in January 2024.” —KSBY (UPDATE: I removed the rendering because apparently it’s way out of date. Edhat has a current one.)

••• “The Goleta Planning Commission voted to move forward the proposed 332-unit Heritage Ridge apartment project Monday, following a public hearing where several environmentalist groups that were originally opposed to the development now showed their support after working with the applicants. […] The apartment development would be built on a 17.36-acre vacant site north of Camino Vista and east of South Los Carneros Road.”—Noozhawk

••• “Nearly four years since shuttering, the Sears signs from the massive retail space next to the La Cumbre Plaza have come down.” —Edhat

••• As you read here, the owner of 42 Helena Avenue in the Funk Zone wants to convert the building to a two-room hotel, with outdoor bike storage. As Noozhawk‘s report on the Planning Commission’s discussion proves once again, nothing is easy in this town. Best part: “In some back-of-the-napkin brainstorming, members of the commission threw out a few ideas for the small site, including a wine-tasting room, a dance hall with salsa night, or cooking demonstrations.” Yes, the Funk Zone really needs another wine-tasting room.

················

Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter and you’ll never miss a post.

Comment: