••• “UC Santa Barbara has reached historic legal settlements with Santa Barbara County and the city of Goleta over student housing. […] The university said it would provide 3,500 new student beds and pay $3.7 million to the county to fund community-serving projects in Isla Vista that benefit both UCSB and the broader communities. The deal also states that UCSB will be fined up to $2 million if it doesn’t construct an initial student housing project by March 31, 2026, and a second student housing project providing the balance of 3,500 beds by March 31, 2028.” —Noozhawk
••• Related: “Officials from the University of California at Santa Barbara announced recently that SOM and Mithun have been selected to design new dormitories on a site at the corner of Mesa and Stadium Roads in San Benito County.” Rough commute. A conceptual rendering is above. —The Architect’s Newspaper
••• The history of the Granda Theatre, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. —Montecito Journal
••• “Santa Barbara County is cracking down on homeowners who have placed boulders, shrubs and other landscaping in the public right-of-way near the Hot Springs Trail in Montecito. The county on March 18 posted letters at the properties of 11 homeowners on East Mountain Drive and Riven Rock Road, demanding that they move the obstructions within 10 days. […] If the items are not removed, according to the letter, the homeowners face a fine of $350 a day, an additional $500 fine, and liability for all the county’s expenses and any damages caused by the encroachments.” —Noozhawk
••• “Manning Park Caretaker Cottage Now Occupied by Highly Paid Employee?” —Edhat
••• “Free rattlesnake removal and relocation services available in Santa Barbara and SLO counties.” —KEYT
••• The Carpinteria location of Seaside Makers has moved from Linden Avenue to 4193 Carpinteria Avenue. —Coastal View News
••• The tree of the month is the sugar gum: “Notably, Santa Barbara is home to the National Champion Sugar Gum—the enormous tree that stands at the north end of the Mission Park Rose Garden. In 2015, it was measured and found to be over 110 feet tall with a trunk diameter (at four and a half feet above the ground) of nearly seven feet wide. An amazing size for a tree believed to be only a little over 100 years old.” —Edhat
••• Two of the Italian stone pines on E. Anapamu Street were casualties of the recent storm. —Edhat
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Cracking down on homeowners? How about cracking down on people parked illegally on East Mountain making driving and walking hazardous to your health. This inconsistent application of the law has become all too commonplace. Parking tickets could fund a large portion of the city budget so get to work and enforce the law!
Wrong Mark. The illegalities are being performed by the homeowners who don’t want hikers or anyone else “legally” (yes, legally) parking in their precious neighborhood, thus “illegally” (yes, illegally) preventing them from doing so by putting huge rocks, plants and even construction barriers on the street. They aren’t putting these obstacles in “illegal” parking areas. I’m sorry but your notion that parking is “hazardous” to anyone’s health is laughable and dubious at best. If illegal parking was the problem, then homeowners would have filed complaints long ago and citations issues. If illegal parking was the problem, then the city wouldn’t be cracking down on the illegal obstacles in the street. I’ve been parking at and cycling to that area for decades and can assure a few grumpy residents are the problem, thought I haven’t seen them actually vocal about it for some time. They used to come out and “claim” I was parking illegally. Everytime I told them to call an officer to cite my car and you know what? I never once received a citation. You’re 100% incorrect.
+1 to everything Mary is saying. Just because you’re wealthy doesn’t mean you get to block off public parking on a public street.
Related – does anyone know what the deal is with all the parking being off limits on Mockingbird Lane when you’re going to More Mesa? This has a very similar vibe, but city sanctioned in this case.
Ahh yes of course the class envy card gets played. These people are parked on the road and they’re no ticketed because the government doesn’t enforce the laws. Eat the rich and from the river to the sea…
Hey Mark – Do you understand what a public right of way is?
I think I have the basics down Walt. A car parked with half of the frame in the road impeding traffic is not respecting the right of way for on coming traffic. Cars parked at the corner of East Mountain and Hot Springs is completely illegal and a significant hazard as they block the vision of cars turning left. The desire of people to bask in the communal hot springs is admirable but not at the expense of public safety. Until the landowners on East Mountain…you know those darned rich folks…comply with the orders to remove barriers, parking halfway in the road isn’t an acceptable option. Oh and btw removing those lovely rocks, trees and other beatifications that make East Mountain a treasure? Never going to happen.
Hey Mark, it seems like you have no clue about the facts for this issue. Here’s a couple quotes from the California Court of Appeal’s decision. Hope these help.
“Because the encroachments occupy much of the public right of way, people park in a way that partially obstructs the travel lane. This effectively converts swaths of the two lane road into a one lane road. The encroachments also create a safety hazard for pedestrians, bicycles and equestrians, especially at night.”
“The public may park roads in Montecito, unless they are otherwise posted. By definition, this includes a county road like East Mountain Drive”
How does Chancellor Yang still have a job? The university is facing budget woes and now it’s paying legal fees because of his failure to plan. It’s long time UCSB find someone with an actual vision instead of someone collecting a paycheck.
No love for the death of the Subaru?
OMG – Was thinking the same thing, poor car! And parked legally I might add!
Oh boy, PERFECT CALL BACK! Hahahaha! Yes, “parked legally!” Beautiful, RWD.