Packed group speaks out about the future of dining parklets in Santa Barbara
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A standing room only meeting Tuesday morning was a strong indication about the interest in parklets in Santa Barbara.
The temporary dining structures began in May of 2020 in response to the indoor dining restrictions due to the pandemic.
Now, that permission is about to run out. The deadline is December 31.
The city is doing outreach to gauge the interest of business owners and the public in general about keeping the parklets or having them removed. This is not just downtown, but citywide.
Downtown Manager Brian Bosse explained the timeline and then fielded comments for about 90 minutes.
The meeting began at 8:30 a.m. which brought out some complaints from attendees that it was not easy for some working residents to attend due to that time. More outreach is planned by the city in the weeks ahead.
"We want to give people as much chance to come out and talk about their opinions on it, where they think this process should go from there," said Bosse. "The city council will be taking this up as well."
He said there are several moving parts including outdoor dining in the public right away or in the existing parking areas for a business.
The future of State Street downtown and some proposed new designs will also be part of the upcoming discussions.
Many business owners spoke out. Some said the street should be opened as it was before the pandemic and any changes should be designed in a fresh way with standards and in line with the city's codes.
The city is asking, What's working? What's not working? If it were made permanent, what changes would you be comfortable with?
Jim Knell with the SIMA corporation is opposed to the closure of the street going forward. He said talk of revamping State Street is a multi-year process to do the redesign, fund it and complete the project. Knell suggested a more structured plan that included dining on the sidewalks with open streets for cars and bikes.
Friends of State Street founder Sharon Rich said, State Street was very busy this past weekend and called it a "postcard perfect " day. The sun was out and it was also both graduation and Father's Day weekend. She is working with the city on solutions to the economy in the area.
The city is also going through a master plan process right now with three preferred drawings now available for the public to view.
The owner of the Cruisery restaurant, Aron Ashland, was outspoken about the conditions before the street closure and the parklets. He said that daily there were people "shooting up" drugs around his building on Haley and State Street. He says the situation has improved with the outside dining and they have complied with requirements to provide room for emergency vehicles.
Recently the city finalized it's fees for the use of the outside space, but that took weeks and was also part of a stressful discussion between business owners and the city.
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