Future Santa Barbara Farmers’ Market ideas collected at public meeting

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A full room of concerned citizens, farmers and city planners worked on ideas to relocate the Saturday Santa Barbara Certified Farmers' Market in a Faulkner Gallery session over the weekend.

The market is currently on Cota Street. That is being reviewed as the preferred site for the new proposed Santa Barbara Police Station.

Santa Barbara City Planner Jessica Grant coordinated the session that included many city leaders and councilmembers Kristin Sneddon and Oscar Gutierrez. Also at the tables were transportation and parking officials.

Recently the market has had a survey out for those attending on Tuesday and Saturday to get more input directly from those using the market. It asked about where they would like to see it relocated and also some other components such as where they parked. Over 750 surveys have been filled out.

Grant said they have scheduled meetings in December and January to get this input honed down. Later this month, "we will have our first Farmers' Market subcommittee to debrief what we heard in the workshop," said Grant.

She says many of the locations suggested have already been suggested and are under review.

"In January and February we will narrow down the list and look at potential location," said Grant.

At each table Saturday there were farmers and city employees writing suggestions on large tablets. There were city maps, markers, colored stickers and the tools they needed to suggest locations or eliminate others.