South Coast City Leaders share their Current Financial and Development Conditions and Talk About What’s Next
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The three cities on the South Coast of Santa Barbara County had a joint session to talk about their current status and the future as they see it.
It was the State of the City meeting presented by the South Coast Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Paula Perotte from Goleta, Mayor Randy Rowse from Santa Barbara, and Mayor Natalia Alarcon from Carpinteria made presentations along with their city managers.
Each had a list of accomplishments detailed in their areaa but also some tough talk about the impacts coming down the line from the federal and state levels due to uncertain budget conditions.
The audience was made up of business and community leaders along with developers and property owners especially in the retail, restaurant and hospitality areas.
Finding housing locations and adding more homes is a main theme across the board with a guarantee that some of the projects have affordable units as part of the plans.
Employee housing or housing assistance was said to be a priority to attract employees or retain current employees.
Mayor Paula Perotte said crime is down in the city and many safety improvements have been made on roads and bikeways. The city has also upgraded many parks. Currently the Old Town is going through changes with new angle parking and two roundabouts under construction.
Mayor Natalia Alarcon from Carpinteria said the city is ready to open Linden Square in the heart of downtown with new businesses and restaurants. Recently an ocean front open space area was preserve through a donor and the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County.
From the City of Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse said the city is in the process of building a new police station downtown and an all inclusive park at Dwight Murphy Field. It is also seeing new roundabouts in the area of Coast Village Road and Cabrillo Boulevard.
Both the Paseo Nuevo Mall and the La Cumbre Mall have projects under community scrutiny for over 1000 housing units.
Rowse said the last section of the Highway 101 improvement project through Santa Barbara should be funded in June.
He also talked about the opening of the new Michael Towbes Library Plaza, the new Santa Barbara International Film Center and the new Farmers Market location on Carrillo Street.
Each mayor also showed narrated videos to highlight their cities, its key areas, cultural sites, history and new sites for the upcoming years.
The mayors encouraged business owners in the room to consider their cities for expansion and growth along with homes for their workers.
