City 8-21

Showering with praise the Grand Jury report “Anti-Gang Efforts in the City of Santa Barbara: Who’s in Charge” for its research and writing, the City Council approved a draft letter of response outlining progress toward establishing a permanent gang violence commission. Councilmembers also accepted the preliminary report on a program to identify and assess the results of mentoring the city’s top 100 most-at-risk teens, starting with 10 in a pilot program this summer.

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The Ordinance Committee unanimously decided to recommend to the City Council that the city’s design review boards see projects earlier in the permitting process, since boardmembers have said they didn’t feel they could fundamentally alter projects that the Planning Commmission had already approved. The Architectural Board of Review and Historic Landmarks Commission will be encouraged to weigh in early on criteria including height, open space, and public view protection.