An Open Letter to Our Mayor and Councilmembers

Mr. Mayor & Council Members:

We believe that it is essential that we immediately Restore El Pueblo Viejo (State Street) by reinstating vehicular flow to revive business and to use our time, talents, and money for more pressing issues!

This letter is a call to action — for division to cease, cooperation to commence, and for the vision that our city’s forebearers charted prior to the June 19, 1925, earthquake (and formalized shortly thereafter) be respected and balanced with the present needs of all of our community members. Any proposed changes need to be vetted in a non-biased, non-politicized manner with reasonable timelines.

As residents and taxpayers, we rely upon you, our leaders and city staff to make considered and objective decisions. Ideologies and subjective opinions are irrelevant and have no place in government. It is essential that we take care of today’s needs before skipping to other possibilities of what our town “should” or “might” be down the line. Let’s get back to the baseline first. Keep things simple, address our basic needs now and then work through the Master Plan to address possible future improvements. Protect the use of our Public Right-of-Way for all of our citizens and visitors.

• Increase support of our local law enforcement to protect citizens, visitors, and property.
• Ensure a safe and clean downtown, address and eliminate open drug use, hostile transients, and open toileting, etc.
• Recognize that our downtown corridor and El Pueblo Viejo along State Street is one of our greatest city assets and attractions. Adhere to Historic Landmarks Commission regarding elements in El Pueblo Viejo district, as required and outlined in our City Charter Section 817, subsection (c) “The Historic Landmarks Commission shall have the power and duty to: Review and approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions, plans for exterior alteration, demolition, relocation, moving, or construction of or on: (1) any structures or real property within El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District, (2) any structures or real property within any designated Landmark District, (3) any additional property authorized by action of the City Council; (4) a designated Landmark.”

• Recognize all members of our community — young and old— ARE the community and have value.
• Understand what equal access to the Public Right-of-Way means and that it is required by law. Ensure that access is provided for those who live with challenges. Families with children and strollers need access too!
• Work for equal and proportionate distribution of city resources to all businesses.
• Remove outdoor dining in the street – move outdoor dining back to sidewalks where it has successfully operated for years. We all agree and want outdoor dining!
• Encourage shop owners that sell unique and bespoke wares. Shopping is one of the most popular activities when one is on vacation. Tourists want to shop and find something uniquely Santa Barbara to purchase.
• Open up State Street to cars and bicycles and reinstate the trolley/shuttle – all sharing the two traffic lanes and with the pedestrians on the beautiful brick sidewalks. Keep the movement slow and relaxing.
• Parades belong on State Street within El Pueblo Viejo. Temporarily close State Street (or portions thereof) for parades, weekly farmers market, etc. as the city has done historically.
• Visit other communities- San Luis Obispo, Carmel, Solvang, Coast Village Road, Carpinteria’s Linden Avenue. All have returned to pre-COVID conditions with vehicles and pedestrians in their downtowns. And all are thriving.
• Work to build housing with developers to achieve balance and diversity in our housing and built environment.

We encourage our community to embrace inclusivity and to welcome newcomers to our beautiful town and the enthusiasm that they bring. We encourage everyone that holds our city dear to participate in activities that bring a deeper understanding of Santa Barbara’s culture, history, buildings and natural environment.

We thank you for working on our behalf. We support our democratic process and count on you to support our needs. We will continue to be available, engaged and attentive.

Sincerely,

Nathan Alker

Janet Allen

George Alvarez

Sally Andrews

Celeste Barber

Ken Barker

Terry Bartlett

Nick Bean

Rebecca Bean

Melinda Becker

Eric Beecher

Bea Bink

Julie Bischoff

Juergen Boehr

Pamela Boehr

Gwynn Boss

Kevin Boss

Emma Brinkman

Jim Brinkman

Stephen Brinkman

Darlene Brinks

Ken Brinks

Hailey Brundy

Helen Buckley

James Buckley

John Chufar

Amy Copper

Craig Cultice

Dan Cultice

Nate Cultice

Rachel Cultice

Audrey Daniels

Eliza Daniels

Ken Davenport

Marion Davenport

Maria Dimaggio

Peter Doctors

Bonnie Donovan

Michael Donovan

Steve Dowty

Dee Duncan

Sheri Fay

James Fenkner

Tatiana Fenkner

Julie Finders

Debbie Fisher

Doug Ford

Randy Fox

Karen Gellert

Melissa H. Gough

Joe Guzzardi

Bob Haggarty

Barbara Hanley

Derek Hanley

David Hay

Katie Hay

Steve Hovdesven

Carol Huerta

Joe Huerta

Tammy Hughes

Betsy Ingalls

Tom Jacobs

Rick Kent

Vonnie Kent

Colleen Kirst

Lynn Kirst

Jim Knell

Irene Kopel

Bromi Krock

Claire Krock

Maureen Masson

Maeve Maxwell

Marina Maxwell

Sullivan Maxwell

Mary Meredith

David Martin

Christine Merrick

Roberta Meyers

Don Miller

Jamie Nash

Andrew Neuhauser

Christine Neuhauser

Paige Neuhauser

Jill Nida

David O’Connell

Kate O’Connell

John Ormonde

Patti Ottoboni

Alice Post

Elizabeth Reifel

Lisa Reifel

Dane Rios

Loren Rios

Jan Rohrbach

MaryLynn Rohrbach

Lisa Romeo

Sheridan Rosenberg

Ruth Rowe

Christina Ryan

Gerardo Santos

Hiroko Santos

Kenneth P. Schmidt

Tracy Franklin Schmidt

John Self

Michael Self

Angela Siemens

Ryan Siemens

Gary Simpson

Justin Soenke

Denice Spangler Adams

Jill Stoller

Tim Stoller

Karen Sullivan

Paul Sullivan

Michael Torres

Candace Whilt

Jim Whilt

Kerry White

Linda Williams

Gerald Witcher

Sandi Witcher

Sarah Witcher

Jim Youngson