Santa Barbara’s Mission Creek Restored at Oak Park

City Officials Celebrate Completion of Creek Restoration Project at Ribbon-Cutting

Leaders with the City’s Creeks Division, Mayor Randy Rowse, and City Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez celebrate the creek’s restoration with Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting. | Credit: City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department

Mission Creek, a waterway that flows through Oak Park, is returning to its natural state after years of degradation. On Wednesday morning, the city’s Creeks Division, Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez, and Mayor Randy Rowse broke out the big scissors to celebrate the completion of the creek’s restoration project.

Project Planner Timothy Burgess explains the restoration process, which started in August and included removing creek-damaging elements like concrete structures. | Credit: City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department

The project transformed a 1,800-foot section of the creek by removing concrete structures within the creek bed, restoring hardened creek banks, and creating floodplain habitat. Invasive, non-native plants were removed, restoring the creek channel, and 3,000 new native plants and trees now stand in their place.

During a tour of the project for Creek Week in September, Project Planner Timothy Burgess explained that the city was “restoring where they can,” while balancing considerations of habitat and wildlife with public use.

Construction was completed earlier this year, two years after initial design work began in 2022, and the restored channel can now provide enhanced shelter and access for wildlife. Native trees, too, will help shade and cool the creek, while the native plants will “naturally filter pollutants from the water,” according to the city.

Funding for the Mission Creek Restoration at Oak Park was provided by hotel visitors through Measure B. The cost of construction and landscaping for the project is $814,231, with an additional cost for locally sourced native plants at $36,796.

“This restoration project demonstrates our commitment to restoring and preserving Santa Barbara’s natural beauty and ecological health,” said Erin Markey, Creeks Division Manager. “By revitalizing Mission Creek at Oak Park, we’re creating thriving habitat for wildlife, improving local creek water quality, and enhancing a space for the community to enjoy and connect with nature.”