Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council,
We are business owners and members of the Santa Barbara community. We write this letter to respectfully ask that you carefully review the petitions and comments supporting the reopening of State Street (at StateStBusinessAlliance.com). Our opinions are not outdated or isolated complaints. They are current comments within the last month from those of us who have experienced the consequences of the “temporary” closure firsthand that has extended now for six years. It is time to reopen State Street.
State Street was closed under extraordinary circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses and residents accepted because the need to respond quickly to an unprecedented crisis was understood. However, six years later, the emergency is over, yet the temporary conditions imposed during that period continue.
Title 31 was implemented and intended to provide temporary flexibility during the emergency. Instead of returning State Street to its pre-pandemic condition and then evaluating long-term options, the city has effectively implemented a temporary emergency closure as the starting point for a permanent transformation. In doing so, the burden of proof has been reversed. Those who wish to restore State Street to its historic and functional condition are now being asked to justify reopening it, when reopening should have been the default once the emergency ended. Extraordinary powers are meant to address extraordinary circumstances. They were never intended to indefinitely determine the future of Santa Barbara’s Main Street.
Instead of economic renewal, many local businesses have struggled to survive, relocated, or closed their doors altogether. Storefront vacancies remain visible, accessibility has been reduced, and countless visitors and residents have stopped visiting downtown entirely.
The concerns we continue to hear from all age groups reflect a growing and widespread sentiment throughout Santa Barbara that the prolonged closure has created unintended consequences that are harming the vitality, accessibility, and economic health of our downtown district.
State Street is a critical transportation corridor and one of the most important circulation routes in Santa Barbara. As a public right-of-way, it is required to accommodate residents, businesses, employees, visitors, emergency services, deliveries, individuals with mobility needs, etc. Any long-term decisions regarding State Street must consider all uses and recognize its essential role, as the Public Right of Way to move people and provide access to goods throughout the city.
Local businesses depend on visibility, convenience, and customer traffic to survive. When access is challenging, customers choose other destinations. Every empty storefront, every struggling business, and every lost job weakens the economic vitality of Santa Barbara. Small businesses are the backbone of our community, and they deserve a City Council that prioritizes their success and listens to their concerns.
State Street belongs to everyone and must be welcoming to all regardless of age or transportation preferences. It should be accessible to people with disabilities who need convenient drop-off locations and nearby parking. It must work for families with children, visitors exploring our city, residents running errands, employees commuting to work, cyclists, pedestrians, and business owners alike.
Golf carts are not a substitute for true accessibility. They do not meet the real needs of seniors, people with disabilities, families, workers, visitors, or customers who rely on dependable transportation, convenient drop-off areas, accessible parking, and clear routes to reach downtown businesses and services.
The current circulation pattern is confusing, strangled, and unnecessarily convoluted. Drivers are forced to circle surrounding blocks, burn more fuel, spend more time searching for access, and navigate frustrating detours just to reach businesses that should be easy to visit. This does not reduce emissions. It simply moves traffic onto neighboring streets and creates more idling, more congestion, more confusion, and more frustration.
Cars moving slowly and predictably at 20 miles per hour on State Street were a safer and more functional option than the current environment with unregulated e-bikes and scooters that dominate the space in a corridor with unclear rules and challenges to enforcement.
Many residents no longer feel comfortable or safe on State Street. What was intended to become a vibrant pedestrian experience has too often become an attractive nuisance, drawing behavior that contributes to vagrancy, disorder, and a reduced sense of safety. When downtown feels unsafe or neglected, residents and visitors stop coming. When people stop coming, businesses suffer, vacancies grow, and the entire community loses a vibrant and healthy economy.
Many residents who once frequented downtown no longer do, resulting in reduced sales and difficulty attracting new investment. Commercial brokers and retailers consistently evaluate traffic counts, visibility, access, and convenience when deciding where to invest. When downtown Santa Barbara is removed from consideration because it lacks those fundamentals, the entire community loses opportunities, and the city loses vital revenue.
The City Council’s responsibility is to serve the entire community and to ensure that Santa Barbara remains safe, accessible, economically healthy, and attractive. Strong infrastructure, sound planning, economic vitality, public safety, and accessibility are fundamental responsibilities of local government. Decisions regarding State Street must be evaluated through those lenses to ensure balance and that the requirements are met.
State Street’s beauty, charm, and historic character were not created by closing it to traffic. Those qualities existed for generations and helped establish Santa Barbara as the American Riviera and one of the most admired communities in the world. Many residents question why so much time, effort, and public resources continue to be devoted to reinventing a place that was already exceptional and widely beloved.
State Street was not broken before it was closed. The closure created many of the challenges we face today. It doesn’t need to be fixed or reenvisioned, it just needs to be reopened as the flexible street it was for decades until such time that potential changes are decided and can be implemented. People want their traditional State Street back.
Repeal Title 31 and reopen State Street. Restore pre-COVID function and Historic Landmarks Commission authority over our historic district. Support local businesses and the financial health that comes from each successful business. Bring life back to the heart of Santa Barbara.
Colleen Macey founded the State Business Alliance and Santa Barbara Interiors. Architect Cassandra Ensberg is a member of State Street Business Alliance and the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission. All opinions expressed are their own.
