The closure of State Street to cars will become law in Santa Barbara, if the city council approves the State Street Master Plan ordinance during its at 2 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Comments are still being taken by city council and the meeting is open to the public.

According to Mayor Randy Rowse, “Tuesday’s item includes both adoption of the Master Plan as well as altering Title 31 to make the temporary closure permanent. That follows the pattern of what we’ve seen thus far, i.e., no flexibility for experimentation with an interim opening and a major commitment of funds that are yet to be determined. This contravenes what the business community, i.e., the DSBIA, has said they would prefer. In my personal opinion, the loss of the Main Street of our Central Business District will hurt the recovery of vitality downtown.”

The struggle for flexibility in the design has split the council four to three in favor of excluding cars in any kind of configuration — except for the 1200 block with one lane for cars and in the 1300 block which has lanes for cars in both directions. These exceptions have also been under fire.

The four city council members who formed the majority and guided the final stages of the master planning process include Kristen Sneddon, Oscar Gutierrez, Wendy Santamaria, and Meagan Harmon.

There has been open conversations about recalling some council members over their lack of flexibility and their ability to be progressive inclusively.

State Street planning began five years ago, when Cathy Murillo was Mayor and the City Administrator was Paul Casey. They guided Rob Dayton’s double wide green paint bike lanes on State Street. The response was strong and public input data collection commenced. Most of the data collected for the plan as well as public meetings predated the concentrated appearance of e-bikes on State Street.  

Abruptly last Thursday, in an email under the reference line of State Street Advisory Committee News and Communications, it was announced that the final version of the master plan was complete and the public could still give comments for the next six days, before the city council would consider approving the plan on Tuesday at City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street.

“After years of community input, I support the plan and am ready to move forward,” commented council member Kristen Sneddon, who is also a candidate for Mayor. “This is about so much more than the question of cars, it is about spaces for people to come together, it’s about flexibility, and it is future facing.” 

The final plan oversees the development of the 400 block through the 1300 block of State Street and has been called a “flexible plan” with the exception of cars. The master plan outlines the need for infrastructure costing about $30 million, almost all of which will be below the surface of the street and will not be seen by the public. The infrastructure work will take place during the first three years of the plan. The proposed plan is available on the city’s website.

“The debate over State Street should not simply be about cars versus pedestrians. It should be about what works economically, safely, and financially for downtown—both today and in the future,” commented David de L’Arbre, President of the Downtown Santa Barbara Business Improvement Association, in a letter to the Voice Editor. “That flexibility will become even more important as downtown housing grows. More residents can provide the year-round customer base businesses need, while creating new transportation and access demands,” continued de L’Arbre.

The new plan document renames the State Street Promenade the State Street Paseo. 

“This State Street Master planning phase has been an unprecedented effort by city staff, City Council, and an incredible community. Together, we have defined a vision for a Grand Paseo, with tree lined sidewalks, outdoor dining, historic paseos that are lit up, safe, and clean, and a vital, vibrant, pedestrian friendly downtown that thrives. A downtown we are proud to call our own,” stated Sharon Rich, President, Friends of State Street.

The State Street Advisory Committee finished their work two years ago following the release of consultants MiG and the resignation of City Administrator Rebecca Bjork. There have been four different City administrators during the development of the final plan.

“A flexible, hybrid design is a prudent path forward to support the entire district and the diverse preferences and needs of our businesses community and residents,” stated Robin Elander, Executive Director of DSBIA.

As this intense five years of planning, listening, and debate comes to a close, the council will need to determine if the resulting plan will meet the needs of the business community and the general public, including pedestrians, parents, children, car drivers, those with mobility impairments, bicyclists, e-bike riders, and visitors, and at the same time be realistic for the city and its limited budget.

NOTE: Public comment is still being accepted by city council members and the mayor at: 

Randy Rowse, RRowse@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Mike Jordan, Mjordan@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Eric Friedman, EFriedman@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Meagan Harmon, MHarmon@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Kristen Sneddon, ksneddon@santabarbaraca.gov
Oscar Gutierrez, Ogutierrez@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Wendy Santamaria, 
WSantamaria@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Find more at:
https://statestreet.santabarbaraca.gov