Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen hit the nail on the head in his April 26 column, “Spooked by Red Ink, Santa Barbara May Greenlight New Parking Fees.”
The fact that the City of Santa Barbara’s parking lot revenue is down by a lot is more proof that the downtown “pedestrian promenade” is not the big public draw that officials say it is. If it were, revenues would be up because the parking lots would be full — like they were before State Street was closed.
Furthermore, what business raises prices when it’s LOSING customers?! That proposal should be laughed out of City Hall and the person who made it should be fired.
How stupid do Santa Barbara officials think we are? If you raise prices for an inferior service and make it more difficult for customers to get to you, your revenue will be going in the opposite direction — fast.
But, sure, go ahead and try it.
R. Phillips
Buellton
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Developers, abetted by government staff, continue to lowball parking demand for new developments.
Developers naturally want to maximize density for profit, while government planners continually promote the idea that if you provide more parking, it will attract more cars.
This is nonsense, as we keep seeing. People are not giving up their cars, yet the dogma persists.
From the proposed developments in Goleta — Calle Real and Glen Annie Golf course — to the massive projects proposed in Santa Barbara, it’s the same story.
It’s time to get real and acknowledge real human behavior.
John Bowen
Goleta
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After spending $7 million on the State Street undercrossing “enhancement” project, City of Santa Barbara employees are now stating that money is running low and a tax increase should be considered. This project awarded a contract to a favorite local architect and another to the architect’s brother.
Moving forward, the city wants to waste even more future money on Ortega Park. This project costs more every time we read about it. The city itself will have to spend north of $16 million for its share.
The not-an-Olympic-size swimming pool alone will require 200,000 gallons of nonfederal water just to fill it. A pool that size will evaporate up to 600 gallons a day and will always have to be replenished, along with the chemicals.
There will be maintenance, security, insurance and lifeguard costs for this pool forever. It might even have to be heated, which will cost even more. Federal money will not be available for any of that.
That is where the taxpayers come into the picture. Will city officials begin charging for the use of the pool, skate park or baseball/soccer fields to offset the future costs, as is done now for the community building?
Citizens should decide if this project is fiscally responsible. Will their money “evaporate”?
Dave Blunk
Santa Barbara
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The April 17 article, “Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte Says Santa Barbara County ‘Isn’t Being a Good Neighbor’ on Housing,” cites very high numbers for the two upzone areas: “The South Patterson Agricultural Area, which could create 7,708 units, and the Glen Annie golf course with 2,673 units, are the main concerns for Goleta.”
I’m not sure if those numbers were based on the maximum units that could be built for the proposed density and number of acres, but they are much higher than the reality.
If all parcels in the South Patterson block are upzoned, the total units (in some cases coming from the latest developer plans) would be about 2,600. Glen Annie will have a maximum of about 1,000 units.
Perhaps the higher numbers were an estimate of the number of future residents that are possible?
I agree that the number of units being planned for Hollister will add a lot of traffic. At least the Caird, Giorgi and Glen Annie plans include some nice public amenities and some for-purchase options.
The San Marcos/Hollister area is getting between 1,800 and 2,000 total units, and most of those are in small rentals in three-story buildings with no elevators and inadequate parking.
Neighbors are hoping that the density can be reduced from 30/40 units per acre to 20/25, which is in line with the other large developments.
There have been several articles that have had a theme of City of Goleta officials complaining about large market-rate developments creating gentrification difficulties for Old Town residents.
Of course, I agree that what the state laws have allowed, in fact demanded, has been very unfair and counterproductive for getting the affordability and livability we need on the South Coast.
But to say that developing Giorgi will cause gentrification is a stretch. One of the fellow board members of Future Housing Communities, who grew up in affordable housing in Old Town, was evicted 15 years ago when a building was sold and has not been able to get back to the South Coast where his work is centered ever since.
I am hopeful that he and many others who have been pushed out of the area can find housing closer to their jobs at these upzone sites.
Linda Honikman
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the April 20 article, “Man Dies After Falling 50 Feet off Bluff in Isla Vista,” this is yet another tragic death of a young person falling off the Del Playa Drive bluffs. These events continue to occur despite the placement of fencing along the blufftops.
To help prevent future tragedies, I suggest erecting memorial crosses at the sites of all such past events, similar to roadside crash memorial crosses. Each cross should include the name of the victim, their age at the time of death, and the date of the accident.
I believe this would serve as a powerful deterrent to future acts of carelessness along the bluffs.
Joe Hackett
Goleta
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It’s a shame when your friends aren’t looking out for you. The occasional careless person wandering too near the cliff edge is hardly preventable. Natural selection weeds out those of our species incapable of discerning unwise ventures.
When somebody is among a group of partiers, is someone keeping an eye on their buddy? The buddy system is taught in Scouting and military training, and should be just a common response when out with friends.
Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps can erect the Great Wall of China along the bluffs, but there’s a basic premise often “elucidated by comedian Ron White: “You can’t fix stupid.”
Jan Lipski
Vandenberg Village
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Did anyone but me notice the vile sign on the West Anapamu Street pedestrian crossing on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara the morning of April 20?
I was horrified to see three young men wearing red balaclavas holding a large sign that declared “Aryan Nation — Invaders Go Home.”
As a Jew who has been watching the pernicious skulk of antisemitism around the world, I never dreamed I would see such an ugly reminder of senseless hate-mongering in our beautiful town.
J. Mizrahi
Santa Barbara
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The weather damage reported in Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen’s April 5 column, “Thunderstorm’s Intensity Raises Montecito’s Flood Pressure,” highlights the urgency to act against climate change.
These heavy rains may seem like a blessing after years of drought, but a drastic change in weather patterns should be considered a warning sign of a much greater problem.
Extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, are the result of us choosing to power our economies with coal, oil and gas. This pollution overheats the planet.
Since a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, rain now often comes down like an “atmospheric river” flooding our streets, eroding cliff sides and damaging coastal communities.
Santa Barbara is a community with a history drenched in oil. Because of this, we understand the need for climate action, which is emphasized at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival on April 27-28.
The Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival is one of the largest and longest-running Earth Day celebrations in the country. At these events, community members engage in climate-focused educational activities and learn how they can put their concerns to action.
We can adapt to more extreme weather — construct better drainage systems, build sea walls or replenish sand on our beaches, but none of these things will stop extreme weather.
The only solution is to begin now to phase out fossil fuels and make the transition to a clean energy future.
Louise Stivers
Goleta
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Regarding the April 22 Photo of the Day, those “contrails” are really “chemtrails,” laced with the latest poisonous chemicals to change the weather. Don’t you know?
Carol Redhead
Lompoc
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Ron Fink’s April 16 commentary, “Killing Access to Space is Not a Legitimate Target,” addresses efforts by local and state officials to restrict rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
But why is this even being discussed? Space exploration should be our No. 1 goal/priority, period. If we don’t find future resources, the human race ends.
Let’s keep it simple: Earth’s resources are finite. When we use them up, it ends for everyone. Sure, it’s years off, but it is going to take a long time to make space flight proficient like airplane flight.
So if surfers and beachgoers have to go to a beach other than Jalama Beach County Park, so be it.
Elon Musk is on the right track. Our politicians … I’m not going there.
Fink hit the rocket on the head. American priorities have been off since President John F. Kennedy was in office.
I don’t care if President Joe Biden doesn’t know what day it is. I don’t care if President Donald Trump is a jerk. I care about the success of the human race and the families that follow us.
Close the beach for a few hours and look to the skies.
Way to go, Ron. I hope your article wakes up more people. I owe you a beer.
Bart Bader
Goleta
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Responding to Bob Shapiro’s April 12 letter to the editor, as always, it comes down to Republicans wanting fewer ineligible people to vote and Democrats wanting more people to vote.
There, I fixed it for you.
Ross Lloyd
Santa Barbara
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