After years of planning, Isla Vista has a new park.
The Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District celebrated the grand opening of Pardall Gardens on Thursday, a new 720-square-foot park at 6524 Pardall Road, conveniently located between the bike tunnel that connects Isla Vista to UC Santa Barbara and multiple businesses, such as Lao Wang, The Habit Burger Grill and Wingstop.
Kimberly Kiefer, IVRPD general manager, called the opening a historic moment for the tiny but mighty parks district.
“Here we are, we get to enjoy this day, and every day after, and watch these plants and trees grow larger, make memories with friends, strangers and wildlife, and also catch a sunrise or a sunset with palm tree views,” Kiefer said.
The park has benches, picnic tables, bar top seating, walkways, and 518 drought-tolerant plants and eight trees.
There is no water hookup at the park, as the plants will be able to thrive off of rainwater alone, though groundskeepers will be bringing in water initially to help the plants get established.
“There was a lot of thoughtfulness and care that also went into the design of this park,” said Demi Cain, chair of the IVRPD Board of Directors. “We’re really proud to show off the xeriscape landscaping, which will keep all of the water use very low, maintenance low, while still supporting a really beautiful and healthy habitat.”
The park has been in the works since 2021, when IVPRD conducted a survey to get public input on what projects the district should prioritize with Measure O funding. Voters approved the special tax measure in 2016 to generate revenue for capital improvement projects and recreational programming.
Cain said the Measure O funding helped close the funding gap needed to bring the park to life.
“I can’t wait to start riding by and actually seeing people in the park now using this beautiful space that really belongs to all of us as a community,” Cain said.
In the end, the project cost $787,747. Funding came from two state grants: a $250,000 Recreational Revenue Infrastructure Enhancement grant and a $177,952 per capita program grant, funded by Proposition 68.
IVRPD committed $268,805 from its Measure O budget for the park, and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors awarded $77,000 toward lighting.
Eleanor Gartner, district representative with Second District Supervisor Laura Capp’s office, said Santa Barbara County was proud to support the lighting and celebrated the importance parks have in local communities.
“We know how important open spaces, parks and gardens are for the people and the community’s well-being and health,” Gartner said. “They significantly boost mental health and reduce stress, something that’s critical to tend to, especially right now.”
To bring the park to life, IVRPD teamed up with Pacific Coast Landscape Design, Fillipin Engineering, CS Legacy Construction and Local SEIU 620 IVRPD employees who managed the planting.
