California’s housing crisis is really starting to hit home now, and Noozhawk is about to embark on a long-running series to help you better understand the causes, impacts, stakes and solutions.
It’s a complex issue and, not surprisingly, there is no silver-bullet solution to save the day.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, and there actually are a number of innovative ideas that may make a positive difference with some semblance of consensus.
Given Noozhawk’s reputation for objectivity, fairness and professionalism, we think our own housing project will be of great service to our readers and our community. We’ll be sharing more about our blueprint in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, Noozhawk built an audience of 138,647 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over that period.
This is my opinion column, not a news story, by the way. And I write it in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher.
And speaking of housing …
1. County Supervisors Set to Vote on Rezoning Ag Land to Build Thousands of Housing Units
Housing and quality of life are hanging in the balance as the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors at last takes up rezoning that eventually could lead to 5,664 new housing units throughout the county.
Our Josh Molina provided an excellent preview of the board’s overall challenge while our Rebecca Caraway reported on the supervisors’ first hearing — on April 30 in Santa Maria, where they considered as many as 3,555 new units in the North County.
As Josh explains, the fate of dozens of sites set for rezoning has largely been predetermined by county Planning & Development Department staff. Click here for a complete list of sites.
The state has already certified the county’s Housing Element so the Board of Supervisors’ decisions are unlikely to vary much.
The 2023-2031 Housing Element identifies 27 potential rezone sites on the South Coast and 18 in the North County.
The county is under heavy pressure from the state to address the housing crisis, with the expectation that 4,142 new units would be built on the South Coast and another 1,522 in the North County.
To meet Sacramento’s demands, the Planning Commission has recommended rezoning numerous agriculture sites, which is becoming a growing flashpoint — no pun intended — for a number of reasons.
The biggest controversy is swirling around Glen Annie Golf Club, at 405 Glen Annie Road, whose owners want to replace the golf course with 1,000 new single-family homes.
The response to Josh’s April 29 article was swift.
A number of teachers at nearby Dos Pueblos High School contacted him with their concerns, primarily around the increased traffic and what they say are inadequate consideration of the impacts.
They also told him that his story spurred the developers to meet with a group of them.
“It is unconscionable to offer these developments a traffic impact waiver,” said Kelly Savio, a 10-year English teacher. “It is even more shocking that this waiver was tucked into fine print rather than openly acknowledged.
“These sites are already high-traffic zones, and the Glen Annie/Dos Pueblos area is especially crazy and unsafe already.”
City of Goleta officials are not on board either.
“Please do not allow exceptions to the county Circulation Element level of service standards for Housing Elements sites,” Mayor Paula Perotte wrote the Board of Supervisors in a letter signed by the rest of the City Council.
“The vast new residential capacity of the housing sites proposed to be rezoned will have outsized effects on traffic circulation and must be held to the same level of service standards now in effect.”
While developers have promised an array of amenities to sweeten their deals, critics argue that rezoning agricultural land would devastate quality of life, and not just with traffic.
They also are raising concerns over what would be an influx of market-rate housing that is unaffordable for most local working-class residents.
The next Board of Supervisors hearing starts at 9 a.m. May 3 in the fourth-floor board room of the County Administration Building at 105 E. Anapamu St.
2. Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Getting Displaced After 50 Years on the Mesa
The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, which has operated at the Vic Trace Reservoir property in Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood for nearly 50 years, is in a race against time to find a new home.
The club has until July 30 to vacate the premises at 740 Dolores Drive near La Coronilla Park as the City of Santa Barbara plans to demolish the existing concrete reservoir and build two new, 5 million-gallon underground water storage tanks.
“We were shocked that it wasn’t going to be available after the redevelopment,” Levi Maaia, a club board member and the organization’s trustee, told our Rebecca Caraway.
Founded in 1920, the club is involved in emergency beacon monitoring for emergency response, aircraft tracking and academic research.
The communication facility has been crucial for emergency operations, research activities, and providing vital information during disasters like the 2017 Thomas Fire and the deadly Montecito debris flows in 2018.
“Because we have a large network of 150 members, oftentimes we’re first to know and communicate about something before the official word gets out,” Maaia said.
With limited options due to the high cost of real estate and permitting issues, the club is urgently seeking a new site that can accommodate their operations.
Despite being a longstanding tenant, Maaia says the city has not only not offered to help find a replacement site, “we’ve gotten crickets from them.”
Matt Ward, the city’s water system manager, said the leases of all tenants have been terminated “because it’s a major reservoir renovation.”
“We’re gonna have to use the entire site for construction,” he said.
3. Authorities Identify Woman Found Dead Near Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara
The body of a woman found early on April 29 near Santa Barbara’s famed Dolphin Fountain has been identified as a 32-year-old resident of La Jolla and Riverside.
As our Tom Bolton reported, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau spokeswoman Raquel Zick said the dead woman was discovered around 6:30 a.m. near the fountain at the base of Stearns Wharf.
Zick identified the woman as Alexandria Grace Farstad, and added that the “cause and manner of death are pending.”
Santa Barbara police Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale had said earlier that foul play was not suspected.
4. Santa Barbara Real Estate Broker Ordered to Pay More Than $2 Million for Embezzlement
A Santa Barbara real estate broker has been sentenced in the embezzlement of more than $650,000 from clients of his property management company.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, 42-year-old Adam Michael Pirozzi had pleaded no contest to two counts of embezzlement and an enhancement for embezzling more than $500,000.
On April 18, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years probation, and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution and fines.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office originally charged Pirozzi with money laundering and other felonies for allegedly embezzling from clients of his now-defunct property management company, AMP Core Inc., which used several fictitious business names, including Harbor View Real Estate and Santa Barbara Property Management.
The District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit launched an investigation after a client’s tip and found Pirozzi had misappropriated client funds.
His frozen assets will be used to pay back victims and the court-ordered fines.
5. Santa Barbara Council Disagrees on Future of State Street, Approves Farmers Market Relocation
“Santa Barbara Council Disagrees on Future of State Street.”
LOL Sometimes the headline really does tell the whole story.
Meanwhile, the City Council actually did make a decision, voting 5-2 to move the Saturday Santa Barbara Farmers Market to the 900 and 1000 blocks of State Street and the first blocks of East and West Carrillo streets.
The farmers market has been located in the commuter parking lot at the corner of East Cota and Santa Barbara streets, adjacent to Antioch University Santa Barbara. The site is the future home of the new Santa Barbara police station.
Council members Eric Friedman, Oscar Gutierrez, Meagan Harmon, Mike Jordan and Kristen Sneddon voted for the move with Mayor Randy Rowse and Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez in dissent.
Citing safety and mobility concerns, Santa Barbara Fire Department officials also objected.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories you should read, if you haven’t already:
» Proposal to Increase Downtown Parking Fees Sits Idle with Santa Barbara Finance Committee — Santa Barbara’s idiotic proposal to solve its budget problems with parking fees out the wazoo appears to have run into one of the city’s growing number of bone-jarring potholes. Staff writer Josh Molina has the details, but don’t take your hand off your wallet just yet.
» Conception Dive Boat Captain Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Deadly Fire — Conception dive boat captain Jerry Boylan learns his fate for his role in the deadly 2019 fire that killed 34 people off Santa Cruz Island. Executive editor Giana Magnoli wraps up his sentencing.
» Trial Ordered for Santa Barbara Man Accused of Murdering Girlfriend’s Toddler Daughter — Editor in chief Tom Bolton follows up on the awful, awful death of 3-year-old Mila Solis.
» WorldView Legion Satellites in Orbit After SpaceX Launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base — Heralded by its familiar sonic boom, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster returns to Vandenberg Space Force Base after helping send another payload of satellites into orbit. North County editor Janene Scully has the full story.
» Santa Maria Police Investigation into Fatal Shooting Leads to Three Arrests — There’s no honor among thieves, as Janene discovers in the Dec. 17 murder of a 33-year-old Santa Maria man.
» Plane Owners Speak Out After Santa Maria Airport Proposed 50% Rate Hike for Hangar Rentals — Airplanes aren’t the only thing taking off at the Santa Maria Airport. Janene keeps the logs.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? 2 Women Jailed After Vehicle Destroys Parklet in Front of Santa Barbara Pub.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Let me float a new idea for an Up-lifting getaway: Putting the AIR in Airbnb.
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Here’s What I’m Up To
- June 6 — I’m not a morning person but the Rotary Club of Santa Maria Breakfast mentioned the possibility of pancakes. I’ll be there early to share Noozhawk’s story and North County expansion plans.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed is all over the place, from @allsaintsbythesea Episcopal Church to Hellgate High School in Missoula, Montana, for my friend, Paul Yarbrough, and from Palm Desert to @theburgerbasket in Monrovia. I do get around.
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Watch It
Funny canine makeovers, with a side of creepy. HT, er, a tail wag to Best of Bill reader Kyle Reyes.
