The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed how to govern Isla Vista, the unincorporated area adjacent to UC Santa Barbara that has many of the needs and demands of a small city with more than 21,000 residents.
It’s a germane discussion just a few weeks ahead of Halloween festivities in Isla Vista, which usually tax local law enforcement to the brink as thousands of people flood the streets for the parties.
The county usually pays several hundred thousand dollars for law enforcement during that time.
The Deltopia riots and mass murder that occurred earlier this year only highlight the safety needs of the community, said Doreen Farr, the county’s Third District supervisor whose district includes Isla Vista.
Who should take responsibility remains an open question, however, as elected officials, who would likely be students, would cycle in and out every few years, and the area’s tax base is nowhere near what it should be to support the services it draws down.
Farr gave a presentation on Tuesday, highlighting some of the history of Isla Vista, improvements that have been made in the area, and the existing challenges. The board voted unanimously to receive her report and will get updates on governance options in the future.
The size of the community combined with its density and the diverse demographics all present challenges, Farr said, adding that Isla Vista is made up largely of renters, and is one of the four designated areas of poverty in the county.
The City of Goleta was formed in 2001, but didn’t include Isla Vista, and the voters likely wouldn’t have approved incorporation if Goleta’s boundaries had included the student-dominated community, Farr said.
Now, the area is primarily served by the Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District, a special district formed in the 1970s to maintain parks owned by the district and to administer some recreation programs.
The Isla Vista Safety Committee was recently formed by the District Attorney’s Office, with representatives from the county, UCSB, Santa Barbara City College and other agencies, Farr said. The county Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department also serve the area in terms of public safety.
Who should govern Isla Vista was not the only question addressed by the board; money also was a topic.
The area was dealt a significant financial blow when the state dissolved Isla Vista’s redevelopment agency, which had generated more than $40 million for local projects, such as the Pardall Road enhancements, Farr said.
County Auditor-Controller Bob Geis said the rest of the county is subsidizing Isla Vista in the wake of RDA funding being yanked, especially in the area of public safety.
Tax base in the area is also an issue.
Property tax revenue in the area is low because many of the property owners are “old time property owners” that owned their buildings pre-Prop 13, and aren’t selling their buildings, Geis said.
“I don’t think an incorporation by itself would work out there today,” he said, adding the same would be true for annexation. “You can’t make it pencil out without a change in the law or something — demand for services is so high.”
Supervisor Peter Adam said incorporation is the only way to solve Isla Vista’s problems, and that the county has played a role in Isla Vista becoming an island of sorts.
“We created that situation and maybe it’s our job to fix it,” he said. As for the money to do so, “you’re not going to squeeze enough blood out of that turnip so we may have to look elsewhere.”
Many needs still exist going forward, with millions needed for sidewalks and traffic calming, a permanent bluff fence, code enforcement and graffiti abatement.
Farr said she’s working with the university to see if it will partner with the county on some of the efforts.
George Thurlow, assistant vice chancellor at UCSB, was present during public comment.
“These are problems that have festered for 40 years … but we really feel at UCSB like we have an opportunity to make some progress,” Thurlow said.
First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, who was a student at UCSB, said that the issues have been recurring over the years.
“This is a cyclical thing. We do a lot of good … and then things bubble up again. … I’m ready to do whatever I can to support you,” Carbajal said to Farr.
Governance was also an issue at a town hall meeting in Isla Vista on Tuesday night and has been discussed in the past, so more ideas and reports about how best to govern the area may be put forward in the future.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
