The Redevelopment Oversight Board for Isla Vista voted to support the county’s attempt to keep two formerly RDA-owned buildings.
When the RDA dissolved, the county was told it had to sell the two buildings at 970 and 976 Embarcadero Del Mar unless it could prove to the state Department of Finance that they’re being put to government use. The county Board of Supervisors voted to try to keep the buildings, which house the Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic and public meeting space.
The Goleta City Council has added its voice of support to the effort and now the Oversight Board has as well.
“I’m absolutely thrilled, of course,” Supervisor Doreen Farr said. “I think that the community really, really stepped up and showed how important these properties, these buildings, were for current and future use of the community.”
Once the Department of Finance gets these comments, the county will probably hear back about the property status, Farr said.
“Now we go in solidarity, so to speak, to the Department of Finance in Sacramento, and I think clearly we have a better chance of having it agree since we have an agreement between the (supervisors), acting as the successor agency, and the Oversight Board,” she said.
Farr and other supervisors are willing to plead their case directly if necessary, given the importance of keeping the buildings and the unanimous support of all taxing entities involved, she said.
Assemblyman Das Williams, who grew up in Isla Vista, has offered his support to the effort, and the county has contacted state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson as well, Farr said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.