With the support of Strong Towns Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara City Council voted 6-1 to approve the State Street Master Plan.
The largest commercial landlord on downtown State Street just proved that those with enough money can pay signature gatherers and place a referendum on a ballot to possibly overturn that master plan.
While cars were running freely on State Street, Macy’s closed (2017), Sears closed (2019) and Nordstrom, a 30-year tenant, closed (2020).
There is no denying the impact of Amazon and the online shopping habits of Americans. Now, an estimated 400,000-500,000 square feet of excess retail space exists downtown.
Is this referendum an effort to try something, at any cost, to lower that figure? Or an effort to ignore retail history? Both?
Convincing proof is needed that restoring vehicle access to State Street makes downtown more convenient for all shoppers.
Obviously, some customers will be less inclined to visit downtown if the promenade loses its pedestrian atmosphere.
Meanwhile, while cars were not running freely on State Street, our pedestrian-oriented downtown attracted restaurants, events, visits and new business. Witness the arrival of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Center, Yardi Systems, UC Santa Barbara and the Music Academy of the West.
If you want to see a healthy downtown for merchants, property owners, residents, visitors and people who cannot or do not want to drive, go visit Ljubljana, Slovenia, for a charming pedestrian city.
To save yourself the trip, walk down State Street during a Saturday or Tuesday farmers market. Admire the activity taking place within those nine car-free blocks. It’s alive. It’s not “the mess” people make it out to be.
The largest commercial landlord’s interests are not identical to every downtown business.
A restaurant with outdoor seating might benefit more from a pedestrian promenade without noise and exhaust fumes than a retailer whose customers prefer to park nearby. Pedestrians do browse multiple stores without traffic, potentially encouraging longer visits.
One thing we can all agree: The viewpoint of the largest commercial landlord on State Street and the City Council’s urban master plan have two different perspectives.
In a few years and with a ballot, it looks like you will get to make the choice of which vision is correct.
