Santa Barbara City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez said we are living in a housing crisis and that he hopes the city and developers can work together to create a cohesive housing plan for La Cumbre Plaza.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, led by then-chair Das Williams, rejected a plan for $1.2 million in funding for a specific plan to build housing at La Cumbre Plaza, preventing the city of Santa Barbara from building more housing units.

“I feel like that whole location is pretty suitable for a large housing development,” Gutierrez said.

Without a specific plan or the parties working together, Gutierrez said, “we are going to have one piece developed, and the other ones who knows when they are going to be developed.

“It’s going to create a lot of issues. I hope they kind of change their mind.”

The Westside councilman sat down with Josh Molina for a conversation on the Santa Barbara Talks podcast. The two discussed Gutierrez’s views on housing, State Street, the city budget, his role on the council and his re-election plans.

Gutierrez said he has learned lessons from both former mayor Cathy Murillo and current Mayor Randy Rowse.

He described Murillo as a mentor, and said it was also like a relationship with a sibling.

“I learned a lot from her, and I mean this with all due respect, the errors she may have done, I learned from that,” Gutierrez said. “I learned, ‘Don’t do that.'”

Gutierrez said about Rowse is that he is “very cordial” and a “human encyclopedia.”

“He’s very professional, he’s a businessman, right,” Gutierrez said. ” That’s kind of the relationship we have. We obviously don’t agree on most things, but maybe we do actually, but there’s definitely not the brother-sister relationship that I had with Cathy.”

Gutierrez is getting ready to run for re-election next year, seeking a second full term on the council.

Gutierrez was first elected in June 2018, as a replacement for Murillo, who was elected mayor.

During the recent budget cycle, Gutierrez advocated for funding for afterschool programs and parks and recreation services for young people. The Parks & Recreation Department had recommended cuts to programs for youth.

“There’s been so many studies about how after-school programs have changed the paths of children,” Gutierrez said. “Some of the parents reached out to us and said, ‘Please don’t do this, we don’t have very many other options.'”

Click the video link above to hear Gutierrez talk about a variety of city issues and the role he believes he plays on the City Council.

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Josh Molina has been a journalist in Santa Barbara for 20 years. He also covered City Hall for the San Jose Mercury News. In addition to working as a reporter at Noozhawk, he teaches journalism at Cal State University, Northridge and Santa Barbara City College. Please subscribe to his You Tube channel for more content.