With serious financial challenges looming, Santa Maria also has a lot in the works, including hundreds of new housing units along with multiple new businesses in the development pipeline, according to a presentation Thursday. 

Mayor Alice Patino and Interim City Manager Chuen Wu delivered the State of the City address Thursday morning.

Approximately 150 people attended the breakfast event held at the Santa Maria Radisson Hotel and organized by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“This is the place on the Central Coast where stuff happens,” Wu said.

In addition to community leaders, the audience included incoming City Manager David Rowlands, who will start his Santa Maria job this month after leading the staff of Fillmore.

Rowlands will arrive as Santa Maria faces a $20 million budget gap. The city staff is exploring potential cutbacks and revenue enhancement options, including new or increased taxes and parking fees with the item returning to the City Council in February.

“We’re figuring this out. There’s no sugar coating around it,” Wu said. “It is going to be tough.”

Recent developments — both those recently built and others in the pipeline — have involved multifamily projects set to bring hundreds of new residences to the community, including many downtown. 

Those come amid work to update its General Plan, a blueprint for Santa Maria’s future. That effort includes talks about needing to annex land to expand the city boundaries. 

“I really believe that there has to be a balance of your multi-family housing and single-family housing,” Wu said. “There has to be more land set aside for our single-family inventory.”

As Santa Maria pushes forward on the downtown revitalization effort, care can be taken to reflect the character and architecture seen in neighborhoods near Main Street and Broadway, he added.

“I do think there are some opportunities to maintain those design standards,” Wu said, adding that he has encouraged the Community Development Department to work on historical preservation design standards for residential neighborhoods.

“I do think there are tools that we have to preserve our history,” he added. 

A number of new businesses plus new locations for existing businesses include the new home for an auto dealership now on East Main Street. Home Motors eventually will relocate the Enos Ranch development near other dealerships.

Additionally, the Chino-based Planes of Fame Air Museum plans to build hangars at the Santa Maria Public Airport. 

“This will be a tremendous asset for our community,” Wu said.

Also approved are a second Chick-fil-A at the north end of the city, a Holiday Inn Express, a new packaging firm and a distribution warehouse. 

As she delivered the presentation, Patino appeared to be on track to win another four-year term on the council after the Nov. 5 election results continue to be counted. However, her lead ahead of challenger Diana Perez narrowed, according to the tally released Thursday.

“Potholes and parking — those are two big complaints I get constantly,” Patino said, blaming state leaders for changes in law that don’t provide adequate parking for some projects. 

The mayor also reported reduced crime in the city, noting the role of license plate reader cameras in assisting officers.

“With all the cameras we have now, we’re just being more efficient and more effective in solving our crimes,” Patino said. 

The Police Department receives more than 100,000 calls for service each year and responds to 1,800 traffic collisions, she added.

Based on 10 years of data, she said, the city sees an average of six homicides and four traffic fatalities annually. 

Police officers now have body-worn cameras.

“Body cams enhance community transparency and capture the critical audio and video evidence for criminal investigation and prosecution,” Patino said. 

Next year, the agency hopes to get grant funding to crack down on traffic scofflaws. 

The agency likely will get a new police chief in 2025 after Chief Marc Schneider announced his plan to retire. 

In addition to adding lighting for soccer fields at two sites to allow play to take place after sunset, the city is progressing toward breaking ground on a new four-field sports complex. 

Patino also spoke about efforts to handle homelessness, updates on other city departments, and the online Neighborhood Connect program for residents to make suggestions to the city. So far, residents have submitted 7,400 reports, the mayor said.

“This is a convenient way for residents to report non-emergency issues to the city,” she added.