After falling behind schedule, the city of Santa Barbara is moving forward with a $100 million airport terminal expansion and new parking structure at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport.
Construction is not expected to start until 2026, but the City Council on Tuesday agreed to spend $1.4 million on a conceptual design.
The project already received environmental review because it was part of the Airport Master Plan discussion in 2017.
“We are behind,” said Sara Iza, land development manager at the airport. “We could have built this project a few years ago. We are going to be moving as fast as we can once we get the contract approved.”
The expansion is being fueled by a 27% growth in passengers since 2011, and a projected 79% growth by 2032.
Plans call for the expansion of the terminal to add two passenger gates and waiting room space; additional food and retail space on the second floor; and improvements to the ticketing, self check-in, baggage claim and TSA area.
The parking structure will be multi-level, with 800 to 1,400 spaces. Currently the airport has an overflow lot north of Hollister with 500 spaces.
“The idea is to make those spaces more available, closer to the terminal, and provide some additional room for growth,” said Brad Klinzing, supervising airport engineer.
The design is expected to be complete by the end of 2024, with construction beginning in 2026 and the entire project completed in 2028.
“I am looking forward to some of these improvements as we increase demand and get our new carriers in there,” said Councilman Eric Friedman.
Water Restrictions
The Santa Barbara City Council voted Tuesday to enforce a “Stage Two Water Shortage Alert,” which comes with several new water restrictions.
The requirements include:
» Using a shut-off nozzle when using water through a hose or outdoor water faucet, including vehicle or boat washing.
» Not hosing down hard surfaces such as sidewalks and patios with potable water, with exceptions for preventative maintenance and health and safety.
» Irrigating using an automatically or manually controlled in-ground irrigation system only between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Through a combination of new water fixtures and conservation, Santa Barbara residents are using about the same amout of water as they used in the 1950s. Still, the staff and the council agreed to make the changes amid a statewide severe drought.
The city’s water demands can be met for at least the next two years, using a combination of supplies from its “diverse water supply portfolio,” even if the next two winters are dry.
The city’s water supplies include carryover water from Lake Cachuma, Mission Tunnel infiltration, desalination, groundwater, imported water from the State Water Project (SWP), and recycled water, according to the city.
Budget OK’d
The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday also approved its $471 million overall budget for fiscal year 2023.
The city’s $184 million general fund is expected to have a temporary $1.1 million surplus at the end of this fiscal year, largely because of a quicker recovery in transient occupancy taxes from the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the city lowering its budget expectations in 2021 and 2022.
By the end of 2023, however, the city is expecting a $2.3 million deficit.
The city has been struggling to balance the budget for the past few years and more financial challenges are ahead, related to labor contracts that are typically negotiated one year at a time, increased healthcare costs, pension liability, attrition and COVID-19 pandemic impacts.
The 2008 recession hammered the nation and CalPERS. Pensions are paid out by government agencies and employees, along with returns on CalPERS investments.
When those investments tanked during the recession, government entities started to pile up massive pension liabilities for all employees, but the amount is much greater for police and fire employees.
Santa Barbara will pay out $32 million in pensions in 2022, and that number is expected to reach $38 million in the next few years.
The city plans a series of meetings later in the year to look at ways to raise revenues to create new funding sources.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
