Santa Maria city officials, who lobbied hard in the past for a new and bigger Department of Motor Vehicles office, are hopeful that 2015 will be the year the project actually gets its first funding.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1 includes $2.6 million for the site location and acquisition while earmarking $15 million over four years for the full project.
However, each phase — acquisition, preliminary plan, working drawing and construction — must be included in future budgets and then approved by the Legislature, a DMV spokeswoman said.
This is the first time city officials have seen any funding for the new facility in the state budget, said Mark van de Kamp, a city spokesman.
“We’ll see how it shakes out in the end,” he said.
City officials have a reason for being cautiously optimistic now. In 2007, the Legislature approved a bill authored by then-Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo. The legislation spelled out the urgent need for a new DMV facility in Santa Maria, and local officials and residents sent letters of support.
“Despite that bill and three in-person visits to Santa Maria, the state shelved it because the state ran out of money because the recession came along,” van de Kamp said.
State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, said earlier this month that she was pleased with the funding.
“The current DMV office is completely inadequate to serve a community the size of Santa Maria,” she said. “A new office is long overdue. I will keep a close eye on this funding to ensure it remains in the final budget that the Legislature passes in June.”
Last year, Jackson wrote a letter to Brown urging funding for the new office. In the letter, she cited long lines, three-hour wait times and new laws as reasons the new office is sorely needed.
The current DMV at 523 S. McClelland St. is 4,387 square feet and has been in use since the Santa Maria Valley’s population was 32,749. Today, the city boasts 102,216 residents, although it’s much larger when including populations of Orcutt, Guadalupe and other unincorporated areas that use that field office.
“The 45-year-old building no longer serves the community as the city of Santa Maria and the surrounding communities have had tremendous population growth that the office cannot accommodate the customers in the building and the parking lot,” DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said.
On a recent day, the line of DMV customers stretched out the door, a common sight due to the cramped quarters for a field office with a staff of 24.
The DMV will seek about 2½ acres to accommodate an approximately 13,000-square-foot building plus parking. The new facility would be three times the size of the existing building.
“We’ve persisted in keeping the idea afloat,” said van de Kamp, adding that the city remains ready to help DMV officials identify a new site.
During previous visits, city officials helped the DMV review potential sites that meet the agency’s criteria, including being within a mile of Highway 101.
“I don’t know if any of them still appeal,” van de Kamp added.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.