Ceasefire in Downtown Height Fight

This should be on the November 8 ballot of THIS year not next year ---- Waiting until then will mean that there will be a massive influx of large buildings.

Full speed ahead with getting the signatures!!!!

I notice that not at that gathering of "notables" were the Mayor, Council members Horton and Francisco.

But present were architects/developers Cearnal, Peikert and pro development Flacks.

Ditto - get this on the ballot. Santa Barbara USED to be a model of Planning and Preservation. Now the idea is to cram as many people as you can into a building (especially if they are low income) and the mountain and ocean views once reserved for all to enjoy now belong to the elite who enjoy it from the roof top condos of the monstrosities the council and their “Smart Growth” planners encourage.

30% Affordable (code word for price-controlled and subsidized) combined with 70% luxury only makes our housing problem worse.
What is the point in allowing any luxury housing in mixed-use projects?
Is there a shortage of luxury housing which is more serious that the shortage of rental housing? The community needs 100% rental projects; when is the last time a large rental project has been proposed? Probably 30 years ago. The only way to get more rental housing is tall mixed-use projects in the commercial zones. The 60' limit should be retained for all-rental mixed use.

Steve_Johnson is largely correct.

Congratulations to all in this tentative Treaty of Pueblo Viejo, but the details of this Ordinance will need some work on the key bargaining points of the 30 and 200 figures.

The deal to require only 30% of the residential units at a whopping 200% of the local median household income still leads to lots of luxury condos that only exacerbate the problem of the growing gentrification of Santa Barbara that creates more and more demand for low-wage service workers who contribute to traffic and associated urban challenges.

A household annual income at the 200% figure is still way above an annual income of more than $100 thousand.

Reduce the "affordable" definition to only 100% of the local median income and raise the number of units to 50% of those built in these taller buildings, and then we can have an Ordinance that actually makes Santa Barbara better.

The City Council will need some Courage to stick to these better figures and resist the pressure and complaints and the "it does not pencil out" whines of the Building Development Industrial Complex.

This is a message to all. Please do not join the New World Order for preserving the environment. They will use this in order to achieve their goals of one world government, but it is important to realize that they care nothing for the actual environment.

Global Warming is a fraud. We dump toxins all over our earth, poisoning all forms of live, yet the corporate media has convinced us that CO2 is the biggest enemy. Plants love CO2, and we are not causing climate change. Watch Global Warming: Doomsday Called Off. It is a free movie that can be viewed at video.google.com . Al Gore is apart of the New World Order. "Smart growth" is a catch phrase for the New World Order.

The only Presidential candidate left who cares about the environment is Ron Paul. Hillary is a representative for the New World Order. Ron Paul is the only one who recognizes that corporations colluded with our government back in the days of the Industrial Revolution to supersede property rights so that industries could pollute. Polluting is superseding property rights, which is unconstitutional. Once we realize this, we know that we already have more than enough environmental laws on the books, we just need to follow them. It's time for the constitution to make a come back!! Ron Paul is still in the race, and he has over 500 supporters as delegates (the mainstream media claims he only has 14, this is false). McCain does not have enough committed delegates to win. Abraham Lincoln went to the convention with only 22 delegates and won. Ron Paul is the most principled candidate in the race, and has brought together Independents, Democrats, Greens, Libertarians and even a few Republicans. Our elections are fixed, his support is more broad then they will have you believe.

He is the ONLY candidate left who wants to stop our empire overseas. Obama wants to increase military presence in many areas of the world, and this will result in further military conflict that is unnecessary. Do your homework, you will see that I am right.

The above comment is for informational purposes ONLY. I am not accusing anybody related to this article of anything.

It's so like SB to want its cake and eat it, too. In therapeutic terms, that's known as "cognitive dissonance."

By the way, shame on Marty Blum for taking sides in this issue, by signing the petition to reduce building height, on which legislative prudence required that she stay neutral. But good on those who are trying to find a compromise in order to avoid "planning by initiative" - the worst possible way to build a great and well-functioning city.

P.S. the recent award for "livability" (10th in the nation) was not SB's alone, as a previous article inferred - it was awarded to "Santa Barbara-Santa Maria", essentially the region of SB County. But, again, SB always wants to take more credit than it deserves.

Earth to Loony: Ron Paul is not a candidate any more.

By the way, thanks to Marty Blum for taking a side on this issue, by signing the petition to reduce building heights, on which legislative prudence required that she be a community leader she was elected to be. But good on those who are trying to find a compromise in order to avoid "planning by ballot initiative" - the worst possible way to build a great and well-functioning city.

Sign the Petition to put lower building heights in the Charter. It is time for the people to take back their city and preserve its unique charms.

Don't trust those characters who want a so-called compromise. They are the ones responsible for those huge buildings on Chapala Street. They only want to create another monster building at the transit center with luxury condos on top. Their idea of affordable housing is for those making $130,000 a year!

The Allied Neighborhood Association, made up of neighborhood associations from across the City of Santa Barbara, wishes to reaffirm its position regarding the Height Limits Initiative. The Association is in favor of the Initiative to protect El Pueblo Viejo (our historic downtown) and the adjacent commercial areas.

We will continue to collect signatures to insure that the voice of the people will be heard at an election. We urge city residents to continue to sign this all important petition to reduce the height of new buildings in our city. We especially want to thank the many residents who have already signed it.

Judy Orias, President

The League of Women Voters and others were full speed ahead gathering signatures at today's Earth Day.

Neither the League nor Allied Neighborhoods was included in the so-called "truce", which other than Lodge and Mahan had none of the rest of the thousands of signers of the petitions.

Williams has said he hears calls for densification of Santa Barbara. Really?! The rest of us hear calls for no more high rise, no more Chapala monsters.

If that's what you want, downtown high rise - and few, if any of the supporters live in that downtown area, I think - then move someplace that has such buildings and don't try to change Santa Barbara for your own ta$tes.

PS - it looks like that "compromise" of 52 feet could well be taller than the present 60 feet since it does not include from the eaves to the roof, upon which, of course, could go the latest fad, roof gardens and all the accoutrements, access towers, etc. that are exempted from new the high limit so long as 30% is for the $100,000K crowd. Some compromise! It reminds of the fox in the hen house.

Wow! A compromise on an issue where sides were previously diametrically opposed! How democratic! How un-Santa Barbara! Why not carry this a step further and put the compromise on this year's ballot? Why not try to accomplish compromise on more issues? After all, compromise is supposed to be the foundation of a constitutional republic such as ours, which is assumed to be composed of rational, reasonable, broad-minded people.

Here's the unpleasant truth: living in Santa Barbara is not a right. My grandfather and grandmother moved to Santa Barbara in 1963, raised three children, who begat 9 grandchildren, who will soon beget their own. The only people left in SB? My grandfather and mother. Everyone in the family desired to remain in our home, but eventually, we were all priced out. I have come to terms with this. It is worth over 50% of my income to live in SB. I am willing to sacrifice vacations, cars, house size, savings, etc., in order to live and work in paradise. But part of living in SB is subsidizing its workforce (police, emergency services, health services, educational service, etc.). But guess what, it's a political decision to place these people in higher density than the rest of the population and your tax dollars are used to subsidize the housing. High density in a downtown location doesn't bother me. There are so many benefits to it. And remember, the overall choice is between sprawl and high density, not high density versus nothing at all. High density wins hands down.

The City Council first deliberation on this Treaty will get quite interesting Tuesday (tomorrow) night, as clearly many advocates of the ballot initiative were unaware or disagree with the "compromise".

To a broader point, whenever folks argue that tall buildings downtown will prevent urban sprawl spreading away from the City, they also should note how that would be done.

What assurance or mechanism exists that would regulate urban sprawl outside Santa Barbara City if the City allowed taller buildings downtown?? I think none.

The City has zero practical control over development in Goleta or the unincorporated County. Gaviota Coast (or wherever) sprawl will or will not happen regardless of the building masses and density in Santa Barbara as long as the South Coast remains a nice place to reside.

Through the General Plan Update ("Plan Santa Barbara"), the City can upzone the downtown area with taller buildings and higher density, to be compensated by downzoning the peripheral areas towards the outer neighborhoods. That approach, only within the City, might get to the theory that dense downtown prevents sprawl.

Earth to FirstDistrictStreetfighter.. YES HE IS. You are brainwashed by the media. McCain does not have enough committed delegates to win, and Ron Paul has over 500 supporters in delegate positions and he is still officially in the race. It is time for us to fight, and your time to sit down and watch from the sidelines.

Paultards of Santa Barbara unite!

OK, Ron Paul will win the Republican nomination.

You are so much smarter than those of us so brainwashed by the Media.

What will be the building height limit in Paul(tard)ville?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr...
http://wonkette.com/371078/hooray-paulta...

Your comment doesn't make any sense, could you please show me where I said he would win?? I believe all I did was correct your error and explain that he was still in the race... but then again I shouldn't expect very much from someone who uses the word "Paul(tard)". You are a very immature person.

If you knew anything about Ron Paul, you would know that he wishes to leave these issues to local municipalities. Since you get your information about Ron Paul from wonkette, you probably don't know anything about him. If you're interested in Foreign Policy, I would recommend "A Foreign Policy of Freedom" by Ron Paul. Otherwise, his new book "The Revolution: A Manifesto" should be hitting bookstores any day now.

http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/04/19/h...

So does that mean we can remove the big ones on Chapala? The bummer about these decisions/compromises is that they are too late and then we all have to live with the eternal damnation (of the sun hitting the west side of Chapala Street). Why were those projects not scrutinized further before they were approved? Just wait till Levy's La Entrails project gets completed. Make a mess, get your cash, and then SPLIT! The new American way?

I think the pox of Bill Levy's plans have left the area: here's the last article on this site to discuss the now bankrupt Levy:
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/oct...
and at the bottom of the article it links to other previous details of his developing demise.

Thanks binky, I was uninformed.
But I am not sure we are out of the woods with that one yet from the sounds of the rest of the article. It sounds like someone else can take it over, and do whatever the #!@$%@#$ they want with it? (Wendy's EX was mentioned) As long as they have the cash! Makes you wonder with such a HUGELY visible and important area of down town, and the current state of economy/real estate, is that area just going to be another Miramar and sit there for another 5 or so years, half torn down and empty? I think Fess should take over! Daniel Boone to the rescue?

Maybe Daniel Fess Parker Boon takes over La Enchilada de Santa Barbara from Levy and just build there a workforce affordable youth hostel, 45 feet high not including the towers and the rooftop al fresco dining area and hot tubs.

If only Ron Paul would provide some leadership here.