This is an open letter to the Mayor, the City Council, and the State Street Advisory Committee (SSAC) about the State Street Master Plan. We wish to emphasize how important it is to complete a written Requirements Document before any further design work is done.
A Requirements Document lists all the real-world requirements a project will have to meet to be successful. This document could include such things as building code and zoning regulations, police and fire safety standards, stormwater management, residential density, and many other variables essential in the design of such a large, complex project.
An approved Requirements Document should precede any design work, because this document will create a framework that usefully limits which design choices may be made. The community has been asked for comments on what it wants for the future of State Street. City staff and the State Street Advisory Committee now need to work with the mayor and City Council to achieve an approved Requirements Document. As an aside, the outside consultant’s work should be put on hold until this document is approved by City Council.
A Master Plan is a design tool. But the Requirements Document comes first.
A Master Plan is the “road map” for a project that will be implemented over time, based on the logical sequencing of the overall work, community priorities, and available funding. Listing all the requirements that must be satisfied for the project to be successful will prevent design choices being explored that are infeasible because of regulations, lack of financial resources, or those choices not being desired by the community at large.
Two broad categories of requirements will be included in the Requirements Document. First, Constraints, such as code and regulatory requirements for general and ADA access. Second, Desires, such as visionary or “wish list” ideas that might make the area more usable and attractive for business, community members, and visitors.
A written and approved Requirements Document is needed to guide the State Street Advisory Committee and staff in creating the State Street Master Plan. From our perspective, the two biggest requirements that need to be resolved are first, transportation and mobility throughout the study area, and second, the identification and integration of needed housing on both public and private land, both to create a livelier downtown as well as to meet the state’s requirements for new housing.
We believe that the Requirements Document must be completed now, before the City Council, State Street Advisory Committee, and the city’s consultants move on to the next step: potential design changes to Santa Barbara’s El Pueblo Viejo Historic District.