County 8-20
Michael Dyer was sworn in as Santa Barbara County’s new fire chief on 8/18. Dyer comes to Santa Barbara after a long tenure with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, where he most recently served as deputy chief. After a brief ceremony in front of the Board of Supervisors, Dyer gave the board an update on the latest conditions of La Brea Fire, which began during Dyer’s second week on the job. John Scherrei previously held Dyer’s position.
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On the third anniversary of 55 Isla Vista families-mostly low-income-receiving eviction notices from the out-of-town landlord of Cedarwood Apartments, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decided on 8/18 to revisit a county tenant displacement ordinance. Immigrant advocacy group PUEBLO, which supported many of the evicted, showed up in support of revisiting the ordinance, while some landlords asked the board to not change the ordinance or to reconsider the ordinance with fair treatment.
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The planning commission of San Luis Obispo County approved the transfer of ownership of 135 acres to Santa Barbara County on 8/13. The decision returns 10 properties that were formerly owned by Santa Barbara County, which will allow Santa Barbara to move forward with plans to reinforce the Santa Maria levee. The land was previously acquired by San Luis Obispo County from Santa Barbara County through a tax default.
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Caltrans announced last week that Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) will receive more than $1.3 million to replace the current 40-foot diesel buses with hybrid buses. MTD is one of 107 transit and air quality entities statewide set to receive a portion of the more than $235 million from Proposition 1B, a 2006 transportation bond.
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Effective 8/24, the county Metropolitan Transit District will be reinstating portions of its Line 8 route, which was trimmed back a year ago due to low ridership and funding. In addition to other line changes, buses will once again take passengers north of Highway 101 out to Fairview Avenue. However, to avoid confusion, the portion of Line 8 running to County Health, University, Fairview, and Encina stops will be renamed Line 7.
