I couldn't even finish reading the article because I am so disgusted by the Santa Barbara City counsel. It does not surprise me. I was born and raised here for 52 years and the state Santa Barbara is in is alarming. This used to be a family oriented, touristy town but no longer. I have never seen the emptiness at paseo Nuevo or on State Street the way it is now. And those stupid bike lanes that were put in, where you have to go around the block is ridiculous. And I have not seen one bike rider ever utilizing those bike lanes in those neighborhoods.
Thank you Bonnie!! I absolutely agree! An audit should be done to see where money is being allocated and exactly what it's spent on. Our public library looks a travesty! They took parking to put in bike lanes that were not necessary. How much did that cost? State Street has never been more empty. This is Santa Barbara!! My home, the city I will never leave and it is a dam shame.
Elizabeth, can you start your audit by getting people to drop off a letter of protest against the trash rate increase? You do know there is also a water increase coming along with a 25% decrease in water used?
Re Anacapa between Haley and Gutierrez, yay!! It's about time. To drive back home after shopping at REI anybody living NE of REI had to take a left on Gutierrez (obvi), cross State St, take a right on Chapala, another right on Haley, and cross State again.
Regarding all the funding and defunding, when is the City going to fund the Ortega Park renovation, specifically the pool? In this context, a couple of years ago I asked Kristen Sneddon about Measure C funds. I understand that Measure C funds, at least in part, are being spent on the State Street debacle? Enquiring minds want to know...
Bonnie we know you know of other cuts coming from Sacramento that is going to add significant heart attacks to the current City Council, and its spendthrift madness.
You mentioned the Golf Course, I doubt that the readers know CAB proposed to the County Association of Governments an alternative to MTD. Elimination of that badly run, massively expensive semi-independent government agency would be another great example of Government is not the answer and how taxpayers can benefit. Example ... Before COVID the downtown shuttle failed so the answer was buy electric air conditioned buses and the people/shoppers would flock to them. That also failed. (oh did I mention most of that failure was called "The Last Mile" ironic isn't it.
The ongoing and expanding costs of government cannot continue.
Multi-generation families know the issues of housing and cost in Santa Barbara going back decades. The government answer to have Mayberry RFD in one of the 6-7 locations in the entire world that has weather and views is fools effort.
The most recent public outrage is Vision Zero that Los Angeles has proven to fail for 15 years, the ongoing outrage of now well over 20 year failure of bikes as removing cars from the streets, and then the really stupid (excuse me, not intelligent) inane (yep Mom taught languages) 15 minute city without personal cars.
Nicely done.
(oh and if the reader wants to attend the CAB monthly meeting send us an email for an invite)
Great article, thank you for informing us our local govt is incompetent, inefficient, and fiscally irresponsible.
After speaking to a fellow middle of the road, common sense, check book balancing person I found out they were unaware of anything going on.
I asked if they had their head buried in the sand.
They replied no one talks about this stuff. It’s always Dem talking points through their rose colored glasses that everything is good. The only negative things discussed are anti Trump comments.
No one discusses the homeless, tenant/landlord issues, govt lawsuits, trash rate hikes, water rate hikes, tax increases…
This is by design. If people are unaware they don’t fight the abuse.
Others are part of the cult, they may admit things are not good but they will never deviate.
The Dem Voter and non voter are responsible. both groups are ignorant. Ignorance is bliss. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.
But you are to blame for their ignorance. .
We are here because those in the know choose to vent on social media sporadically but refuse to speak up to family, friends, coworkers, etc…
They choose to allow our town to spiral downward. They choose to not comment on social media and hide.
We need to speak up, do not shy from those conversations. Be informed and have calm honest conversations.
Forums like this are great, but you, yes you, need to talk about these articles to your sphere. Point them here to read for themselves if you are not comfortable having a real conversation.
And one conversation on one topic is not enough. You need to live it, breathe it, talk regularly. With honesty and love, and never shy away.
Why is it ok for the lefty’s to make you uncomfortable, but you are not allowed to speak up? Is that a friend? Is that a true loved one? Or are you just a slave, a servant to those around you doing as you are told? This
Good point about no one talks. The Council and BOS count on the average person will not log into each agenda. Gov. speak is too often boring and sleep inducing. Good catch.
Bonnie-I always appreciate your informative posts. I also dread reading them because I know that you will provide documentation of the inept and corrupt leadership of our city.
Our electorate is made up of people who have not yet discovered SB Current. Just getting party line pap only from SB Independent, does not create an informed electorate.
No wonder the NewsPress unions worked so hard to shut down the only viable alternative media resource in town. No wonder the new iteration of the SB NewPress getting ready to roll out as we speak, is creating one more one-party echo chamber.
Bullseye Bonnie! The City of Santa Barbara is totally mismanaged decade after decade by a Council Majority with second or third grade math proficiency. Currently, four reps are deaf with no desire to learn, only to wastefully spend and then raise fees (water is survival so what’s with the City’s 40% increase?)
How do we get Council to act responsibly? An ignored example where we taxpayers are on the hook: City of Santa Barbara’s unfunded pension liability. It was reported at $344.5 million in 2021, according to Noozhawk. A 2021 the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury report cited a slightly higher figure of $386 million for the city’s pension systems.
In 2013, the city’s unfunded pension liability was reported at $226.3 million. Our Taxpayer contingent liability continues to increase. (The city participates in CalPERS.)
The 2018 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report noted that rising pension costs could force the city to reduce services or raise taxes to maintain solvency. This 2018 GJ Report also highlighted that the pension system, for police and fire employees, has a high “solvency risk” due to unfunded liabilities. “The city needs to renegotiate labor contracts or adjust contributions, as it did in 2010 when police officers began contributing 2.266% to their pensions.”The latest recommendation was for a 9% Officer contribution.
How much do we in private sector contribute toward our pensions? A matching amount with our employer?!? Or if self-employed the entire amount.
There are many protections for them, none for local taxpayers. Courts have historically upheld the priority of CA pension obligations (like the bankruptcies of Vallejo, Stockton, and San Bernardino, where CalPERS pensions were largely preserved.)
City council members, most bought and paid for up front by city employee union member interests providing their campaign support, have refused to even identify the automatic city employee expense increases they built into the city budget. Let's talk about those.
These automatic expense increases is why, even if city revenues stay flat and do not decline, we are still in red ink because these union-bargained automatic expense increases only grow each year.
To wit: pension contributions, health care premiums, automatic COLA, step increases, longevity increases, job reclassifications ............... all the ways a city budget can keep losing ground as those expenses do nothing but go up, even when the underlying revenues are standing still.
City does not have the luxury of handing out housing to everyone who shows up and demands "housing is a right" priority over all other now mandatory city expenses. Rein it in, city council majority members: Sneddon, Gutierrez, Santa Maria, and Harmon. Stop pretending you can care for the entire world, when you cannot even take care of your city department themselves.
It is time for trade-offs; not endless rounds of more tax and fee increases.
JUNE 10, 2025 - DEADLINE - DELIVER YOUR LETTERS TO CITY HALL - INCREASE IN TRASH BILLS
(Bonnie writes: "To make your protest valid, it must include your name and service address, and must also specify whether you are contesting the fee increase, the calculation method, or both. Protests can be mailed or delivered in person to 735 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, or placed in the bill payment drop box at City Hall.")
Thank you Bonnie for highlighting the need to get written notice to the City Council in response to these proposed changes. This is so important. Happy they will broaden resident/voter impact well beyond the orchestrated noisy astro-turf crowds that now show up, stomping cheering and visually intimidating council members like in the recent past. Those became quickly not much more than mob rule.
But the burden is now on us, to respond up front and not just complain after the fact. Get your pen and paper, out now to stand up and be counted too.
Interesting they took away the ease of firing off emails to council members. But today, emails can be so astro-turfed as well. At least with written correspondence one can start discerning who is sending in the form letters, who is writing serious concerns.
Vox populi. Find that box of unused stationery and let's have at it. One page only, think about format, bullet points and your own best, sincere words. How will city council actions affect you personally. Positively and negatively, which ever is appropriate.
AT BEST any communication posted to the City Council is read by a staffer who puts a check mark on a tally, yea or nay. So don't bother to be eloquent with "format, bullet points and your own best, sincere words" just pop a postcard in the mail with a comment that says you oppose the increase in trash bills. Gee whiz, I really don't need all the cans to be color-coordinated to conform to Newscum's aesthetic mandate, and was also amazed to read that after this month they will no longer pick up any self-purchased cans. More waste. All into the landfill, like the "recycling center" another financial boondoggle that quietly has been forgotten. My postcard says:"I oppose the increase in trash bills. Your budget is full of incorrect priorities."
I am still trying to get my head around the impact of this new street side garbage pick-up system on street parking, which is extremely limited in many parts of town anyway. Unless they coordinate garbage pick up only on street cleaning days?
I shudder when I think what will happen after a few missed pick-up days due to cars parked in the way of the garbage trucks. The Dario Pini solution, when he was caught making midnight runs using other people large bin drop boxes because he was not paying for trash removal on his own properties (per SB media article)?
Thanks for the tip on letters to city hall and your reality check. When it comes to specific issues - yea or nay can suffice. But good grief, that is as valid as taking some unregulated poll if they are not using the feedback to respond to reasonable human responses instead - though this fee increase does lend to a simple yes or no. We pay them to make the very best decisions in our names; not to run popularity contests.
Can we assume AI is getting introduced to read these letters now, like one is seeing more frequently in online product review summations?
In my Alta Mesa Westside neighborhood there are several streets I like to use because they are not burdened with speed humps that require pulling over when cars come toward each other.... not wide enough for two lines of curbside parking AND two lanes of traffic. Add in the new AUD permissions, added density without requiring off-street parking, and you'll have complete gridlock on trash pickup days.
Look this up on Transparent California. Is she a part time city council person, or a part time SBCC instructor or is she a veritable full time everywhere wonder woman, but still living solely off the tax payer dime?
Ms. Donovan, thank you for your article. If all your figures and facts are correct, ( I have no information to think otherwise), I applaud you for your efforts in letting us tax payers becoming aware of a rather badly run local government. More power to you for your continued exposures, particularly the exorbitant salaries the county workers receive.
Terrific article, Bonnie. Someone might remind the Council majority that Santa Barbara is not in the real estate business. City's are obligated to maintain infrastructure, support public safety (fire, police), maintain public spaces (libraries and parks), and preparedness for extraordinary events (fire, flood, earthquake). A healthy surplus funds the latter as well as the lean years.
When I go past the city's prime location Granada Garage apartments dedicated only for very low income residents, I wonder what has been the turnover rate for those premium location apartments?
Have people used them to get back on their feet, have they moved on to self-funded living arrangements, or are they the very lucky few who have now secured prime windfall housing at taxpayer expense for the rest of their lives?
What is the better use for this city owned property - creating a few token hand outs for very limited feel-good benefits? Or creating an annual revenue stream from market rentals, for the benefit of all city residents?
Unless it's designated senior or disabled housing, all others be allotted a sunset rental agreement, say 5 years. Ample time to assume responsibility over one's life. As a single mom living in ucsb's "oldmarried housing" on Storke, I knew that upon graduation that I would be required to give up the apartment. Public Housing isn't homesteading.
Learned this is a People's Self Help housing project; not a SBHA project.
Casas Las Granadas. Same questions asked, was this best use for what was at the time city owned property, or would all residents have benefited from making this market rate housing to enhance city revenue streams if the city insists on getting into the housing business?
Accepts Section 8
Physical Address: 21 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Mailing Address: 26 E. Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Casas las Granadas was completed December 2007 and provides 12 new, permanently affordable one-bedroom rental units. The apartments range in size from 485 to 575 square feet.
The development’s downtown convenient location, across from the Santa Barbara public library, and adjacent to the County Courthouse, is only half a block from State Street and within walking distance to major transportation. Casas las Granadas was designed to complement the downtown street scape by featuring Spanish style architectural elements.
Thank you Bonnie. The Housing Authority and various homeless services are BUSINESSES. They get their money from intimating elected officials into compliance knowing that they have convinced the voters what they do is a necessary benefit.
These officials don’t want to admit that the money they have spent to destroy our main commercial corridor has been an utter failure. These are mostly small minded ideologues who, with union backing tyrannically rule our City.
Bonnie this is a very informative and also frightening article.
The city is running headlong into insolvency. Contracting out city responsibilities is one way to reduce costs. But, the root causes of this mess are, the voting system and incompetence of the members of the city council, and and a pay & benefits system that rewards failure among the people who who run the organization. How to solve those issues is the question.
Marborg also sends incomplete and confusing notices to its customers. For example, the are now going to charge extra for houses where the garbage isn't wheeled to the curb. They say on the notice that if you switch to cans with wheels you will receive a 35 gallon can for yard waste. However, they fail to inform these customers that they charge the same amount for a 65 gallon can. How many of their customers have 35 gallon cans when they could have the larger can for the same price because they weren't informed of this? Maybe it's time we end the monopoly that Marborg has in Santa Barbara.
I couldn't even finish reading the article because I am so disgusted by the Santa Barbara City counsel. It does not surprise me. I was born and raised here for 52 years and the state Santa Barbara is in is alarming. This used to be a family oriented, touristy town but no longer. I have never seen the emptiness at paseo Nuevo or on State Street the way it is now. And those stupid bike lanes that were put in, where you have to go around the block is ridiculous. And I have not seen one bike rider ever utilizing those bike lanes in those neighborhoods.
Even if it takes 10 revisits to finish the column, please read to the end.
Thank you Bonnie!! I absolutely agree! An audit should be done to see where money is being allocated and exactly what it's spent on. Our public library looks a travesty! They took parking to put in bike lanes that were not necessary. How much did that cost? State Street has never been more empty. This is Santa Barbara!! My home, the city I will never leave and it is a dam shame.
Elizabeth, can you start your audit by getting people to drop off a letter of protest against the trash rate increase? You do know there is also a water increase coming along with a 25% decrease in water used?
I am not aware of that. That is nuts. I am starting to listen more to local politics rather than national.
Well done, Bonnie!
Re Anacapa between Haley and Gutierrez, yay!! It's about time. To drive back home after shopping at REI anybody living NE of REI had to take a left on Gutierrez (obvi), cross State St, take a right on Chapala, another right on Haley, and cross State again.
Regarding all the funding and defunding, when is the City going to fund the Ortega Park renovation, specifically the pool? In this context, a couple of years ago I asked Kristen Sneddon about Measure C funds. I understand that Measure C funds, at least in part, are being spent on the State Street debacle? Enquiring minds want to know...
Bonnie we know you know of other cuts coming from Sacramento that is going to add significant heart attacks to the current City Council, and its spendthrift madness.
You mentioned the Golf Course, I doubt that the readers know CAB proposed to the County Association of Governments an alternative to MTD. Elimination of that badly run, massively expensive semi-independent government agency would be another great example of Government is not the answer and how taxpayers can benefit. Example ... Before COVID the downtown shuttle failed so the answer was buy electric air conditioned buses and the people/shoppers would flock to them. That also failed. (oh did I mention most of that failure was called "The Last Mile" ironic isn't it.
The ongoing and expanding costs of government cannot continue.
Multi-generation families know the issues of housing and cost in Santa Barbara going back decades. The government answer to have Mayberry RFD in one of the 6-7 locations in the entire world that has weather and views is fools effort.
The most recent public outrage is Vision Zero that Los Angeles has proven to fail for 15 years, the ongoing outrage of now well over 20 year failure of bikes as removing cars from the streets, and then the really stupid (excuse me, not intelligent) inane (yep Mom taught languages) 15 minute city without personal cars.
Nicely done.
(oh and if the reader wants to attend the CAB monthly meeting send us an email for an invite)
We need a Trump type to blow into town, take over and kick some ass! The whole City gig is getting out of hand!
Great article, thank you for informing us our local govt is incompetent, inefficient, and fiscally irresponsible.
After speaking to a fellow middle of the road, common sense, check book balancing person I found out they were unaware of anything going on.
I asked if they had their head buried in the sand.
They replied no one talks about this stuff. It’s always Dem talking points through their rose colored glasses that everything is good. The only negative things discussed are anti Trump comments.
No one discusses the homeless, tenant/landlord issues, govt lawsuits, trash rate hikes, water rate hikes, tax increases…
This is by design. If people are unaware they don’t fight the abuse.
Others are part of the cult, they may admit things are not good but they will never deviate.
The Dem Voter and non voter are responsible. both groups are ignorant. Ignorance is bliss. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.
But you are to blame for their ignorance. .
We are here because those in the know choose to vent on social media sporadically but refuse to speak up to family, friends, coworkers, etc…
They choose to allow our town to spiral downward. They choose to not comment on social media and hide.
We need to speak up, do not shy from those conversations. Be informed and have calm honest conversations.
Forums like this are great, but you, yes you, need to talk about these articles to your sphere. Point them here to read for themselves if you are not comfortable having a real conversation.
And one conversation on one topic is not enough. You need to live it, breathe it, talk regularly. With honesty and love, and never shy away.
Why is it ok for the lefty’s to make you uncomfortable, but you are not allowed to speak up? Is that a friend? Is that a true loved one? Or are you just a slave, a servant to those around you doing as you are told? This
Don’t be a slave to the left.
Good point about no one talks. The Council and BOS count on the average person will not log into each agenda. Gov. speak is too often boring and sleep inducing. Good catch.
Bonnie-I always appreciate your informative posts. I also dread reading them because I know that you will provide documentation of the inept and corrupt leadership of our city.
Our electorate is made up of uninformed morons.
Our electorate is made up of people who have not yet discovered SB Current. Just getting party line pap only from SB Independent, does not create an informed electorate.
No wonder the NewsPress unions worked so hard to shut down the only viable alternative media resource in town. No wonder the new iteration of the SB NewPress getting ready to roll out as we speak, is creating one more one-party echo chamber.
What does that tell ya dear heart . . . that the City can rely on most people being just plain _stupid_!
Bullseye Bonnie! The City of Santa Barbara is totally mismanaged decade after decade by a Council Majority with second or third grade math proficiency. Currently, four reps are deaf with no desire to learn, only to wastefully spend and then raise fees (water is survival so what’s with the City’s 40% increase?)
How do we get Council to act responsibly? An ignored example where we taxpayers are on the hook: City of Santa Barbara’s unfunded pension liability. It was reported at $344.5 million in 2021, according to Noozhawk. A 2021 the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury report cited a slightly higher figure of $386 million for the city’s pension systems.
In 2013, the city’s unfunded pension liability was reported at $226.3 million. Our Taxpayer contingent liability continues to increase. (The city participates in CalPERS.)
The 2018 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report noted that rising pension costs could force the city to reduce services or raise taxes to maintain solvency. This 2018 GJ Report also highlighted that the pension system, for police and fire employees, has a high “solvency risk” due to unfunded liabilities. “The city needs to renegotiate labor contracts or adjust contributions, as it did in 2010 when police officers began contributing 2.266% to their pensions.”The latest recommendation was for a 9% Officer contribution.
How much do we in private sector contribute toward our pensions? A matching amount with our employer?!? Or if self-employed the entire amount.
There are many protections for them, none for local taxpayers. Courts have historically upheld the priority of CA pension obligations (like the bankruptcies of Vallejo, Stockton, and San Bernardino, where CalPERS pensions were largely preserved.)
City council members, most bought and paid for up front by city employee union member interests providing their campaign support, have refused to even identify the automatic city employee expense increases they built into the city budget. Let's talk about those.
These automatic expense increases is why, even if city revenues stay flat and do not decline, we are still in red ink because these union-bargained automatic expense increases only grow each year.
To wit: pension contributions, health care premiums, automatic COLA, step increases, longevity increases, job reclassifications ............... all the ways a city budget can keep losing ground as those expenses do nothing but go up, even when the underlying revenues are standing still.
City does not have the luxury of handing out housing to everyone who shows up and demands "housing is a right" priority over all other now mandatory city expenses. Rein it in, city council majority members: Sneddon, Gutierrez, Santa Maria, and Harmon. Stop pretending you can care for the entire world, when you cannot even take care of your city department themselves.
It is time for trade-offs; not endless rounds of more tax and fee increases.
JUNE 10, 2025 - DEADLINE - DELIVER YOUR LETTERS TO CITY HALL - INCREASE IN TRASH BILLS
(Bonnie writes: "To make your protest valid, it must include your name and service address, and must also specify whether you are contesting the fee increase, the calculation method, or both. Protests can be mailed or delivered in person to 735 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, or placed in the bill payment drop box at City Hall.")
Thank you Bonnie for highlighting the need to get written notice to the City Council in response to these proposed changes. This is so important. Happy they will broaden resident/voter impact well beyond the orchestrated noisy astro-turf crowds that now show up, stomping cheering and visually intimidating council members like in the recent past. Those became quickly not much more than mob rule.
But the burden is now on us, to respond up front and not just complain after the fact. Get your pen and paper, out now to stand up and be counted too.
Interesting they took away the ease of firing off emails to council members. But today, emails can be so astro-turfed as well. At least with written correspondence one can start discerning who is sending in the form letters, who is writing serious concerns.
Vox populi. Find that box of unused stationery and let's have at it. One page only, think about format, bullet points and your own best, sincere words. How will city council actions affect you personally. Positively and negatively, which ever is appropriate.
AT BEST any communication posted to the City Council is read by a staffer who puts a check mark on a tally, yea or nay. So don't bother to be eloquent with "format, bullet points and your own best, sincere words" just pop a postcard in the mail with a comment that says you oppose the increase in trash bills. Gee whiz, I really don't need all the cans to be color-coordinated to conform to Newscum's aesthetic mandate, and was also amazed to read that after this month they will no longer pick up any self-purchased cans. More waste. All into the landfill, like the "recycling center" another financial boondoggle that quietly has been forgotten. My postcard says:"I oppose the increase in trash bills. Your budget is full of incorrect priorities."
I am still trying to get my head around the impact of this new street side garbage pick-up system on street parking, which is extremely limited in many parts of town anyway. Unless they coordinate garbage pick up only on street cleaning days?
I shudder when I think what will happen after a few missed pick-up days due to cars parked in the way of the garbage trucks. The Dario Pini solution, when he was caught making midnight runs using other people large bin drop boxes because he was not paying for trash removal on his own properties (per SB media article)?
Thanks for the tip on letters to city hall and your reality check. When it comes to specific issues - yea or nay can suffice. But good grief, that is as valid as taking some unregulated poll if they are not using the feedback to respond to reasonable human responses instead - though this fee increase does lend to a simple yes or no. We pay them to make the very best decisions in our names; not to run popularity contests.
Can we assume AI is getting introduced to read these letters now, like one is seeing more frequently in online product review summations?
In my Alta Mesa Westside neighborhood there are several streets I like to use because they are not burdened with speed humps that require pulling over when cars come toward each other.... not wide enough for two lines of curbside parking AND two lanes of traffic. Add in the new AUD permissions, added density without requiring off-street parking, and you'll have complete gridlock on trash pickup days.
How is Sneddon “personally is pulling down a quarter of a million dollars a year in total taxpayer compensation”?
Look this up on Transparent California. Is she a part time city council person, or a part time SBCC instructor or is she a veritable full time everywhere wonder woman, but still living solely off the tax payer dime?
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2023/santa-barbara-county/christopher-sneddon/
Ms. Donovan, thank you for your article. If all your figures and facts are correct, ( I have no information to think otherwise), I applaud you for your efforts in letting us tax payers becoming aware of a rather badly run local government. More power to you for your continued exposures, particularly the exorbitant salaries the county workers receive.
Seriously, God help us all
Terrific article, Bonnie. Someone might remind the Council majority that Santa Barbara is not in the real estate business. City's are obligated to maintain infrastructure, support public safety (fire, police), maintain public spaces (libraries and parks), and preparedness for extraordinary events (fire, flood, earthquake). A healthy surplus funds the latter as well as the lean years.
When I go past the city's prime location Granada Garage apartments dedicated only for very low income residents, I wonder what has been the turnover rate for those premium location apartments?
Have people used them to get back on their feet, have they moved on to self-funded living arrangements, or are they the very lucky few who have now secured prime windfall housing at taxpayer expense for the rest of their lives?
What is the better use for this city owned property - creating a few token hand outs for very limited feel-good benefits? Or creating an annual revenue stream from market rentals, for the benefit of all city residents?
Unless it's designated senior or disabled housing, all others be allotted a sunset rental agreement, say 5 years. Ample time to assume responsibility over one's life. As a single mom living in ucsb's "oldmarried housing" on Storke, I knew that upon graduation that I would be required to give up the apartment. Public Housing isn't homesteading.
Learned this is a People's Self Help housing project; not a SBHA project.
Casas Las Granadas. Same questions asked, was this best use for what was at the time city owned property, or would all residents have benefited from making this market rate housing to enhance city revenue streams if the city insists on getting into the housing business?
Accepts Section 8
Physical Address: 21 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Mailing Address: 26 E. Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (805) 699-7223
Email: clg@pshhc.org
For low-income households
Casas las Granadas was completed December 2007 and provides 12 new, permanently affordable one-bedroom rental units. The apartments range in size from 485 to 575 square feet.
The development’s downtown convenient location, across from the Santa Barbara public library, and adjacent to the County Courthouse, is only half a block from State Street and within walking distance to major transportation. Casas las Granadas was designed to complement the downtown street scape by featuring Spanish style architectural elements.
Thank you Bonnie. The Housing Authority and various homeless services are BUSINESSES. They get their money from intimating elected officials into compliance knowing that they have convinced the voters what they do is a necessary benefit.
These officials don’t want to admit that the money they have spent to destroy our main commercial corridor has been an utter failure. These are mostly small minded ideologues who, with union backing tyrannically rule our City.
Bonnie this is a very informative and also frightening article.
The city is running headlong into insolvency. Contracting out city responsibilities is one way to reduce costs. But, the root causes of this mess are, the voting system and incompetence of the members of the city council, and and a pay & benefits system that rewards failure among the people who who run the organization. How to solve those issues is the question.
City, county salaries/ pensions Santa Barbara ....
.https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2023/santa-barbara/
https://transparentcalifornia.com/pensions/all/
Thanks for following up!!!
Marborg also sends incomplete and confusing notices to its customers. For example, the are now going to charge extra for houses where the garbage isn't wheeled to the curb. They say on the notice that if you switch to cans with wheels you will receive a 35 gallon can for yard waste. However, they fail to inform these customers that they charge the same amount for a 65 gallon can. How many of their customers have 35 gallon cans when they could have the larger can for the same price because they weren't informed of this? Maybe it's time we end the monopoly that Marborg has in Santa Barbara.