Where the Heck is Joe Holland?
by Bonnie Donovan
Since the City Council is still on HOLIDAY, you get to enjoy some more reader emails:
Thanks for the city council information in last week’s column; what an eye opener. No wonder they can’t get anything done. I can’t imagine running my business with that many days off and it being successful. It is flat stupid to think that think they can be successful in making decisions to keep our beautiful city running in an orderly manner. I would love to see them get off their butts on one of their many days off and take a walk up State Street to see what a failure it is.
OPEN UP STATE ST ! It’s obvious it is not working the way it is.
Thank you for the great job you do.
Where is Joe Holland?
We have previously heard the account of his surgery, but it has been over a year since that was originally told to us. Unclear if this is accurate or just rumors.
Recently, the Board of Supervisors approved a 6.9% raise for him, which suggests they are aware of his situation and current whereabouts. Right?
It appears senior management may be providing cover for him. They have not been forthcoming with information to any of the staff regarding the current situation.
Where the Heck is Joe Holland?
I am writing to bring attention to a matter of growing concern regarding the leadership and accountability of Santa Barbara County’s Clerk-Recorder-Assessor and Registrar of Voters, Joe Holland.
As an elected official, Mr. Holland is responsible for overseeing these critical departments, yet his presence and engagement in these roles has been notably absent for an extended period
It has been over a year and a half since anyone has seen Mr. Holland actively fulfilling his duties, despite his taxpayer-funded salary of approximately $267,487 per year. Many within the department and the community are left questioning who is truly managing these essential operations. This poor leadership and management have led to staffing shortages and increased workloads for remaining employees, many of whom are either resigning or merely waiting for retirement.
Efforts to contact Mr. Holland directly have proven challenging, and there is growing concern over a lack of transparency regarding his whereabouts and involvement. While rumors circulate, the fundamental issue remains: a publicly elected official appears to be absent from his duties while continuing to collect a substantial salary.
Given the critical nature of the Clerk-Recorder-Assessor’s Office and its impact on county operations, elections, and public records, I urge further investigation into Mr. Holland’s role and the overall management of these departments. Taxpayers and county employees deserve accountability, transparency, and leadership that actively serves the public interest.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter. I appreciate any efforts to bring clarity and oversight to this situation.
(So much for transparency in Santa Barbara, Right? – B.D.)
(Editor’s note: Not to worry; if Mr. Holland is missing in action, the Board of Supervisors can always convince the public to raise the sales tax to cover his salary and retirement benefits. – J.B.)
Response to Readers:
I also have not received returned calls from messages I have left Joe. I have been told, “he isn’t in the office today” and “he is working from home today.” I then asked them to have him return my call. I’m still waiting and, yes, it’s been over a year.
I have submitted a Public Records Act Request (PRAR) to the County and will share the information with everyone once I receive it.
In the meantime, did you catch the Architectural Board of Review (ABR) meeting on Tuesday? Typically, the City Council convenes on Tuesdays but cancels sessions following a holiday on Monday. The ABR, however, operates differently; they usually hold their meetings on Mondays but rescheduled to Tuesday due to the holiday.
During the ABR meeting on April 1st, there were two projects on the agenda for review. It's worth noting that members of the board receive a stipend rather than a salary, (like city council, regardless of their attendance).
ABR Item 2
The development entails a merger of three lots: 418 N. Milpas St. and 915 and 923 E. Gutierrez St. to form a single 41,477-square-foot (0.95-acre) parcel. This will facilitate the construction of a new four-story mixed-use building, encompassing 108,698 square feet, which will feature 90 residential rental units alongside 850 square feet of commercial space. Among the residential units, nine will be designated for very-low-income households and six for moderate-income households. The development will only provide 65 parking stalls for 90 residential units and is proposed under the City’s Average Unit-Size Density (AUD) Incentive Program and State Density Bonus Law.
A Preliminary Housing Development (SB 330) Pre-application was submitted on October 25, 2023, to secure the development standards and fees applicable at that time. The project qualifies as a “Builder’s Remedy” and must adhere to No Net Loss findings as per Government Code §65863.. Project Design Approval is sought, and compliance with Project Compatibility Findings, Urban Design Guidelines, and Haley-Milpas Design Guidelines is required. But it seems the only thing ABR can comment on is paint and design…
The Planning Commission conducted a concept review and provided comments on the project on March 20, 2025. Didn’t they ask for story poles?
Their lawyer accompanied their architect at the table, maybe to show force?
I strongly encourage you to view the meeting. It begins at 47:16 in the video, with the ”visual simulation” starting at the one-hour mark.
Someone remarked that this project resembles placing Cottage Hospital on Gutierrez Street squeezing out onto Milpas Street.
You can watch the April 1st ABR meeting by following the link below:
Architectural Board of Review - April 1, 2025
This development would obstruct everyone's view of the Riviera, yet they boldly claimed that the units on the east side of this massive structure would still enjoy the Riviera view.
No story poles will be erected. Are you not weary of architects and developers asserting that the expense of installing story poles is too high? In the long run, they will recover this investment, while we will never regain the charm of our cherished Santa Barbara. It is disappointing that only Commissioners Six and Whelan supported the implementation of story poles, the rest siding instead with the developers.
Perhaps it’s time we document Santa Barbara, capturing photos and videos to illustrate what our city looked like before it faced such destruction!
Readers email about ABR
Just finished watching the hearing. I must admit, it was heartbreaking to listen to the speakers, and as I continued to watch, my sadness turned to anger. It's so tragic and frustrating that the Sacramento politicians have painted us into this corner. It's also infuriating that our local politicians have simply capitulated to these horrible and destructive laws. The icing on this horrible cake is the city staff that seem to be eager to shove this garbage down our collective throats.
Thank you, Natasha (public speaker), for calling out Tava Ostranger! What a horrible representative for the city. She clearly seemed to take pleasure in telling the ABR that they had no choice but to lay down for the State laws; she was literally trying to threaten them into compliance.
And who is this Will Sofrin? (ABR board member) The neighbors are pouring their hearts out in public comment, and all this jerk can think about is the two-minute speaking limit. Then in comments he uses the excuse that it's “not our fault,” and later offers that they can still go to 60 feet in height!
Richard Six was wonderful. Thanks to him for his excellent comments, and his willingness to maintain his moral clarity as a dedicated member of the ABR. I worked alongside Richard many years ago on the Neighborhood Design Guideline Committee (back when the city cared about limiting density). He's a good guy who really cares about our community.
Joe Guzzardi
Lunch at Mollie’s
On Monday, I enjoyed lunch with a friend at Mollie’s in Carpinteria, where we savored La Caprese, meatballs with pasta, and a Mollie Melt.
Nice to meet SB Current subscribers while we were eating lunch!
The food was so delightful that I returned on Wednesday with another friend. She opted for Chicken Vodka Pasta and absolutely loved it, while I chose a Prosciutto Sandwich.
While driving through Carpinteria, I couldn't help but notice the poor condition of the roads, especially on Sterling, Malibu, and El Carro Lane, (between Linden and Casitas Pass Road) as well as Carpinteria Avenue in front of City Hall.
I also heard that Roy Lee was the only Council Member to vote against the 300% pay raise for Carpinteria city council; perhaps those funds could have been better spent on fixing the streets.
After two weeks off, City Council returns April 8th
It’s time to address the requests made by council members Kristen Sneddon and Wendy Santa Maria regarding landlords. Their demands seem to continually escalate. We need to refocus on serving the interests of all constituents, rather than favoring a single perspective.
The ongoing demands from council members Kristen Sneddon and Wendy Santa Maria concerning landlords warrant discussion. Their expectations appear to be ever-increasing. Let’s shift our attention back to representing the diverse needs of the entire community, rather than prioritizing one particular group.
More Spending on the Agenda
OMG, City Council Agenda just came out and they will vote on more spending on the Promenade that was supposed to be used on infrastructure (Measure C monies)… monies)... Read the attached link:
$1,425,000 (that's one million, four hundred fifty thousand dollars) to be spent on the Promenade, including another consultant.
OH, COME ON!!!
ID Needed to Ship with FedEx
Let's include another instance where an ID is necessary, even though it's not for voting purposes.
Discounts at Mollies
Email aliahlstrand@gmail.com to be added to the newsletter and you can hear of discounts. (read the Newsletter to see, if you bring a friend, each of you receive a 10% discount.
As to the 90 units on Milpas.
Between there, Macys, 5 Points, Glenn Annie, behind the Natural History Museum they are building hundreds of tiny apartments .
Little to no parking.
People who live here are going to work where? They will have cars and they will park in the surrounding areas.
We are in a D2 drought, I’m sure glad we increased our water reservoirs. Oh wait, that is just wishful thinking that the government did as they promised and were pro active about their shoving more people into SB.
No homeownership either, renters.
So who is going to live in these tiny apartments? Couples? Families? Children? Impact on schools? Taxes for the school budget?
What we do know is that our government does not think of the citizens of SB and they are not very above board. Look at the AMR contract they purposefully tried to get out of costing us tax payers millions or the oil spill on land they control and tried to hide while going after oil companies for doing the same thing.
Incompetence?
We can thank our own present and past elected state representatives for "The Builders Remedy". Their one task when we send them to Sacramento - is to write legislation in our names.
So be sure to include the names Das Williams, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Monique Limon and Gregg Hart specifically, in any complaints about what the "state" is or has been doing to our community.
Copping-out and voting only "present" when these locally controversial issues come before these locally elected Sacramento representatives is intentionally negligent. None of them deserve their automatic re-election, encouraged by local partisan forces who support this continued non-representation of our local interests as long as their own pockets get lined.