Why Be on the City Council?

Ran across this South Coast Beacon interview (10/23/2003) with my son from a while back. It's still useful to read if you're ever wondering why Das wanted to be on the Santa Barbara City Council in the first place:

Das SCBEACON Interview October 23, 2003

Speeding the Planning Process

[Excerpted from SBN-P, 2/21/2005: "As developers dally, revenue takes a dive" by Joshua Molina]:

Mr. Levy... suggested the slowdown in issuing permits is probably an aberration because of the weather. "From a capital and financial standpoint the economy is actually very good," Mr. Levy said. "I can't imagine that any of these projects is being held up because of financing."

Like Mr. Bermant, Mr. Levy said the larger problem is the speed of the city's review process. While he said the extensive review process helps make a project better, it does slow the developer down.

Santa Barbara's high cost of living also plays a role, he said.

"They have the problem that we all have, and that is finding adequate staff people to come in and do the work that needs to be done," Mr. Levy said.

Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams, a member of the city's Finance Committee, said he hopes to address developers' concerns by looking at raising developer fees so more planners can be hired, which should speed up the review process. It's an idea that Mr. Bermant said he supports.

But for now, Mr. Williams says he is not concerned about the slowdown.

"Right now, it doesn't concern me," he said. "These fees will eventually come in. I think it's the rain, and I think on some of the biggest projects, it's financing and other complications of getting things done."


[For the full text of the article, please go to: As developers dally, revenue takes a dive]

Veronica Meadows Bridge

[SBN-P, 2/17/2005]:

Developer wants plan, bridge or no

2/17/05
By JOSHUA MOLINA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Developers behind a plan to build 24 two-story homes in the Las Positas valley are committed to their project even though a city review panel voted against allowing them to build a bridge over Arroyo Burro Creek.

The bridge is central to developer Mark Lee's project because it is the main reason nearby residents are supporting his proposal. The bridge is key for the residents because it would provide the primary access from Las Positas Road to the new homes.

Without the bridge, motorists would enter the Veronica Meadows project through Alan Road, a quiet residential street on the other side of the project.

Environmental reports, however, determined that a bridge would harm the creek.

Mr. Lee said he plans to address the environmental issues at Wednesday's Park and Recreation Commission meeting. "We are doing something very unique," Mr. Lee said in a prepared statement. "With our proposal, the needs of our neighbors, the environment, future residents and the city all coincide.

"By providing new homes accessed by a replacement bridge on an existing easement, we can restore the creek along our property and free city funds for needed restoration elsewhere on the creek."

The city's creeks advisory committee took several votes regarding the project at a meeting on Feb. 9. A majority of the board members voted to eliminate the bridge and also requested a 100-foot setback between the homes and the creek.

Mr. Lee wants to build 24 homes on a hidden chunk of land off Las Positas Road. The undeveloped area is dominated by oak and eucalyptus trees, vegetation and a pedestrian path. The market-rate homes would stand two stories tall and range in size from 1,800 to 4,500 square feet.

Mr. Lee wants to build a pedestrian path and restore native habitat along both banks of the creek. The houses back up to a hillside, but the developer plans to stabilize the hill to avoid landslides.

Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams, who attended the meeting, said he was thrilled with the committee vote.

"It is really the creeks committee making a courageous stand on what they think the effects of the development will be on the creek corridor," Mr. Williams said. "The creeks committee did what they were charged to do by the voters -- stick up for the health of the creek."

David Pritchett, a member of the creeks advisory committee, said the proposed bridge clashes with the city's efforts to restore the creek.

"The city should be the lead on any restoration projects along Arroyo Burro and separate itself from Mark Lee," Mr. Pritchett said. "The city, I would argue, does not need the help of this mitigation project."

Steve Forsell, the committee's chairman, said his major interests center on the 100-foot setback, the type of vegetation along the creek, pedestrian pathways and the potential removal of some trees.

He said he is ambivalent about the bridge. "I have some concerns about it. There appears to be some valid arguments in favor of it and some questions about the real need for the bridge."


[SBN-P online edition:Developer wants plan, bridge or no]

MTD Board Appointments

[ "MTD board picks up regular bus passenger," SBN-P 2/16/2005, by Joshua Molina ]:


A regular bus rider will join the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District board of directors, the City Council decided Tuesday.

Four members of the council chose Logan Green, a 21-year-old Isla Vista resident and UCSB student -- backed by the activist group PUEBLO -- to serve on the board.

Mr. Green was not present at the meeting but told the News-Press afterward that he was both hopeful and nervous while watching it on television.

"One of my biggest priorities for the district is to secure increased funding, to expand operations and ensure the fare remains affordable to bus riders," Mr. Green said. "I am flattered. It is a really an exciting time for MTD."

The council also reappointed John Britton to the five-member board. They will both serve four years with MTD, which offers bus service from Winchester Canyon Road to Carpinteria. Their terms begin in March.

The selection of Mr. Green continues major changes in management and oversight at the transit agency over the past two years. He is the third new board member chosen during that period.

The selection of Mr. Green also illustrates the increasing influence of PUEBLO, a housing and transportation activist group that had pressured the council to pick a bus rider. Several representatives showed up at Tuesday's council meeting to emphasize their desires.

"We ask you to appoint a transit-dependent bus rider to the MTD board," said Ana Reza, co-chair of PUEBLO, who said that Mr. Green was the best choice. "He will finally bring the voice of a bus rider where it is needed."

Mr. Green doesn't own a car.

The Santa Barbara County Action Network, a nonprofit government watchdog group, also urged the council to pick a bus rider.

"We believe the addition of a qualified bus rider to the MTD board would provide a wider perspective to our community's transit issues and would enhance MTD's ability to provide superior service and adequately plan for the future of transit services on the South Coast," said Dan Milstein, deputy executive director for the group.

The two open seats drew unprecedented community attention. The City Council performed a special recruitment to fill the seats, looking beyond the borders of Santa Barbara to find a bus rider. The council chooses two members of the board, the county chooses two, and those four people then pick the fifth member.

The search resulted in 12 applicants -- something never seen before for a city advisory board. Even Tom Roberts, a former Santa Barbara councilman, applied. In the end, 10 people interviewed for the positions.

With the strong backing from PUEBLO and early support from council members Das Williams and Helene Schneider, Mr. Green's selection was not unexpected. Nor was the reappointment of Mr. Britton.

A majority of the council liked the easygoing, retired Edison executive, mostly because they know what to expect from him and he promised to look out for the riders.

"They know how I operate and what I stand for," Mr. Britton said.

The council members also liked Mr. Britton because they believe he had a role in negotiating an early retirement and separation agreement with manager Gary Gleason in 2003 after series of flaps, including a stalled electric bus plan, a federal inquiry into a bus purchase procurement and a proposal to raise bus fares by 35 cents.

Mr. Britton will serve with Mr. Green and board members Olivia Rodriguez, Brian Fahnestock and Dave Davis.


[ SBN-P online edition:
MTD board picks up regular bus passenger ]

SBCAN

[Letter To The Editor by George Relles of SBCAN, printed in the SBN-P, 2/9/2005]:

'SBCANT' moniker doesn't fit action group - 2/9/05

Voice From Santa Barbara: George Relles


The Santa Barbara County Action Network would like to respond to News-Press Editorial Page Editor Travis Armstrong's Sunday column, so that readers don't misconstrue silence as acceptance of his statements.

Last week, SBCAN's executive director, David Fortson, testified that the Board of Supervisors' closed session decision to reverse its effort to acquire property for a park in Isla Vista, coupled with unreturned calls to 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone about this, left the public in the dark.

Mr. Armstrong called this testimony "whining," yet the very next day the News-Press wrote: "County residents need to be vigilant to make sure this new board doesn't come down on the side of meeting in secret to avoid individual accountability in controversies."


We agree with the public's right to know and wouldn't characterize Mr. Armstrong's similar observation as "whining."


We object to Mr. Armstrong referring to the Santa Barbara County Action Network as "SBCANT."

This is an intentionally derogatory name coined by Andy Caldwell of COLAB, and we're surprised Mr. Armstrong would repeat it. Name calling adds nothing to the public debate.

Finally, Mr. Armstrong erroneously called SBCAN "just a creature of the media."

As a matter of simple fact, we have more than 600 members, about one-third of whom live north of the Santa Ynez mountains.

A Santa Maria resident, Yvette Andrade, says: "SBCAN is strengthening the progressive voice in northern Santa Barbara County."

On the South Coast, former Supervisor Naomi Schwartz has said: "SBCAN is providing a rational and intelligent voice for sound community planning and social equity."


We believe that our efforts opposing oil drilling at Tranquillon Ridge, advocating for creating a county alternative transportation manager, opposing the wasteful county split, opposing gentrification in Santa Barbara as epitomized by a multi-million dollar condo proposal for 1620 Garden St. and supporting the adoption of the county's inclusionary housing policy are just some examples that SBCAN can, and does.

We also helped elect two of our founding board members to the Santa Barbara City Council, Das Williams and Helene Schneider, whom the News-Press has often praised as fresh, young voices in local government.

As an organization committed to reasoned debate and democratic participation, SBCAN welcomes disagreement and discussion. We ask only that the sole local daily newspaper in our community set a better example on its editorial page.


George Relles is president of SBCAN.


[ SBN-P online edition: 'SBCANT' moniker doesn't fit action group ]

[ To learn more about SBCAN, please go to: SBCAN ]

De La Guerra Plaza

[ SBN-P Editorial, 2/8/2005 ]:

City Hall's million-dollar baby

OUR OPINION - 2/8/05

It's hard for many residents to take City Hall seriously about finding mass transit alternatives to highway and street congestion when the City Council approves spending tens of millions of dollars on a downtown parking structure.

The new Granada Garage, after the city adds up all the bills from the first aborted attempt at building, may end up costing between $25 million and $30 million. And this is a structure that isn't as environmentally friendly in its design and construction as it could be in light of the city's stated concern for green building practices.

It's a matter of skewed priorities as the city decides how to spend the remaining millions of dollars in redevelopment tax bond money. A percentage of redevelopment funds by law must go to housing projects. Other projects can range from paying for long-neglected sidewalks and other infrastructure improvements, to supporting renovation projects, to providing grants for worthy proposals from nonprofit groups.

All this brings us to De la Guerra Plaza and the questionable use of public dollars for a pet project of a few people. The City Council decided last month to set aside $1 million for so-called improvements. As one former city leader once told us: If it's not broke, don't fix it.

And De la Guerra Plaza certainly isn't broke.

Yet here's Mayor Marty Blum and Council members Brian Barnwell, Roger Horton and Das Williams voting to spend a possible $1 million on the park. There are wiser and more humane choices for $1 million in taxpayer funds.

Imagine, for example, what this money could do for low-income housing. Every dollar of City Hall money could be leveraged up to eight times by other housing funds, resulting in at least $8 million that the city could spend on new housing for our poorest residents. (It could have been worse because the staff proposal had $2 million set aside for the park.)

And what exactly is the vision of those who want to ignore the plaza's history and begin reconstructing?

At meetings last year, the proceedings exposed that an earlier process set up by the city was dominated by City Hall insiders at the expense of real public participation. The aim was to amend the city's General Plan, and language put forth suggested a preconceived outcome, even as other wording talked about community input and deliberation. The council, to its credit, unanimously rejected the General Plan amendment.

Now the city is setting up another committee dominated by representatives from city panels -- City Council, Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Historic Landmarks Commission and Transportation and Circulation Committee.

The Downtown Organization and adjacent businesses will have a total of just two seats on the new committee.

The vote by the mayor and Council members Barnwell, Horton and Williams to set aside a possible $1 million for undetermined "improvements" is indeed troubling. Will this large amount guide what's ultimately done to De la Guerra, when the plaza only needs small enhancements, such as a safer electrical system?


[ SBN-P online edition:
City Hall's million-dollar baby ]

Highway 101 Congestion

[Excerpted from "Which Route To Take?" by Melinda Burns, SBN-P, 1/25/2004]

... Das Williams, a Santa Barbara city councilman, says employers who want to expand should be given incentives to build employee housing themselves. These homes should be located near jobs and close to public transportation, he said.

"Absolutely, you can alleviate congestion by concentrating on work-force housing along transportation corridors," Mr. Williams said. "If you do it right, people will be living and working and shopping close to each other. They'll use mass transit when they are making trips." ...

[ SBN-P online edition: Gridlock Stories ]

Affordable Housing Funding

[Excerpted from "Advocates applaud affordable housing funding," by Joshua Molina, SBN-P, 1/28/05]

In a major policy shift for the Santa Barbara City Council, the panel on Thursday agreed to set aside $8.6 million for below-market-rate housing projects.

Council members also approved $4 million to buy property that could be used for affordable housing down the road.

Members of the affordable housing activist group PUEBLO described the decision as a win for the group and working-class people.

After the meeting, Councilman Das Williams said: "What a huge victory for affordable housing. It represents a paradigm shift." ...


[SBN-P online edition]:

Advocates applaud affordable housing funding

[special recognitions to Harley Augustino and Dan Ancona]

Las Positas Valley Development

[Excerpted from SBN-P, 2/2/2005: "Las Positas area residents fight housing projects," by Joshua Molina]:

... When the Las Positas Valley residents sent a letter to the City Council, members Helene Schneider and Das Williams persuaded the rest of the council to talk about the issue in a public meeting.

While Mr. Williams is supportive of Hillside House's mission, he has problems with both projects. He questions building dense housing in a rural area.

"Maybe I am just a Santa Barbara traditionalist, and I have this belief that Santa Barbara government is supposed to protect the environment, but I think this is vitally important," he said. "We are discussing something that hasn't been done in decades. The policy of the city has been to encourage urban infill. To me, this is very dangerous. This is something that is a reversal of that."

Councilman Brian Barnwell believes that the city should come up with a comprehensive plan for the Las Positas Valley, which would include nearby Hidden Valley, but that the Veronica Meadows and Hillside House projects shouldn't be held up until such a plan is approved...

[ SB City planning document: Veronica Meadows Project Plan ]