From fights over cannabis to fights over oil drilling, city budgets, and housing, 2019 was anything but boring. Vandenberg Air Force Base got a new commander and Santa Maria actually put an employee housing ordinance into place. Vaping is being banned across Santa Barbara County and the battle over the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area continues to rage over dust. We didn’t have space to touch on everything that happened over this past year, but here’s a gander at some of the highlights.
—Camillia Lanham
Throughout 2019, Santa Barbara County learned more about what in its cannabis ordinance works and what needs to be addressed. Some county residents continue to raise concerns about cannabis cultivation, claiming the plant isn’t compatible with traditional agriculture. The issue was raised at several county Planning Commission appeal hearings and Board of Supervisors meetings, although a recent study suggests some of these concerns may be unfounded. The board discussed possible amendments to the county’s cannabis regulations at a meeting in July, including measures to prevent odor from cannabis farms affecting nearby cities. The commission will weigh these possible amendments in 2020. The county also laid out the framework for cannabis retail stores and will allow for six stores with one in each of its community plan areas, including Orcutt and Los Alamos. Operators of these businesses will be chosen through a criteria-based application that’s focused on neighborhood compatibility.
After hours of debate and a number of contentious meetings, Lompoc City Council passed its 2019-21 biennial budget in June that included cuts to cover a more than $3 million budget deficit. City officials point to pension obligations as the source of much of its financial constraints. According to a presentation during an August City Council, the city owes $93 million to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and its annual payment continues to increase. In September, the City Council moved to set a sales tax election in March 2020 that would raise the city’s sales tax rate by 1 percent. Much of this funding would be dedicated to the pension debt, but city officials have said they hope to use some of the money to fund open police officer positions and other city needs. These promises to bolster the police department come amid concerns from the community over public safety. The city of roughly 44,000 people experienced a record seven homicides last year as well as increases in other violent crimes.
In June, the Environmental Defense Center, and a few other groups raised concerns about new oil and gas projects within the county after preliminary findings from a U.S. Geological Survey study surfaced, which indicate that oil field-related substances could be mixing with groundwater in parts of the Orcutt Oil field. The study’s final results have yet to be released. Environmental groups also voiced opposition to a proposed aquifer exemption that would expand the area in Cat Canyon where oil companies can build injection wells. Cat Canyon is also the site of two potential oil and gas projects that are trying to limit their environmental impact. In October, Aera Energy announced a new alternative for its East Cat Canyon project that lowers its total number of wells from 296 to 189. Additionally, during a county Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 14, a representative from TerraCore—which purchased ERG and took over its West Cat Canyon Revitalization Project in June—asked that the project be removed from the meeting’s agenda as the company works on a new solar energy component. While some companies continue to move forward with their projects, HVI Cat Canyon, formerly known as Greka Energy, filed for bankruptcy on July 25 after years of compliance violations involving local, state, and federal agencies.
Since 2000, Vandenberg Air Force Base officials have blocked off sections of Surf Beach to protect the Western snowy plover—which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act—during its breeding season from March through September. Every time a person enters these blocked-off sections, a violation is recorded. Until now, if 50 violations were recorded in one year, the entire beach would close until the end of the season. In May, the city of Lompoc raised concerns about this policy at a California Coastal Commission meeting discussing a five-year continuation of Vandenberg’s beach management plan. The commission delayed its vote until December while the state agency worked with the city and base to find potential solutions. In October, the city of Lompoc released a statement announcing that Vandenberg and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to end the policy of closing the beach after 50 violations. This change will continue for the duration of the beach management plan until 2023, unless officials find that it’s adversely affecting the plover population. At its meeting on Dec. 13, the California Coastal Commission unanimously agreed with the decision.
Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) continued its southward expansion throughout 2019. The community choice energy agency services Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties, with jurisdictions throughout San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties opting to join the agency in 2019. Public electricity providers, like MBCP, handle generating and purchasing energy, while leaving utility companies like PG&E responsible for transmission and distribution. These agencies offer customers a chance to save money on electricity while also relying on a higher percentage of renewable sources of electricity, such as wind and solar. The county Board of Supervisors voted to join MBCP in July, with only 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam voting against the move. Santa Maria City Council voted to do the same in a 3-2 vote in August, with Mayor Alice Patino and Councilmember Etta Waterfield voting against the decision. Cities and counties that elected to join MBCP in 2019 will become members in 2021.
Throughout most of 2019, Gary Hall and other residents living in Santa Maria mobile home parks worked with the city and park owners on a mechanism that could be enforced and limit rent increases. The result is what the city calls an enforceable model lease that represents a compromise between park owners and residents. This model lease serves as a backstop that residents can turn to if they are unable to negotiate a lease with their park owners. Residents were satisfied that the lease is enforceable, but not with its terms, which they claim didn’t do enough to limit annual rent increases. At its meeting on Nov. 19, the City Council authorized the city to enter into enforceability agreements with park owners. Hall and the other residents are weighing whether to pursue an alternative, such as a rent control ordinance.
As of Dec. 17, about 2,500 cases of lung injury related to vaping were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 54 people have died. On Nov. 19, Santa Maria City Council unanimously voted to ban businesses in the city from selling flavored tobacco products starting in July 2020. Less than one month later, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors also voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, with 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam voting against the move. City and county staff members said that while state law prohibits anybody younger than 21 from purchasing tobacco products, the number of kids vaping continues to increase. Much of this they said is because the thousands of different tobacco flavors available for vaping are enticing to kids. The bans include flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes.
The dust still hasn’t settled on the controversy over the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, and debates regarding the issue in 2019 were no less contentious than in years past. In July, the California Coastal Commission considered imposing regulations that would have limited off-highway vehicle riding in some portions of the Oceano Dunes, activities that are thought to increase potentially dangerous dust particles emitted by the park. The proposed conditions were reluctantly voted down by the commission after hours of impassioned public comment and State Parks Director Lisa Mangat’s repeated promises to commit to dust reduction efforts. But months later in November, after State Parks’ failure to complete an adequate work plan for dust mitigation, an Air Pollution Control District hearing board voted to hold State Parks to a slightly more stringent stipulated abatement order. In December, State Parks fenced off 48 acres of riding area in the park to adhere to the new order.
The city of Solvang is ramping up for a new economic outlook, but it had to separate from it’s old roots first. The Solvang Conference and Visitor’s Bureau (SCVB) had long been the city’s marketing arm. But when Mayor Ryan Toussaint and fellow City Council members earned their seats in a November 2018 victory, the relationship changed. The City Council canceled its contract with the SCVB earlier this year, calling the contract invalid because it hadn’t been drafted properly. After months of negotiation, conversations to create a new contract fell through. The city looked elsewhere for help with its annual events, hiring IDK Events to take on Julefest with a new twist.
Within the last decade, the local agricultural industry has increasingly turned to the H-2A program, which allows farmers to bring workers into the U.S. from foreign countries temporarily, to supplement its labor supply. By August 2019, nearly 1,277 new applications for H-2A workers had been certified in Santa Maria alone, more than any other city in the state. Employers hiring H-2A workers have to house them, and most buy up residential homes to do so, leading to community concerns about overcrowded houses, crime, and displaced long-term residents in an already tight housing market. On June 4, after months of public forums and outcry, Santa Maria City Council passed an employee housing ordinance requiring property owner or operators to apply for and receive conditional use permits before housing seven or more employees in units located in single family residential zones. The permitting process could take up to six months and does not apply to facilities in multi-family residential neighborhoods.
Col. Anthony Mastalir became the base commander of Vandenberg Air Force Base over the summer, and his goals included interfacing with his airmen and updating aging infrastructure. He’s made inroads with the local business community to form partnerships and made land available on base for future construction of facilities for various aerospace companies. He’s put plans into the works to allow for more seamless, quicker launches. But he’s also responded to concerns over service member mental health, instituting a stand-down order, a sort of day off for service members to cut loose and take day courses on yoga or meditation.
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District superintendent Mark Richardson retired last spring and the district embarked on a thorough search for who would lead the district next. John Davis was the interim superintendent while the school board conducted focus groups. After about seven months and dozens of candidates, the district settled on Antonio Garcia, an assistant superintendent with the larger Riverside Unified School District. Garcia, who will take his posting as the new year begins, will help usher in new programs the district already has in the works. That includes a career technical high school that is close to being completed.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is a step closer to realizing a long-dreamed-of goal just as the year closes. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the nation’s annual defense spending bill, directs the Department of the Interior to take Camp 4 land into a federal trust for the Chumash. Camp 4 encompasses 1,427 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley. The tribe has long sought the land for tribal housing and said it plans to build more than 143 homes. The NDAA awaits President Donald Trump’s signature but was helped along by U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara). Carbajal is on the House Committee on Armed Services and had a hand in drafting this years NDAA.
The political landscape of the Central Coast remains firmly liberal, with politicians like Monique Limón and Salud Carbajal the apparent favorites for their respective races for state Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. With primary elections coming up on March 3, Republican contenders are gearing up for a fight. Andy Caldwell, the founder of COLAB, who writes editorials and conducts daily radio shows on the nonprofit’s behalf, has thrown in for the race against Carbajal. Bruce Porter is back for the 3rd District Santa Barbara County Supervisor posting held by incumbent Joan Hartmann. And the race for Assembly District 37, the seat Limón is vacating to run for state Senate, has a crowded pack of seven running, six of whom are Democrats.
This article appears in Jan 2-9, 2020.