The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) has received a failing grade, following a review by the 2008-09 Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury.
According to a report released on June 11, SBCAG has shown in its reports and decisions “a lack of regional land use planning and coordination, a disproportionate emphasis on transportation, and a reluctance on the part of the SBCAG Board to address regional issues other than traffic.”
However, the grand jury did recognize that the group attempted to address regional planning issues in its 2004 study Taking Action Regionally: The Inter-Regional Partnership for Jobs, Housing, and Mobility. The report, according to the jury, “clearly stated SBCAG’s understanding of the importance of a broad-based approach” to solving the county’s problems, including air quality, traffic congestion, and a growing population shift to the north.
Still, the jury found SBCAG has since “essentially shelved the report and its recommendations.”
A reluctance to move forward with a plan, the report stated, is most visible in the county’s decision to decline no-strings-attached grants from the state for regional planning. According to the jury, of the 58 counties in the state, Santa Barbara County is the only county to decline the offer.
“If we are to have more effective livable communities,” the jury concluded in its report, “jobs, housing, and transportation must be integrated into the planning process. If open space is to be preserved, it must be identified and prioritized. Housing must be planned so it does not encroach on productive agricultural land. Solutions will cross jurisdictional lines. Cooperation and collaboration among and between SBCAG Board members and their constituents can make this happen.”
The jury recommended in its report that SBCAG develop a fully integrated regional plan—coordinating jobs, housing, and transportation—that includes all the county’s jurisdictions. The jury also advised the group to “aggressively pursue” state and other funding for regional planning projects.
SBCAG’s executive director Jim Kemp told the Sun the board plans to respond to the grand jury report during its July or August meeting. Under law, SBCAG officials have 90 days to respond to the jury’s report.
For more information, including a copy of the grand jury report, visit sbcgj.org.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 2, 2009.