Parking overnight will no longer be an option on four streets in Santa Maria, thanks to a new ruling from city officials.
Members of the Santa Maria City Council recently agreed on a $21,600 budget to add “no stopping zones” to Furukawa Way, Hanson Way, Kameo Street, and White Court.
Approved during the City Council’s Sept. 20 meeting, the resolution was recommended by city staff after receiving complaints from multiple businesses about vehicles parking long-term in the area.
Mark Zarate, a representative of one of the complaining businesses, spoke at the Sept. 20 meeting and described the circumstances he’s become used to during the work week.
“RVs parking down the road and cars in general interfere with access to get in and out of the businesses in the area,” Zarate said. “I was hoping this ‘no stopping zone’ will go through tonight.”
According to the staff report, staff conducted a poll with members of several “negatively impacted” businesses in May to address their complaints, which attributed “an increase in vandalism and littering” in the area to recreational vehicles and other oversized vehicles parked overnight on the four streets. Illegal dumping of liquid and solid waste from vehicle owners was also noted by the businesses.
The consensus of the poll was a request to establish “no stopping zones” on each street, to be in effect from midnight to 4 a.m. The request was granted in a 5-0 vote from the Santa Maria City Council at the Sept. 20 meeting
Another street-related request heard during the same meeting also met with unanimous approval from council members. Hickok Drive will be renamed Dan Blough Drive, to honor the late Santa Maria resident, Daniel Dean Blough.
The street is located in the Betteravia Plaza subdivision, currently under construction. The plaza development was the last project Blough, a local contractor, land developer, and former Santa Barbara County Planning Commissioner, oversaw before his passing in February at age 68.
Steve Zimmerman, landowner of Betteravia Plaza, pitched the name change to honor Blough’s memory, and will pay for the new street name signs and other fees associated with the renaming, according to a staff report.
Santa Maria City Councilmember Etta Waterfield described Blough as a valued mentor during the Sept. 20 meeting, shortly before the renaming was approved in a 5-0 vote.
“One of the reasons why I’m here is because of Dan,” Waterfield said. “He taught me so much. … I’ve always been blessed with my positions in Santa Maria, and I always had a wealth of incredible people that taught me and nurtured me.”
Mayor Alice Patino added that “Santa Maria is more of a beautiful city because of Dan.”
“Anything he did was in the best interest of Santa Maria, and I was very proud to say he was a friend,” Patino said.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 6, 2022.
