Six months into its projected two-year duration, Solvang’s list of city goals is split between projects underway and those dormant since April.
City staff recently drafted a status update that outlines some of the campaign’s improvement projects in progress, while stamping others as “on hold” or “no work completed.”
Originally labeled as a consent item, the progress report was flagged by Mayor Mark Infanti for further discussion—and to remove a proposed goal he described as impossible—at the Solvang City Council’s Oct. 28 meeting.
Infanti asked for clarity on a few of the initiative’s 16 ongoing projects, which address water storage improvements, tourism expansion, and other issues, but his primary concern was with one of staff’s 16 additional proposals set aside to prioritize in the future.
“You can’t put housing on Lot 72,” Infanti said, referring to the latter list’s top ranked goal—to evaluate potential housing opportunities at the aforementioned lot.
The 16-acre parcel of open space on Alisal Mesa Road is part of the Mission Santa Inés National Historic Landmark District, managed by Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP).
“It is not available for housing. Period,” Infanti said at the Oct. 28 meeting. “That was put in here because it was suggested by … residents of the community, but that’s not going to happen.”
Like all 32 of the city goal campaign’s listed priorities, staff’s Lot 72 evaluation proposal was inspired by community feedback heard at a public workshop in March. Staff put together a list of potential projects in ranking order for the City Council to review in April. The initial list was greenlit at the council’s April 8 meeting.
“I have been communicating with the Santa Barbara Historical Society, … and I have talked to the Chumash about the archaeological environment that exists there,” Infanti said. “There are some discussions about Lot 72 because there is one section of it that’s designated for parking, but … we’re not going to build housing on it.”
Councilmembers David Brown and Robert Clarke agreed with Infanti’s call to remove the Lot 72 proposal from the list, and the amended report was approved with a 3-0 vote (Councilmembers Claudia Orona and Elizabeth Orona were absent).
Prior to the vote, another housing goal that caught Infanti’s attention was on staff’s list of ongoing projects. The second highest prioritized project is described as “analyze limited uses in the urban growth boundary for affordable and work force housing to meet state law and community needs.”
In staff’s progress report, the project’s status reads: “No work completed.”
After Infanti asked staff why work hasn’t started on the project yet, City Manager Randy Murphy said it’s been assigned to the Planning Department, which is responsible for spearheading several of the list’s goals.
According to the Oct. 28 staff report, some key city vacancies—including utility director, management analyst, and development technician—have “only recently been filled, so progress on most of these goals has been slow,” and staff “anticipates more momentum for the next quarterly update.”
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 10, 2024.