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Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams — Tangible Progress Addressing Homelessness, Montecito Flood Control Master Plan

by Community Contributor • May 22, 2023 • Comments Off

Flood Control Open House this Tuesday

Tuesday, May 23 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Montecito Union School

385 San Ysidro Road

The County is investigating mitigation options for flooding in Montecito. A flood mitigation master plan will be created to guide the planning, design, and construction of improvements to mitigate flooding impacts to the community. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions share feedback with County Flood Control.

Project updates and information can be found on the County website at: www.countyofsb.org/mfcmp.

Individuals with general questions about the master plan efforts can also call the Flood Control District at (805) 568-3440 during business hours or email FCContact@countyofsb.org.

Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month

This morning I joined the Santa Barbara AAPI Solidarity Network to proclaim the month of May Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Santa Barbara County. Our AAPI community has a rich cultural history in our County. Local AAPI residents have been business and civic leaders, artists and athletes, and labor leaders and activists. This May it’s important to acknowledge that the AAPI community continues to face discrimination, especially in the wake of the pandemic. Now is the time for us to recommit ourselves to Stop Asian Hate and uplifting our AAPI community.

Tangible Steps to Reduce Homelessness

The County is making progress to address the homelessness crisis and help people get off the streets. 2 weeks ago we broke ground on Hope Village, 90 units of temporary housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, and this week, we approved the lease for La Posada, a similar project on the South Coast. The efforts are the second and third public-private partnership with DignityMoves, the first of which has been operating on Santa Barbara Street since August of last year. This model has already proved very effective – providing wraparound services and access to mental health and substance use treatment for people getting off the streets, and allowing the County to close encampments that can be health, safety, and fire hazards for residents and neighbors. We are encouraged by data from this year’s Point-In-Time Countwhich indicates a slight decrease in overall homelessness and a slight increase in number of persons sheltered.

Anonymous Gun Buyback event Tomorrow

Saturday, May 20, 2023 9 am - 1 pm Get a $100 gift card 180 E Cota St.

101 Project Construction Update

The Highway 101: Montecito project will begin this Summer in mid-June 2023. This is the final segment of the 101 project, and is funded by Federal, State and local Measure A transportation funds. This project will add a new peak-period carpool lane in each direction from the Romero Creek Bridge north to Olive Mill Road along with new on- and off-ramps. There will also be northbound and southbound auxiliary lanes (lanes connecting on-ramps and off-ramps to improve merging) between San Ysidro and Olive Mill Roads. New bridges will be built over Romero, San Ysidro, and Oak Creeks.

Join CalTrans, SBCAG, and the County of Santa Barbara on Thursday, June 1 at 4:00 pm at the Montecito Inn,1295 Coast Village Road, for a community meeting to review construction staging.

Olive Mill Roundabout

The Olive Mill Roundabout project has opened part of the new roadway to traffic. Construction work continues on the northwest and northeast corners near N. Jameson Ln, Olive Mill Rd, and Coast Village Rd. Please expect traffic pattern changes (see map).

Carpinteria

Over the next few weeks, crews will continue to plant vegetation in the Highway 101 median in Carpinteria between Linden and Bailard Aveneus. Please expect daytime lane closures of the carpool lanes.

Additionally, a variety of on/off ramps will continue to be closed in between Carpinteria Ave and Olive Mill Rd. Please note: consecutive ramps in the same direction will not be closed at the same time (unless where noted) to allow drivers to use a ramp before or after a closure. To view timelines, detours, and maps, please visit www.SBROADS.com.