Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — APCD Air Quality Warning for Santa Barbara County

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Warning for Santa Barbara County. Smoke from wildfires burning throughout the state, including in Monterey County, are affecting local air quality, and conditions may continue over the next several days. Due to elevated temperatures and stagnant air conditions, we are also experiencing increased ozone levels in regions of the county.

Levels of smoke and particles, and areas impacted, will vary and conditions could change quickly. Be aware of your local air quality conditions by visiting ourair.org/todays-air-quality/ or fire.airnow.gov. If you see or smell smoke in the air, be cautious and use common sense to protect your and your family’s health. Everyone, especially people with heart or lung disease (including asthma), older adults, pregnant women, and children, should limit time spent outdoors and avoid outdoor exercise when high concentrations of smoke and particles are in the air.

If you see or smell smoke:

•Head indoors and remain indoors, as much as possible;

•Avoid strenuous outdoor activity;

•Close all windows and doors that lead outside to prevent bringing additional smoke inside; and

•Take steps to stay cool and keep your indoor air quality clean.

When wildfire smoke is impacting your neighborhood, consider implementing a “clean air room” to keep indoor air quality safe. The best protection against wildfire smoke is to stay indoors as much as possible when smoke is present. For information on how to create a “clean air room,” click here.

For residents in Carpinteria, we requested that the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District install an air monitoring system at Carpinteria City Hall, which was deployed yesterday.

COVID-19 transmission rates in Santa Barbara County have now fallen to a level (less than 200 cases per 100,000) which allows the County to begin accepting and considering waiver applications from schools to allow for in-person education for grades TK-6.

The decision to apply for a waiver will be up to each school and school district. This application process will open up today. Schools applying for reopening waivers will have to submit evidence that they have consulted with labor and parent organizations, and developed plans for reopening including daily health screenings, and face screenings for students third grade and above.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the local health officer will review the application, the reopening plan, and local community epidemiological data as it considers each waiver application. Testing is of course a very important component of this decision, which is why the County is launching three additional testing sites and I am personally advocating to guarantee around 1/3 of our testing resources go to schools.

For CDPH’s guidelines about the waiver process click here. 

To view the Public Health presentation from Tuesday’s Board meeting click here.

On August 18, 2020 the Board of Supervisors approved $2 million in federal State-passthrough CARES Act funding for an Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). The Program will provide $1,000 per month rent subsidy up to 3 months for qualifying households residing in the Unincorporated Santa Barbara County area, earning 80% of less of Area Median Income (AMI). For a one-person household, that is $66,750; for a 4-person household that is $95,300. Rent payments will be made to owners or managers of the rental units on behalf of the tenants. The United Way will encourage landlords to make payment arrangements with tenants for other amounts due. Applicants will be asked to confirm their eligibility through documentation that shows where they reside, proof of loss of income, documentation of amount of rent, general demographic information, and household income prior to income loss. It is anticipated that 600 households may be assisted, depending on the amount of assistance each person needs, to prevent evictions.

The County’s ERAP program will be accessed through an on-line portal on the United Way’s website. The UW already has an on-line application for the City of Santa Barbara’s rental assistance program, and the County’s application will look very similar. Staff anticipates the County’s ERAP program launching before the end of August.

The Santa Barbara Foundation and County of Santa Barbara announced the availability of grant funding for small businesses located within the unincorporated portions of Santa Barbara County through the “Santa Barbara Better Together” (SBBT) Fund.

The County of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Foundation partnership will support grants from the SBBT Fund of up to $7,500 per grant to qualifying small businesses located within the unincorporated portions of Santa Barbara County as they reopen and adapt to operating under proper public health guidelines due to COVID-19. Grant awards are available to eligible businesses until funds have been depleted.

The SBBT Fund was set up at the Santa Barbara Foundation as a committee-advised fund in March of 2020 with an initial $500,000 donation from Deckers Brands to help local businesses survive these uncertain times that in turn help sustain our community. The SBBT Fund committee is comprised of representatives from Deckers Brands and the Santa Barbara Foundation, with local experts. Distribution of the funds is voted on by the committee members.

The application is open through 5 p.m. Monday, August 31. Please review the grant program guidelines and application for further details.

Take care,

Das