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Excitement abounded at Santa Barbara’s Faulkner Gallery on Monday night as local architects unveiled new sketches at a State Street Advisory Committee meeting.
Renderings show potential designs for three blocks of Dow Street, as well as several walking trails, providing a clearer vision for the future of downtown Santa Barbara.
The architects were invited by committee chairman Dave Davis to form a team and develop the sketches. Volunteer architect Anthony Grubin emphasized the importance of creating a design that truly reflects Santa Barbara’s unique charm.
The sketches include the 400, 800 and 1100 blocks of State Street and will hopefully serve as a design toolkit to use moving forward. The sketches are not meant to be interpreted as final designs, so they do not specify whether vehicles, bicycles or pedestrians will be allowed on the streets.
The drawings depict features such as fountains, trees, wide walkways, market tents, landscaping and artistic sculptures, all designed to create an inspiring atmosphere. Another discussion focused on naming various sections of State Street to give each area a different feel, such as “Arts District” or “Fiesta District.”
The presentation received positive feedback from committee members. “It’s incredible to me, this is it, this is [a] Santa Barbara City Councilor and Commission Member Kristen Sneddon said, “This to me is what I’ve been waiting for…The whole idea of the master plan, from my perspective, was developed by the AIA charrette and all of our local Important local works by architects with vision. These charrettes are beautifully done and then put on the shelf.”
Santa Barbara MTD committee member and planning and marketing manager Hillary Blackerby said she loves the features of the walking trails and thinks they are one of the most interesting and unique things about downtown. But she said there are other factors to consider, such as the space shuttle that many people expressed in public comments.
Blackerby announced that the Santa Barbara MTD will resume downtown waterfront shuttle service in a “temporary manner” and at “significantly reduced service levels” from May 31 through Labor Day. The shuttle will travel along Chapala Street to Sola Street, then along Anacapa Street, then to State Street and Gutierrez Street ), serving the Amtrak station, then follow Cabrillo Blvd. To the port and zoo. One-time grant funding allows the shuttle to operate Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with departures approximately every 20 minutes.
Councilmember Meagan Harmon said the designs are beautiful from 50,000 feet and more reflective of Santa Barbara, but the scale and feasibility of the redesign have yet to be determined.
“But what I will say is, I’m still confused… not sure where us where to go this On the way. I mean, there are still some really big questions about State Street. Do we want to own cars? Won’t we have cars? What blocks will the plan cover? Will there be bikes or no bikes? I do understand that it’s a framework, but I don’t understand how we accept a framework that’s based on some really unanswered questions,” Harmon said.
Public comments ranged from design concepts to transportation views to calls for more housing. Some commenters asked property owners to consider mixed-use developments to incorporate housing units similar to those in Santa Monica and Boulder, Colorado.
A public review of the draft plan is expected in late summer or early fall, and the City Council is expected to vote on the final master plan early next year.
The Santa Barbara City Council previously approved a $780,000 contract with MIG in 2022 for the State Street master planning process, but their renderings failed to gain public approval. While the contract is still in effect, the city has paid nearly half of the cost of the contract.
Watch the entire meeting below:
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