Santa Barbara Exempts State Street From Strangling Government Regulations—Keep Them for Rest of City
Government loves to create winners and losers. The Chad Mayes led Assembly Republicans , the seven of them, voted to force some companies to buy “credits” to stay in business—this is a tax increase. Then they also said they prefer government transportation by making it more expensive to drive a car—Mayes and friends voted to raise gas taxes by 63 cents a gallon. In zoning matters, government really likes to create winners and losers. “Facing down a record number of vacancies on State Street and a citywide backlog of building permit applications , the Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously this Tuesday to enact a six- month pilot program to improve and accelerate the review process for prospective commercial tenants along the downtown business corridor. Applicants for properties between Sola and Cabrillo streets, where more than 30 storefronts currently sit empty, will now be bumped to the front of the line at design review board hearings . Two members of the city’s ...
