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Guest Editorial
Montecito – The Future Starts Now! I t has been more than 25 years since the formal adoption of the Montecito Community Plan, crafted by concerned citizens, who were charged with protecting and preserving the special, small town, semi-rural residential character of our community.
Back in 1995, semi-rural meant the lack of sidewalks and traffic lights, narrow winding roads, subtle road signage, low-density residential development, limited commercial development, unobstructed community and neighborhood view corridors, extensive greenery, easy access to walking and riding trails, uncrowded beaches and recreational facilities, convenient shopping, clean air, friendly and courteous small-town neighbors, fine elementary schools with low student/teacher ratios, and diverse housing, architecture, landscaping and property sizes. With the exception of unforeseen potential community gridlock on local lanes, the 1995 Montecito Community Plan has served us well.
Since 2018, Montecito has had its share of negative publicity – life-threatening fires and floods, serial evacuations, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and increased homelessness. Such negative and undeserved perceptions need to be reversed. The start of this new decade is the ideal time for residents of Montecito to pause and plan for resolving the most critical challenges facing Montecito over the next 25 years.
Montecito Association Planning Efforts
As a healthy start, the Montecito Association’s Land Use Committee, under the able leadership of chair Dorinne Lee Johnson and Executive Director Sharon Byrne, has identified the “Top 5 Priority Issues for Montecito.” Land Use hopes to spend the next 12 months developing solutions to the issues that they perceive to be Montecito’s five greatest concerns:
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