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More outdoor dining? Goleta City Council to consider allowing restaurants to spill onto sidewalks, streets By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Hundreds of locals protesting the recent killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police gather at the Courthouse Sunken Garden on Sunday in a demonstration hosted by Black Lives Matter Santa Barbara and Juneteenth Santa Barbara.
‘We have history here’ Black community members call out police violence, racism during peaceful SB rally By PAUL GONZALEZ
SB Council to discuss expanding sit-lie ordinance
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Hundreds of community members of all races packed the Courthouse Sunken Garden on Sunday afternoon to decry police violence across the country and demand accountability from local law enforcement. Black Lives Matter Santa Barbara and Juneteenth Santa Barbara hosted the protest to provide a space for local black community members to mourn the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd and speak out against police violence and the erasure of local black history. On May 25, Mr. Floyd, a black man, died while being detained by police in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to a video of the incident, Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, pinned Mr. Floyd on the ground and put his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes. While the incident has sparked riots and looting across the country, local protesters raised only their voices. “We are here today as black women who love black people,” an event organizer said. “We intentionally centered our speakers around black folks especially black women because we know how often our deaths are erased. We were intentional about inviting our non-black folks of color who support us because we understand that our liberation is linked,” she said. Some attendees carried protest signs supporting Black Lives Matter and with messages urging others to speak out against police violence.
By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Protesters of varying ages and races turned out to the demonstration, intended as an opportunity for local black community members to mourn the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.
“If you have the luxury of breath, you better shout,” read one. “If you can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” and “In a racist society it is not enough to be not-racist, you must be anti-racist,” read two other signs. Some signs carried anti-police messages. Event organizers published a list of demands from the local black community to Santa Barbara City Council and Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors including: transparency and accountability from the Santa Barbara Police Department and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office; protection and preservation of local black landmarks, “rather than monuments to white supremacy;” and “institutional support” for
an annual Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth commemorates the day slaves were informed of their liberation from slavery. “Today, I think a lot of folks forget that people of color, black folks, we been here. We been in this community five generations deep,” an event organizer who identified herself as Crystal said. She added that her parents and grandparents were born in Santa Barbara. “Milpas was black folks, the Eastside was black folks, Haley that was black folks. We been here, we have history here and as a matter of fact they need to start teaching it in these K through 12,” she said. “I share this because it’s been paining my grandparents to sit at home and see this is still happening. We forget MLK, he was shot, Please see PROTEST on A8
Event organizers demanded transparency from local law enforcement agencies and preservation of local black landmarks.
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The Goleta City Council on Tuesday will consider a resolution that would allow for outdoor dining. The resolution would suspend current zoning and development permit requirements for openair areas and parking spaces, allowing for other uses for private property. If approved, the expanded outdoor dining and use areas would allow Goleta restaurants and other specific uses to reopen safely, while also ensuring adequate pedestrian and vehicle circulation and patron safety -- all while meeting physical distancing standards, according to a staff report. The emergency program would assist restaurants located in Goleta’s shopping centers by using open-air spaces and parking lots, though city officials noted it “would not be feasible” to close Hollister Avenue for restaurants located in Old Town. Citing sidewalk widths, circulation and police and fire access, city officials do not recommend the use of the public roadway in the Old Town area, though those restaurants can still take part in the program if they have open-air areas or a parking lot to expand into. According to a staff report, these businesses could work with a neighbor’s openair space or parking lot. Both Camino Real Marketplace
and Calle Real Shopping Center have expressed an interest in the expansion of dining areas for restaurants, city officials said. The proposed program would allow extension as long as it does not encroach into parking areas or affect vehicle circulation. The program could also apply to retail, fitness classes and yoga, or faithbased gatherings, according to the staff report. The proposed program does not call for charges or fees for permits. While it is unclear how many permits will be issued under the program, the fiscal impacts “would be difficult to quantify” if the city were to elect to impose a permit review fee. In other business, the council is expected to review staff’s recommended response to the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury report regarding cyber attacks. The report was issued March 18, which determined multiple municipalities were illprepared for a cyber attack and issued several recommendations to lower the risk of threats or damage. In its response letter, the city agreed with several of the findings from the report. The city disagreed with a finding that the city did not have an adequate understanding of what communication and electronic systems they use and what data they maintain, and further don’t understand the risks, security Please see goleta on A2
The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday will discuss amending the current sit-lie ordinance to portions of Cacique and Milpas streets. The council directed the City Attorney’s Office during the April 28 meeting to prepare a proposed extension of the ordinance to “certain high traffic portions” on the city’s Eastside, while also requesting a supplemental legal analysis. The city’s Ordinance Committee recommended adoption of the proposed ordinance on May 19, though the committee requested the coverage area extend north of Milpas to Mason Street, as opposed to ending at the Highway 101 roundabout at Carpinteria Street as was originally proposed. “The Ordinance Committee found the two-block section of Milpas Street between Carpinteria and Mason Streets to suffer from the same conditions that apply elsewhere in the proposed corridor, namely, narrow sidewalks, heavy pedestrian traffic, and high levels of vehicular traffic on the street,” the staff report reads. The committee further recommended that council direct a review of “sidewalk obstruction issues” along Milpas Street as far north as Canon Perdido Street, while also calling for a “civic engagement public meeting” for nearby residents. The city has already regulated sitting and lying down on the first 13 blocks of State Street, and in 2018 added the first two blocks of East Haley Street to address sidewalk obstruction. The ordinance applies from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The proposed amendment would add South Milpas Street between Calle Puerto Vallarta and Mason Street, including the 101 roundabout, as well as along Cacique Street between South
Milpas and South Alisos streets. “Both streets experience very high vehicle traffic volumes. Sidewalk obstructions force pedestrians into vehicle travel lanes,” the staff report reads. These types of ordinances are considered “generally lawful,” though neither the council nor law enforcement officials can target those laws against people experiencing homelessness. The staff report cites “serious constitutional limits against laws the courts find to criminalize indigent, homeless people who reside outdoors voluntarily,” adding the importance to limit the ordinance to specific geographical areas with time limits. In other business, the council will receive a presentation from the Community Development Department and the City Attorney’s Office regarding the fiscal year 2021 recommended budget. It will mark the sixth budget work session, as various city departments have presented their respective budgets to the council before adoption of the budget. At a meeting scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. June 15, the council will receive final budget recommendations from the Finance Committee and staff will be asking the council for final direction. Also on Tuesday, the council will receive a report from Novak Consulting Group on the preliminary findings of a Land Development Process Improvement Study, while also hearing recommendations from the city’s COVID-19 Business Advisory Task Force. The council will be asked to initiate a municipal code amendment to address scope of plan review and building inspection. Tuesday’s meeting will be held at 2 p.m. To stream online, visit www.santabarbaraca.gov/cap. Visit the city’s website to learn how to participate electronically. email: mwhite@newspress.com
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