CBID Moves Forward for Coast Village Road

Last week, the Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to endorse the Coast Village Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID), an idea brought forth by the Coast Village Association (CVA) nearly two years ago. Earlier this year, 94 property owners on the road received a formal petition for the proposed CBID, the goal of which is to take local control of the street’s aesthetics, safety, and marketing ventures, filling the gaps in service from the City of Santa Barbara, which governs Coast Village Road. The CBID will be funded by property owners as an additional tax assessment. 

Properties on the street have been weighted according to parcel size, frontage length, and building size. During the petition phase of the process, 30% or more of the weighted votes needed to agree to move to the “ballot stage” of the process. Coast Village Association President Bob Ludwick reports that the CBID received 49.8% positive votes from property owners. The City Clerk will now send out official ballots to property owners; those ballots will be tabulated at a City Council hearing on June 7, 2022. At the ballot stage, 50%+1 of the weighted ballots returned will establish the district.

The expected assessments to the property owners on Coast Village Road range from a few hundred dollars per year to $19,000 per year, with the average falling around $1,800. The lowest assessments are for the condo owners at 1220 Coast Village Road (those range from $125 – $162 per year), with the highest single assessment at Villa Fontana, which has the most frontage and square footage on the road. Some property owners have said they intend to pay the tax themselves, while some have indicated that they will pass along the fees to their tenants.

If all goes as planned, and the CBID is approved, the funds – which total about $300K the first year – will be used for private security to help with the unhoused population and panhandlers in the area; much needed beautification of the road, including tree and vegetation maintenance, maintenance of existing and new public spaces, improvement of decorative amenities like benches and fixtures, regular sidewalk and gutter sweeping and steam cleaning, enhanced trash services, timely graffiti removal, installation and maintenance of hanging plants, and planting flowers throughout the district; branding and promotion of the road; events such as Taste of Coast Village; social media and marketing; parking attendants; traffic management; and more. Ludwick says it could be as early as this summer that a newly constituted Board of Directors will be formed; that Board will be tasked with managing the funds. Ludwick will not be part of that Board, as he has announced his retirement from the Coast Village Association. 

CVA Vice President Rob Miller and Board Members Trey Pinner, Rick Lemmo, Francois DeJohn, Thorn Robertson, and property owner Jeff Harding have been working through the CBID process, with the help of consultant New City America, which has helped groups like the CVA form CBIDs across the country, including San Diego’s Little Italy and Los Angeles’ Chinatown. 

For more information about the CVA and the proposed CBID, visit coastvillageroad.com