An Unlikely Duo Maps Out Their Vision for Santa Barbara County

At last week’s Board meeting, there was an Honor Guard, the La Colina HS Jazz Band, and even a bit of soaring keynote rhetoric from Montecito’s own Gwyn Lurie. It was as Supervisor Steve Lavagnino described — a “celebration of democracy” — where Roy Lee took his place on the dais and Supervisor Laura Capps was voted Chairperson, while Supervisor Bob Nelson assumed the role of Vice Chairman. More interesting than the pageantry, however, was a fresh voice of leadership. A dual voice, really, that was echoed by two very different Supervisors. Allow me to explain: 

I was once a management theory junkie who spent my time reading the likes of Kurt Lewin, who understood the importance of group dynamics and how, in small groups, leadership plays an outsized role. And while our past Board was often overpowered by performative personalities and folks who could see all the angles (but rarely played any), what it lacked was a vision. It meandered, becoming a place to preachify, not a place to “do.”

On Tuesday what I heard were two Supervisors who spoke about their “north stars,” who praised staff but not in the way that overindulgent parents praise their children. They understood that change only happens if you make it happen, if you question the status quo and if you challenge staff to do better. Now, I’m not nearly drinking the County Kool-Aid – but what I saw gave me hope, and as Ms. Lurie said, hope is an important part of leadership. 

On Cannabis – an issue that, between the twisted tax scheme (it costs $10M to collect $6M in tax revenue) and superior/existing odor abatement technologies, should have been fixed long ago – Capps stated: “It is time to flip the script.” She promised that together with Nelson they would no longer rely on the 443,767 residents who neither profit from nor grow Cannabis to cure the Public Nuisance that the County’s ordinance had created. 

Supervisor Nelson spoke about our $27M, 114-person, cannabis-reliant Planning and Development (P&D) Department. He stated that permits cost too much ($253 per hour for a $60 PH employee) and take too long. Agreed! Do you know how many permits we issue or their average processing time? Of course not, because unlike other counties who broadcast these and other metrics, we do not. It must be liberating (some might even say “emboldening”) not to be measured. 

Capps also zeroed in on P&D pointing-out the irony that Dignity Moves, our most visible homeless success story, wouldn’t have happened without “hacking” the permitting process and building temporary housing units. Like she said, when government falls short they defend the rules, not the results. OPEN SECRET: P&D has created a ham-handed and adversarial culture that unnecessarily splashes itself on the front pages of our newspapers, very rudely (I have seen the emails) pushes back on community groups and embroils the county in unnecessary litigation. All this begs the question: Does P&D work for the Supes or do the Supes work for P&D?

In the end, I was hopeful that our new Board might just give us a little less noise and a little more light. After all, doesn’t one serve to make worthwhile change rather than to simply ride the status quo? Positive thoughts to our friends in the Palisades and a heartfelt “good luck” to our newly constituted Board, who I hope will DO great things in 2025!