The MA’s Annual Meeting
The Montecito Association Annual and January meeting was held in person at the Montecito Library community room and on Zoom, Tuesday, January 21.
MA President Doug Black called the Annual MA meeting to order, and held a vote to ratify the 2025 actions of the MA Board. He highlighted what the MA accomplished in 2024, from the Miramar Rosewood projects to homeowners’ insurance presentations, the Village July 4th event, Holiday Parade, a new MA website and membership portal, and updating of the History Committee’s computer data.Black praised and thanked the departing MA Board Directors, Robert Kemp, Aimee Miller, Inken Gerlach, and Stan Roden.
The new Board members voted in are Bill Herting, Greg Prince, Jan Amber Larson Rockenbach, Dorene White, and Leslie Lundgren.
MA officers nominated, voted in, and approved are Doug Black as President, Leslie Lundgren as 1st VP, Patrice Serrani as 2nd VP, Andrea Newquist as Secretary, and Bill Macfadyen as Treasurer.
Next, the monthly meeting started with Gallery Leader at Restoration Hardware Patricia Esparza who introduced herself and highlighted the RH’s interior design and hospitality, including their gallery and restaurant. She addressed parking concerns by saying there is a parking lot behind the store and directives for using public parking spaces only for their customers. She added, “I’m local, and love Montecito; this is my home and my town.” She introduced RH Associate Hospitality Leader Emma Kindschuh, formerly the GM at Caruso’s of Rosewood Miramar Beach.
For Montecito crime updates, Lt. Rich Brittingham reported as follows, “There was an incident at Casa Dorinda whereby intruders held a gun to the security guard and issued threats, our deputies arrested all three suspects; there was a shooting at Woodley Road where a couple was walking their dog and gunfire struck them in the back of their arm, an arrest made of the suspect. The rash of local burglaries is ascribed to South American SATCHI leagues who have targeted Montecito and surrounding towns. These are daytime bandits, doing two to four burglaries per week, usually between 6:30-9:30 pm. These are quickly executed crimes where thieves break in, cut into safes, steal valuables, and are gone. We made four arrests in Ventura, and things settled down for a few weeks, but it’s happening again. The thieves have cameras that can see and record the house door code. Check your yard for a camouflaged camera and call the sheriff’s dept to remove it. Make sure our dispatch has your gate code so we can get into your property. There are LPRs (license plate readers) used widely in various cities. We need to be proactive; you can put LPRs on your property. We will do a presentation on this at an MA meeting. If you give the Sheriff’s office permission, we can put the LPR on private property. Approx. cost is $3,500/year. In the meantime, lock your doors and windows and keep lights on.”
Lt. Brittingham alongside Mindy Denson provided updates on their search for a Sheriff’s substation located in Montecito. They are looking at the space above the local antique store which may not work. Brittingham, “Our needs for the substation are IT, two computers, a bathroom, insurance, funding, liability and logistics.”
Montecito Fire Chief David Neels reported in depth on both his team’s firefighting efforts and updates on the Palisades Fire. He said, “For the Palisades Fire we have had 12 firefighters on since the fire started. Through the Santa Barbara County Fire Dept we coordinate with and upstaff resources. I can contact our Chief SBC Officers immediately when we have a need – I don’t wait. We had additional firefighters on duty last night and tonight due to the red flag situation. There are 19 weather stations in red flag conditions from Ventura County to SBC. Even though it is damp out, we always have a risk of fire in red flag conditions. We are going through periods of extreme weather, and working on how to prepare for it by staying engaged in fire-related weather trends. We are out and in constant communication with our law enforcement and Caltrans partners. Call us if you have any questions. The Palisades Fire was a significant wind fire. We are getting ready to do a presentation on the new evac zones, and need time to coordinate with our partners. We are looking at creating one way text groups in evacuation zones so we can push real-time emergency messaging out to those neighborhoods when necessary.”
Neels fielded questions, which included concerns on evacuations using the correct highway entrance/exits given Caltrans’ construction, and a concern about Mountain Drive where people park in front of fire hydrants.
He further stated, “Montecito is one of the most challenging areas in which to do project work, like controlled burns, for instance. My lesson from the Tea Fire is it comes down to this: are you ok with clearing more vegetation around your home? Your home ought to be defendable, and we can’t get to it with the shrubs and trees around it. You have to look at your own residences and local schools. I understand the frustration, 70 mph wind events casting embers. I’m not sure how else to be successful about that other than getting people out and saving their lives.”
Nick Turner from the Montecito Water Protection District updated on current water and fire hydrants in light of the L.A. fires. He said, “Montecito water supply three-year outlook looks favorable, even if we assume drought conditions. Our tanks and service reservoirs are full, attributed to the past few years of rainfall. We’ve received 6/10th water so far this year compared to normally 6 inches. We have 23 million gallons of water in storage in Montecito at this time. There is a regional pipeline that feeds the entire south coast, and we have the ability to pull from that. We have hydrants that are all active and maintained on a regular basis. We have a computerized model of every asset we have. We remain committed to emergency preparedness and communicate with Montecito Fire Dept. and Carpinteria-Summerland fire protection districts.”
Montecito Union School District Principal Nick Bruski reported they have enrolled 20 new incoming students from the Pacific Palisades and Pasadena areas, and another 25 in process to start. The students have to live within district boundaries. Bruski also presented on scholastic updates such as AI and literacy. The drummer Sowah from Ghana will be starting his yearly residency soon, during which he teaches the students all about the music of Ghana.
Cold Spring School District Superintendent & Principal Amy Alzina thanked everyone for their support. She shared about CSS Project Camp, MOXI, and SB Wellness, spawned by a call to her from the GM of San Ysidro Ranch who was housing the families who evacuated the L.A. fires. Seventy students enrolled, with 45 on waitlist. They have some families moving in and expect enrollment to increase, they went from 190 students to 194 students, and CSS has a few more spaces for those who moved here from the fires. It was 157 when Alzina started at CSS.
Aida Thau, staff from SBC 1st District Supervisor Roy Lee’s office, introduced herself and provided her background of three years working for Lee and 14 working for the City of Beverly Hills. Thau stating, “I am looking forward to how I can be an advocate and the voice supporting the needs of Montecito community.”
MA Executive Director Houghton Hyatt reported the second Hot Springs Rd. Stakeholders meeting with Congressman Salud Carbajal is scheduled for February 3. Thau added that Supervisor Lee wants the Montecito residents informed about the stakeholders meeting with Carbajal and is looking at February 8 for a town hall.
Andrea Newquist, Chair for Hands Across Montecito, hopes to get Congressman Carbajal’s help in getting Union Pacific Railroad to grant permission for them to do clean outs.
MA Board Director Joseph Pennino asked the MA to have a Mayor of Montecito, and to sponsor community classes for personal protection and home invasion protection.
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