In the wake of the board of supervisor's late-August approval of the Isla Vista Master Plan, the Santa Barbara County Redevelopment Agency has announced new efforts to slap some lipstick on the pig called Isla Vista.
The region's most infamous college town can be equated to a pig in the sense that the snorty animals may appear a little unkempt and uncouth, but underneath the skin, pigs can be very, very tasty - at least if you're not a vegetarian.
Isla Vista may have its share of couch-laden balconies and overflowing dumpsters, but what lies beneath is an eclectic community swimming with character and million-dollar views. Efforts outlined in the redevelopment plan seek to address some of the problems that send residents elsewhere for housing, entertainment and dining and prevent outsiders from experiencing the hidden gems of the community.
But the most important component of Isla Vista's future is the housing available for the current - and possibly growing - 20,000 population.
"What will affect Isla Vista investment more than anything is the planned enrollment increases over time," said Brian Bailey of Central Coast Investments, an affiliate of Leider Hayes, that includes Isla Vista among its specialties. He said decisions nearby University of California Santa Barbara makes regarding enrollment numbers in the future, combined with the availability of housing in Isla Vista, are the most important.
Brian Johnson of Radius Group said he is excited about the potential for mixed-use development that would add new retail and housing stock in the downtown area of Isla Vista.
Although the Isla Vista Master Plan is aimed to keep the university-side haven a student-oriented destination, upgrades planned for the half-square-mile that sits between Goleta and the Santa Barbara Airport could certainly strengthen the economic vitality and already pricey value of this oceanfront cash-cow.
"...Most characteristics inherent to good neighborhood and town planning are already in place here in rough form," stated the introduction of the master plan, noting quality of building stock, transportation systems and parking as factors that "do not optimally support" the area's economy.
The redevelopment agency's Downtown Facade Improvement Program offers Isla Vista business owners professional design assistance and matching grants of up to $10,000 per business for exterior renovations to the tired buildings that make up the community's commercial center.
The program matches a business owner's investment, dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000, on property improvements such as paint, display windows, signs, doors and entrances, awnings and landscaping. The agency's share comes from tax increment financing of property taxes in Isla Vista.
"I think we'd all like to see the currently existing businesses flourish in Isla Vista and to see them reinvesting their profits into the busuiness and improving the buildings they are in and the property surrounding them, which is part of what the facade improvement program is for," said Santa Barbara County Redevelopment specialist Abigail Nugent. "But it is also to attract businesses into the area and for them to stay there as well and to do well."
Objectives of the community plan include enhancing the character of the built environment; providing venues for social interactions and expanding recreational opportunities; reducing dependence on automobiles and developing an efficient parking strategy; and developing a "balanced, robust and economically viable commercial core."
"These changes to infrastructure, program, and public policies are intended to stimulate private sector investment in Isla Vista...In an effort to steer and direct public invsetment, this document describes very clearly the building types the community and County would like to see in Isla Vista," the plan said.
Bailey said Isla Vista's redevelopment should make infrastructure needs such as streetlights and sidewalks a priority.
Listed among the plan's higest-priority projects slated for the first five years after plan adoption are improving streetscapes and redeveloping properties to mixed-use in the downtown area, completing sidewalks on some main streets in Isla Vista and MTD service improvements.
Oink, oink.
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