Montecito Association Meets
At a quiet, in-person Montecito Association Board of Directors meeting earlier this week, the Board heard from community leaders on various happenings in Montecito.
Nick Turner with Montecito Water District reported on the ongoing potential of a recycled water project, which recently received $1M in grant funding from the State. The funds will be received in early 2024 and will help pay for the design details for a potential project. “It’s great news for recycled water, to advance it to the next step,” Turner said. The design phase of the project is expected to take at least two years. Turner also reported that there is an ongoing project on Monte Cristo Road to replace a water meter; it will be completed by January 19, with no work planned around the holidays.
John Weigold, GM of Montecito Sanitary District, reported that his District continues to work on lining the sewer lines under the freeway, with construction taking place on either side of Highway 101 near the Miramar. He also reported that there are roughly 300 residences within Montecito who are not connected to the public sewer, who want to be. There are currently six projects to extend sewer access to different areas. All sewer extensions are paid for by the people who benefit from the new service, which could cost several million dollars. “It’s a logistics issue,” Weigold said. A recent project to extend the sewer to 23 properties cost the residents $2.4M.
Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi said the only recent crime in Montecito in the last month was a vandalism on Miramar Avenue in November. Lieutenant Arnoldi reported that illegal camping has decreased and there has been no evidence of illegal fires on the trails as of late. The Sheriff’s Department has been active in recent holiday festivities.
Montecito Fire Chief David Neels reported that crews from MFPD were on a trail rescue in Montecito on Tuesday, which required the aid of a helicopter. No further details were released by press time. Chief Neels also told the Board that the District has begun releasing short emergency preparation videos on social media channels, in anticipation of the winter season. The videos list five prevention measures that all residents should adhere to. They include preventing flooding with sandbags (sandbag stations are opened at Lower Manning Park in advance of rainy weather); identifying whether you live in a risk area, by looking at the Storm Impact Consideration Map at www.readySBC.org; knowing at least two evacuation routes; packing your “go” bag and monitoring the weather during storms; and signing up for emergency alerts at www.readySBC.org. Those living in red-shaded areas on the Storm Impact Consideration Map should be prepared for evacuations during severe weather.
Chief Neels said a community event is planned for January 9 at 6 pm at Montecito Union School, in remembrance of the 1/9 debris flow of 2018, when 23 lives were lost and 400 homes were damaged or destroyed following a debris flow. Last year, the annual remembrance event was canceled due to another weather event, which occurred on the same exact day, five years later. Rain and increased winds are forecasted for next week, but nothing significant as of yet.
Darcel Elliott with First District Supervisor Das Williams’ office said the second public meeting for the Flood Control Master Plan for Montecito last month was well attended. The County of Santa Barbara is beginning a multi-phase project to investigate flood mitigation options, starting with developing a plan for Montecito. A Flood Mitigation Master Plan will be created to guide the planning, design, and construction of improvements to mitigate flooding and flood water impacts to the community. The plan will investigate potential solutions and improvements for flooding in Montecito, for the drainage areas associated with Montecito Creek, Oak Creek, San Ysidro Creek, Romero Creek, and their tributaries. A draft is expected to be released early next year, with another meeting scheduled for some time in March.
The Montecito Association has been busy participating in and/or planning holiday events, including the Holiday Magic Parade and Menorah Lighting this past weekend. New directors to the MA Board will be voted in at the annual meeting in January; Board President Megan Orloff and director Penelope Bianchi will be terming off the Board.
The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 9, 2024. For more information, and to get involved, visit www.montecitoassociation.org.
