Recycling of treated wastewater is environmentally responsible and can create a significant new water supply for both landscaping water (sometimes referred to as non-potable or “purple pipe” water) by surface spreading, or even better, indirect potable reuse (IPR) by injecting the purified water into local groundwater basins as recharge water for later withdrawal as a […]
According to broker Wendy Gragg, president of Montecito’s Distinctive Real Estate, many high-end buyers appear to be holding back from purchasing in Montecito, at least for the time being. Gragg sees the mid-year Montecito real estate market as slowly shifting from a seller’s market toward a buyer’s market. As more sellers list their homes, buyers […]
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The Montecito community faces a difficult 2018-2019 winter season. If we get too little rain, we will return to drought worries; too much rain and Montecito residents face evacuation and the possibility of additional mud and rock flows. Of the two perils – severe drought versus debris flow – the more pressing danger is the […]
Ask anyone why we celebrate the 4th of July holiday and the most frequent answer is that July 4 represents our nation’s birthday. This is only partially correct. On July 2, 1776 (not July 4), members of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, voted to declare independence from Great Britain for the 13 colonies. […]
Last week, the SB County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted unanimously to adopt the FEMA Interim Flood Map in an effort to expedite and control the rebuilding process in Montecito. As chair of the BOS, supervisor Das Williams noted, “I can’t say I’m comfortable with the option of the Interim Flood Recovery map, but the […]
Without a mayor and a town council that have both authority to set priorities and resources to fund selected programs, disaster recovery options are limited. Local efforts are confined to supporting the county government team and offering a host of volunteer services. The historic role, for example, of the Montecito Association (MA) has been “the […]
In 1991, the residents of Montecito engaged in a heated debate, turning down a vote for cityhood by fewer than 100 votes. Every 10 years or so, the debate over home rule rises again. Advocates believe that local knowledge of local needs allows communities that are self-governing to better plan their own future, to control […]
Mark your calendars for June 11, 2018. That’s the expected date for the public release of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Recovery Maps for Montecito. The map release will mark a critical milepost in making the rebuilding decisions that will shape the future character of Montecito for the next 50 years. FEMA Recovery […]
This town could use a little good news. It has been a little more than a year since we elected two new members to the Montecito Water District Board of Directors. Are we any closer to the goal of water security? Montecito Water District (MWD), its board, its management, and its employees have all been […]
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Last month, in response to a public request, Montecito Association (MA) Land Use Committee chair Cori Hayman identified the “Top 10 Issues” facing Montecito. The goal was to focus on making the village better than it was before the twin disasters of the Thomas wildfire and the January 9 debris flow. The Land Use Committee’s […]
As we roll into spring, most in Montecito feel a temporary sense of relief, anticipating that any rainstorm in April will not rise to the ½-inch-per-hour threshold needed to trigger another evacuation. Evidence is that the added protection from new wider, deeper, boulder-lined creek channels restored by the Army Corps of Engineers and County Flood […]
As Montecito residents recover from their fifth mandatory evacuation since the start of the Thomas Wildfire, there is a growing frustration that the future fate of Montecito will not be resolved by a “Montecito Strong” community visioning plan of our own making, but by external forces outside this community’s span of control. Fifteen weeks have […]
As Montecito residents struggle to absorb the unwelcome financial burden of removing public mud and debris that flowed onto private property, it has become more important than ever to rebuild our community and return it to normalcy in the shortest possible timeframe with generous assistance from the County and FEMA. A heartwarming example of rallying […]
For most residents of Montecito, a large portion of their investment portfolio and net worth is tied up in the value of their home. What will be the long- and short-term impact of the twin tragedies of the Thomas Fire – the largest in California history – and the destructive 1/9 debris flow on real […]
