Newsletter
July, 2010
Cushman
 



 
Plan Santa Barbara.  The Santa Barbara general plan update, Plan Santa Barbara, has moved from the city planning commission to the City Council for consideration to approve the new 20-year general plan. This plan has been in process for 4 years. The Chamber board supports the plan and the recommendations from the planning commission. We hope that the Council will clarify implementation policies that will insure that no interpretations of general plans create impediments to the success of local businesses. We are convinced that a vibrant downtown business district is at the heart of a vital local economy.
 
The Local Economy. A good historical and anecdotal measure of the strength of the local economy is the number of downtown vacant storefronts on State Street. There are 405 ground floor storefronts on State Street, from the beach to Victoria Street. This is the traditional downtown shopping district. The number of storefronts has stayed relatively consistent for the last 20 years.
 
I have counted the storefront vacancies, each month, for the last 20 years. During that time, the number of vacancies has ranged from 0 to 44. The vacancy rate during this recession has averaged 34/month. During the recession of the early 90's, we reached the 44 total. The normal vacancy pattern for State Street is 0 to 8. The weaker the economy, the more vacancies.
 
Good news. My June walk showed only 20 vacant stores.
 
United Way Campaign.  Janet Garufis, President of Montecito Bank and Trust, chairs this years' United Way Campaign. 40 chamber members have volunteered to serve on the campaign committee. The committee has set ambitious goals and intends to be best committee in United Way history. With the campaign now underway, David Edelman is demolishing all previous single season records.
 
Work Force Investment Board. The Chamber has contracted with the Santa Barbara Work force investment board to survey our members about local economic conditions. Based on the results of the survey, we will develop programs with the workforce board to provide employment and financing assistance to our members. Please fill out the 3-minute survey. We will email the survey to all our members this month. The survey is also available on our website sbchamber.org.

Located on 1 Garden Street, this historical 400 square foot building was built in 1911 and was originally The Larco Fish Market on 214 State Street. It was transformed into a Visitor Center and moved to 1 Garden Street in February, 1988.
 June was a month full of celebrations; Graduations, Summer Solstice, Live Oak Festival and much more.  Unfortunately, the Big Dog Parade was cancelled again this year. In July we can look forward to Independence Day with fireworks and a parade, but the popular Santa Barbara Symphony Concert at The Courthouse has been cancelled. On a positive note The Santa Barbara Car Free Project was recently honored with a National Clean Air Excellence Award and The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden received, for the second year in a row, the coveted 4-Star Rating from the prestigious charity evaluator Charity Navigator. The Botanic Garden is open until 6pm during the summer, and so is The Maritime Museum.

Bob and Lynn Koegel, Koegel Autism Center, UCSB. The Koegel Autism Center has been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences as one of the best in the country. The Koegel's work started at UCSB in the 1970's. Lynn is director of the center and Bob is the co-director and a professor of clinical psychology. Their research has led to national legislation in public schools and has been the subject of extensive news coverage and documentaries. Lynn and Bob lead the nation in developing effective treatments for individuals with autism. Their new research center was made possible by a gift from local residents Brian and Patricia Kelly.