On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council will make appointments to the Community Formation Commission that will guide the creation of a civilian police review system.
Thirteen members will be chosen, along with two additional alternates, after applicant interviews that were held on Jan. 21 and 26.
The CFC will explore different civilian police review systems, existing and new police accountability systems, along with the Santa Barbara Police Department’s existing standards and protocols. It will then make recommendations to the council for the civilian police review system.
Their terms will be one year, and they will each receive a $50 stipend per meeting attended.
The council will also hold a public hearing to discuss potentially approving a sea-level rise adaptation plan to identify vulnerabilities to coastal hazards.
In other business, council members will receive a presentation on the concept plan for the De La Guerra Plaza Revitalization Project.
Since 2019, there has been much public outreach and meetings with stakeholders, and a De La Guerra Plaza Revitalization Advisory Committee was formed.
City staff will present the conceptual plans at the meeting, and the council will be recommended to allow the current concept plan to proceed to the City Development Application Process.
The main goals are as follows: to make it a place that incorporates the history of the city as it is surrounded by four historic buildings and a place that facilitates activity, meetings, dining, and gatherings, and yet also can be a place of respite.
“It needs to be made beautiful again and consistent with the aesthetics throughout the downtown area; and it needs to assist in bringing vitality to the downtown corridor,” the staff report reads.
The council will provide guidance on the following: artwork, cultural representation, site furnishings, public outreach, connectivity and integration of State Street and De La Guerra Street, parking and the front of City Hall on the Anacapa side.
The advisory committee created a purpose statement to ground the decisions made and a framework to explain the concept plan, which says, “De la Guerra Plaza celebrates and honors the historic heart of our city and provides the flexibility to serve our community’s diverse social, cultural, historic, economic and environmental vitality.”
The council will also consider the appeal of Anna Marie Gott of the Planning Commission’s approval of a Coastal Development Permit for bicycle share stations in the Coastal Zone, as was postponed from last week’s meeting.
The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, and can be viewed on City TV Channel 18 or live streamed at www.santabarbaraca.gov/cap.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
