Watch: Can SB Stop Shady Developers from Defiling the Mission? Housing - Downtown, IV, Rents; ICE Surge Looms
Christina McDermott, Ryan Cruz and Josh Molina join this week's edition of Newsmakers TV for analysis and commentary on all the latest from the housing beat in Santa Barbara.
As the Legislature prepared to adjourn this week, state Senator Monique Limón made an 11th hour bid to head off an out-of-town housing development scheme that would desecrate the Mission Canyon neighborhood near the Old Mission.
In an end-of-session maneuver, Limón introduced an amendment to previously-passed legislation, which has weakened the California Environmental Quality Act, that effectively channels widespread community concerns about construction of an eight-story apartment blockbuster behind the Mission, given the extraordinary vulnerability of the proposed project site.
On this week’s edition of “Newsmakers TV,” Christina McDermott reprises her reporting on the move, a not uncommon legislative strategem, which has drawn statewide attention largely because Monique in November is set to become Senate President Pro Tem, one of the two most powerful legislative offices in Sacramento.
It was just one of several big stories on Santa Barbara’s housing agenda, as Ryan P. Cruz and Josh Molina break down the City Council’s attempt to navigate the complex economic and design interests involved in converting existing downtown buildings into residential units — before the gang deconstructs the latest controversial proposal by developer Ed St. George to build more pack-em-in apartments in Isla Vista.
Plus: how Latino communities are preparing for an expected October surge by federal immigration agents carrying out rogue raids on local neighborhoods; a new big data source from SBCAG details the painful state of the county’s rental market; and Josh recounts his latest set-to with SB Administrator Kelly McAdoo about what, exactly, defines a “plan” to return cars to State Street.
All this and more, right here, right now, on Newsmakers TV.
Check out Episode 518 vis YouTube below, or by clicking through this link. The Newsmakers podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Soundcloud and other platforms. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show every weeknight at 5 p.m., and on weekends at 9 a.m. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
Image: Projected appearance of a proposed eight-story building behind the Mission (Santa Barbara Independent).