Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The Architectural Board of Review (ABR) provided mixed reviews of the new Santa Barbara Police Station on E. Cota Street during their meeting on Monday.
The three-story, 53-foot high, 65,000 square foot station will take over the commuter parking lot at 119 E. Cota Street, where the Saturday Farmer’s Market takes place. An associated 37.5-foot high and 86,000 square foot parking structure will also be built to accommodate 244 parking spaces. Each structure would have a subterranean level and additional surface parking would be provided.
Additionally, a total of 24 Tipuana tipu trees and 6 oak trees would be removed, but replaced with 26 new trees and have 700 solar panels installed. The existing MTD bus stop shelter on Cota Street would be relocated, along with the existing plaques commemorating the old Lincoln School.
The $80 million police headquarters project, lead by architect Brian Cearnal, will consolidate police operations from four separate sites.
ABR members provided a range of thoughts during the concept review. One member stated the current design leaves no room for expansion and it just barely fits the site selection. Other comments included critiques of the design stating it’s too modern and cold, doesn’t offer community openness, and doesn’t fit with Santa Barbara’s Mediterranean Spanish architecture.
There were no issues with the size of the building but concerns were raised about the main entrance being on the one-way Santa Barbara Street and the Cota Commuter Lot not being the best location.
The project will move to the Planning Commission for review providing public comment options.
Artistic renderings by Cearnal Collective of the new Santa Barbara Police Station at 119 E. Cota Street
A bit too f****** much of you ask me
For the people saying the building looks cold and uninviting, isn’t that what a police station is supposed to be like? I don’t think I’ve ever thought of a police station as warm or inviting.
Please keep in mind that this building has been needed for quite some time, and should accommodate the SBPD for many/many years. People have gotten used to the Farmer’s Market at this location, but the FM has become a bit run down and shabby in my opinion. The new building will certainly be an improvement to that area, which needs an upgrade. Plus, De la Cruz Park will be usable once again….especially kids who live in the nearby neighborhood. The FM only serves the needs of a few dozen folks, and can/should be moved to another location such as Alameda Park, Schott Center, DLG Plaza, MacKenzie Park, Sears/La Cumbre, or on top level of the numerous multi-story parking structures that we have in town.
What is WRONG with Santa Barbara….? Read the ridiculous criticisms of a much needed and beautiful building.
Farmers market serves a few dozen folks? Guess you haven’t been there since 1959. But I guess minimizing other people’s concerns is how you roll.
The building is needed. It should be toned down from the bunker mentality that designed it. In this time of reform we need to continue the push to make the police more a part of the community, less isolated and more welcoming to the public. Most people who do business with the department are not arch villi ans and no one should be treated that way in the ordinary course of business. So, yes, the new space is needed but please make it a community valued asset.
While I am not a “defund the police” advocate, I do wonder why we have had such growth in police staff?
When the current police station was built in 1959 there were 85 police staff for a population of 58,000. Today we have a staff of 211 , 248% growth in staff, for a population of 92,000, 157% growth.
Santa Barbara did a comparison study in 2016 against 10 similar cities; Santa Maria, Oceanside, Ventura Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Huntington Beach, Santa Monica, Carlsbad, Redondo Beach, Sunnyvale, Newport
Beach.
The study compared the staff size against City of SB and the other cities. Compardly Santa Barbara is significantly over staffed. Santa Barbara 11.3 full time staff for 1,000 residents, compared to an average of 6.25 full time staff for 1,000 residents for the 10 cities.
Overall staff SB is 180% of average per 1,000 residents.
For police SB is 117% of the average per 1,000 residents.
For fire staff SB is 120% of average per 1,000 residents, and 25% below the after area to cover.
The condition of our roads is 19% below the average condition of the other cities while we have 20% less road miles to maintain.
The City of Santa Barbara has an efficiency problem that needs to be addressed.
So much going on in this world and we are worrying about this. I’d be more worried about becoming a socialist country. Then this will seem like a minor problem.
Business as usual. Is the Black Lives Matter movement not teaching law enforcement or city councils anything? We need fewer police and the authoritarian tactics that police and all law enforcement exhibit. Therefore we need smaller police stations. Figueroa St. station should be remodeled.
The Quakers (American Friends Service), I and many others advocate for no more incarcerations. Jails of all sorts and the people employed exhibit the worst of human behavior. It has to STOP. Look to Norway for humane treatment of all people who break the law. The SB City Council and the Police Department have such obsolete and inhumane thinking. Let’s change now so the Black Lives Matter movement stands for real justice. This building continues injustice at a massive scale. What a waste of taxpayer money and human potential. Society loses.
9:01 – Not sure getting rid of incarceration is the answer. Norway has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and no where near the amount of violent criminals as the US does. Some of these people NEED to be behind bars, away from society. They pose incredible danger to the public. For the non-violent, victimless criminals, it’s a different story. But, to allow the violent criminals to be out in public is just absurd.
Just three months ago, Seattle’s East Precinct station officers were under attack. Rioters attempted to trap them in the station, while setting fires. This bunker design might serve a defensive purpose in future.
Do you even know what socialism means? Before regurgitating jingoistic propaganda, you should maybe learn something. Social Security? Medicare? Unemployment assistance? What do you think those programs are?
That won’t happen if our local police department actually listens to its citizens and stops racial profiling and egregious spending. How many Bearcats do they need for a small town by the ocean with minimal crime?
A-19103. No doubt you can identify the cases of “racial profiling” to which you refer? What is the “egregious spending?” What has the PD purchased that you believe to be “egregious.” If it’s not a purchase, what money is being spent you consider “egregious?” As to the “Bearcats,” how many does the PD have in their arsenal? Since you believe there is “minimal crime” in SB should police only carry sidearms?