Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara City Council decided to remove two fountains on State Street due to dilapidation and misuse.
The vote was unanimous on Tuesday with Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon absent.
Two blue-tiled and star-shaped fountains flank either side of Hotel Santa Barbara in the 500 block of State Street. They were installed in 2007 and included flowing water, however, due to the drought the water was turned off in 2014 and replaced with succulents and other drought-tolerant plants.
Labeled as an “attractive nuisance,” the proposal to remove the fountains was originally submitted to the Santa Barbara City Historic Landmarks Commission in December who rejected the request. That decision was appealed to the City Council who ultimately approved the removal.
Supporters of the removal claim transients use the fountains as bathrooms and storage while others damage it with skateboards, on top of them being dry for many years. Those against the removal of the fountains claim they are pieces of local art making Santa Barbara unique and shouldn’t be removed for other people’s misuse.
The removal of the two fountains is expected to take place in April.
Sad. The disrespect that some drug addicts/homeless have for our town is just sad.
I wonder if they can be relocated?
Good. Didn’t work. One can design for better pedestrian conduct than we we got from our former benches and fountains -which proved to be nothing more attractive nuisances. Who couldn’t see that one coming It takes realistic urban designers; not idealistic unicorns to make city streetscapes work for both businesses and the shopping public.
I agree with the first comment.
The removal doesn’t really bother me, but does the City think that the homeless are going to stop urinating and defecating on State St just because these are removed? It’s pathetic that this is the __only__ thing that has been done to try to deal with the problem…Chief Lori Luhnow, please. This being marketed as a step toward a solution (it’s not) is a HUGE red flag that the police are not doing enough re:homeless on State Street. Enough with the hands-off policing, please take action.
Leave the fountains – remove the gang bangers and the drunk and aggressive homeless.
So sad…we lose all of our charm…I guess the derelicts rule…
Sorry to see the fountains go it’s a Santa Barbara tradition to see all the tiles around the town. Is there anyway if they remove the fountains can someone use the old tile for a art project? Bummer to see them go!
This is why we can’t have nice things.
SPRIGOFSAGE: I read somewhere that due to the crumbling condition of the fountains, they can’t be moved. It’s really too bad, because they were originally very attractive.
I do not believe they should be removed. I think they are attractive and add to the charm of State St. What doesn’t add to the charm are the homeless. I see Caltrans removing all the landscaping from the 101. Why? To clear out the homeless who like to camp under bushes. Please SB. Get this under control. Why should we remove benches and fountains and our greenery because of the homeless? It would be a better investment to deal with the homeless issue. Take them one by one and figure out what to do with them, be that drug intervention, contact with family, whatever. I want my city back. I want my grandkids to live safely. I want to go to bed at night and know my house won’t be burnt down because of a homeless warming fire.
Awesome. One of the best comments I’ve seen here on Edhat in months. You said it all and said it well. Thank you.
Remember when there were picnic tables and benches at Chase Palm Park? Those were removed over a decade ago because of the homeless. The lot across from Five Points shopping center (at the 101 offramp) used to be lovely, lush with flowering shrubbery. Same with many other101 Freeway offramp areas——plants and even trees obliterated. It’s appalling that we, the taxpayers, are losing not only conveniences but the beauty of our City because, seemingly, the only solution enacted is removal of benches and removal of green growth. What to do?
I agree with you too 5:54pm…
We start by stop calling them “homeless”. They are service-resistent addicts. We owe them nothing.
ACLU and courts claim we must individually house each one of the vagrants, which also includes hiring a team of 5 more government workers to oversee each of their 24 hour management demands. Thank the ACLU for letting this very selfish group of people destroy vast parts of this town and destroy both tourism, property and retail sales tax revenues that are the sole support of our very top-heavy city government.
I am a former downtown State street business owner. Happily retired from retail (I think I got out just at the right time) However I do miss some things about my business, I will never miss having to hose down the front and side entrances of my building because of urine and feces.
Too bad we have to remove a friggin planter/fountain because the city refuses to get aggressive with the obvious homeless problem. What else are we willing to give up so they can roam free, stay drunk and high, beg, steal, harass passerby’s and piss and poop all over the place? At what point do we say enough?
I agree … I used to like downtown now I can’t stand to go down town to park and get harassed every block by aggressive transients that urinate in public without a care … but yet the po po buggin the common folk with some rims and some tints – the city looove to look the other way to the homeless problem
More like, are we ever going to hear a peep from Murrilo ever? On any topic? And no, ribbon cutting ceremonies don’t count.
Totally. You’re right. Just a random visit/sampling.
Mayor Murillo is heavily involved with the US Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Task Group. She also never misses a chance to be part of the local Protest Machine. Front and center she is on every progressive issue worthy of a photo op at DLG Plaza or on State St. And, she is on our dime….stupid us.
Instead of just two derelict fountains, how about a nice tile-lined channel down one side of State Street with grills for traffic to pass over. Flowing water could carry noxious substances downhill. Collect it at the freeway and pump it over to the sewer plant for treatment and disposal in the ocean.
Every since Reagan put the mentally ill out on the streets and the conservatives have cut funding for mental health programs the homeless population has skyrocketed. I never seem to see enough police presence downtown. We are an affluent community that can’t take care of our own policing needs. The homeless problem is so bad downtown – aggressive panhandlers, groups of young squatter kids, drunk, drugged, or needing mental health treatment.
grocery and pet stores? ive lived downtown for close to 2 decades and don’t recall any grocery or pet stores downtown. which city are you referring to? goleta or SB? this thread is about state street and there have never been stores like this. Unless you mean World Market? which is still there?
The problem also lay with the building owners, raising rents higher and higher. They evict, shutter the building and use it as a tax right off…which invites homeless, and people walking their dogs downtown to use it as their pets toilet.
Everyone on city council wanted to prove they “did something” about the vagrancy mess. So they all voted to take out the fountains. See, they did something.
ZEROHAWK: Don’t you remember The Pet House? It was a fixture in the 700 block of State Street for decades. The Italian-Greek Market (AKA Johnny’s) was similarly a landmark at State & Ortega Streets. Also, it’s “tax write-off,” not “right off.”
How about replacing the fountains with the Chromatic Gate? Problem solved. Thank you very much.
Your a Newbe you don’t remember The Pet House or The deli, plus another time you said you lived right around the corner from the 1200 Block of State now it’s the 500 Block…The pet house, and the deli were both fixtures on State street for years obviously before your time lol..Hehehehe…
ZEROHAWK you have ZERO clue about tax accounting and how commercial real estate operates.
Better be careful what you say, FACTOTUM, or you will get deleted like anyone who disapproves of our Mayor, and other elected officials and politicians, for that matter.
Replace the fountains with a couple of statues of homeless guys.
Yea and 5.5 more years of the old grump. 🙁
That’s a great Idea…
Why isn’t the City maintaining them properly, like all the other fountains? If the tile is damaged, fix it. City leaders must lead! Clean up downtown and come up with some useful solutions soon, not just react to complainers and ask for everyone’ else’s ideas.
Reagan had no chioice- The ACLU demanded rights for the institutionalized … So next time someone cries about Reagan, please educate them on the ENTIRE fact.
Another BIG City blunder-Who’s paying for this EXPENSIVE BIG MESS? OH YA THE TAXPAYERS LIKE USUAL-SAME WITH THE DE LA GUERRA FOUNTAIN AND THE TILE BENCH SCULPTURE IN FRONT OF THE HABIT
I’d like to hear from our mayor on this issue. I do not recall anything from Murillo on the issue of homeless and derelicts that plague our city. I watch KEYT, I read all the local news outlets. She is all but absent from the public unless its a ribbon cutting or some other token appearance with the rest of her progressive lady friends who just happen to be protesting some national or international policy they disagree with. Seriously, where the heck is the leadership in this city on the homeless issue? We need real leadership, someone who is capable of enacting change.
This feels like the unstoppable movement to create a society that caters to the lowest common denominator.
Progressive California . lol
I have to wonder how seven individuals who are the city council unanimously made a decision to remove the fountains when clearly the majority here have a very different opinion and approach. There is something wrong here.
great – now, where am I supposed to go to the bathroom?
Yes. Instead of State Street it would be Bidet Street…
I was in SB a couple weeks ago and my friend and I scrutinized state street, trying to spot the horrors that await pedestrians. We only noted a couple grocery carts covered in tarps, and empty storefronts. No gypsies tramps or thieves. It was raining though. Hmmm maybe some motion-activated sprinklers should be installed LOL
She’s too busy out leading an anti-Republican and Trump march.
well….here we go again. please show some proof that the two fountains are toilets and skate ramps and storage for homeless people. because i live around the corner from these and am down there about 5 times a week on the average. there is none of this going on. the drunks and homeless and vagrants are on lower state, past this, where everything is shuttered. The city likes to blow our tax dollars on things, then they don’t like to pay for maintenance and upkeep. also hosing down the side walks is normal for cities and helps keep the area clean. Ventura does this in the mornings and even has crews walking around during the day time, picking up trash, emptying cans, picking up gum and dog crap. That brings up another issue. I see more over entitled dog owners letting their animals pee and poo all over state street. THIS we see daily, not the bums doing it, it’s the dog owners using our sidewalks and downtown as a toilet….so maybe start siting them and not the crazy homeless dude digging for cans…
Well CoastWatch and SantaBarbaraObservor, there goes the First Amendment/Free Speech argument in support of not deleting any reader comments in any form or suggestions. Guess we might as well be reading the Los Angeles Times; I suspect EdHat may be supported by them. 🙂
Comments are deleted because they violate our policies. If you have specific questions and would like to discuss this further, email us at ed@edhat.com instead of commenting.
What a ridiculous “unanimous” decision by the council. How can they actually believe this will reduce or affect the homeless problem? Taxpayers and business owners payed for them to be built. Now taxpayers and businesses will pay for removing them, kind of like our nuclear power plants. The fountains should stay and maybe the council should go instead.
“Californians Against California” I group I embrace.
Mayor Murillo said she was going to approach the homeless problem with compassion. She is a compassionate mayor who is tackling the problem head on. She also knows how to attract business to downtown due to her incredible business background. Two weeks ago I counted no less than 23 empty storefronts (between Haley and Sola)…without Mayor Murrillo, that number would be much higher.
Thanks for the laugh 11:08!
Joking aside, could someone please enlighten us as to what actionable steps Murillo has taken to address this since she’s taken office?
Murillo only answers to the city employee unions, who fund her campaigns. Who also make sure she has more union friends sitting on council with her -Freidman and Gonzales for sure. TheDCC/unions are already lined up to oppose the new city council Distrct 6 appointee, since she did not get the local Democrat Central Committee/union nod. This self-interest group wants a solid four votes on council; even better if they can get a super-majority number five who are union friendly and union dependent members..
Sure, here you go:_____________________________________.
They add to the charm of our city and should stay. Perhaps removing the greenery and covering those spots with tile will alleviate the current issues of them being used for urinals, etc.
bring back the real concrete sidewalks while they’re at it. the brick is stupid.
peeing…
Wearing a Roger Tee shirt. lol
Bull Manure ACLU had nothing to do with Reagan’s decision to dump the mentally ill out of institutions…It all started like before he was President he did the same thing as Gov. He did it all by his lonesome..
The answer is REALLY simple: just replace the fountains with pissoirs, like they have in Paris. That way, not only do the bums and tourists have a place to pee, but pissoirs would add an air of European elegance to lower State Street. I guarantee you, the tourists would love it! https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/testing-pariss-new-public-pissoir-the-uritrottoir-wwgj9g8tv
Reagan’s term was 45 years ago. Its time for the blame to stop. We’ve had 40+ years to change that fateful decision, and yet we have not… We simply do not care about caring for other people. There is simply no other way to see it. We choose to spend billions on stupid, unnecessary things while people are left to fall by the wayside. Stop pretending its all due to some budgetary decision by a Governor that you may not have liked when its actually you, and your family and friends who have chosen to elect the people who continue to tax you more and spend less and less on the core issues that impact society greatest. Its a matter of priorities. Our leaders simply do not care enough to take from their masters/ benefactors and give to the needy. And the worst part? Most of these so-called ‘leaders’ have the audacity to call themselves good Christians… pffff
Nostra here…
As I stated yesterday..
After years of attempting to have council review my proposal (& NOT the readers of this forum who have zero authority), without success..I tossed it into a State st trash, which I felt would be a poetic finale.
The answer to your problem lies on the very street concerned..
until the trash gets emptied.
The hotel right there has bathrooms…
No, no, no REX… giving those without a pot to piss in a pot to piss in is just encouraging the lifestyle. Just think of all the children who will be tempted.
San Francisco spends $32,000 per homeless person and the problem is worse than ever. 30 % are drug addicted- i know wealthy people who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on therapy for their addicted children with no improvement. What is the likelihood that government programs can improve those already addicted? 60% are mentally ill. If they were offered treatment most would probably not take their meds. Even if they took them they won’t be functioning members of society.
I believe that the answer is to make it so uncomfortable for these transients that they go somewhere else. New Orleans cleaned up the French Quarter. Guiliani cleaned up New York. The police must be allowed to do their job and put a stop to this antisocial behavior.
My solution does not treat mental illness or addiction, if that’s even possible. It cleans up Santa Barbara.
That’ll make the pigeons happy.