Tents on East Beach

October 7, 2020, 11:57 am 17.6k Views 77 Comments

By Bill K.

We were walking along East Beach- Cabrillo & Caesar Chavez, looks like a tent city of a dozen or so tents on the beach, have never noticed it, thought maybe you would be interested.

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77 Comments

  1. The tent cities are health and safety nightmares.
    Since UCSB and Westmont have lots of dorm space available, why not just move the residents of these tent cities into the dorms. The residents will have clean accommodations, toilets and showers. There are also under utilized healthcare facilities available at these institutions, so the new residents’ health care needs can be met.

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  3. I agree. They’ve been there for weeks, maybe months. It probably should be advertised for SB visitors or even Santa Barbarans wanting beach living without the high costs of beach front motels, with a warning that there’s no restroom at night. Maybe the tent housing should be extend down the length of East Beach: there’s a portable toilet near Calle Vallarta. Nothing to do with Newsom, but since it’s in District 1, maybe it could be called Alejandraville?

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  6. If you move people into the dorms you have the problem of who is going to clean the facility and keep it in repair, and I doubt the usual housekeepers will want to volunteer for that. Plus, it would be hard to evict the people when the students are allowed to return.

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  9. You have kind of missed the point BUMBLEBEE that UCSB doesn’t have kids in the dorms right now because it’s too high a risk to house people in dorms! Do you just want to house the homeless in conditions deemed unsafe for college students?
    Sure it would be a step up from a tent on a beach from a sanitary perspective but would it endanger them and the staff that run student housing.
    In other words a solution that creates a whole other more dangerous problem!
    Not to mention the impossibility of eviction when students are safe to return

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  11. AHCHOOO: This is the classic case of people loving to give away resources that do not belong to them, without a second’s consideration about logistics, etc. “We should just do X!…Why can’t we just do Y!” It’s all just so simple, isn’t it?

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  13. Ask Mayor Murillo why the bums get to camp out on the beach? I bet if you and your kids went down there with a Big-5 Tent, Cooler, sleeping bags and chairs for a weekend beach camp out, the “authorities” would round all you taxpayers up, cite you and send you on your way…. If you’re a bum, you get Carte Blanche treatment. THE LAW SHOULD BE APPLIED TO EVERYONE. (PERIOD)

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  15. This is the country we have created. Lack of government response and lack of people compliance to face down the COVID disease. A nation that encourages and rewards money and those that have it while blaming and shaming the poor. Denial of scientific facts in areas such as global climate change and protection of the environment and the spread of disease. Non-existent or non-accessible health care for a huge part of the population. So we see the darker edges of our society being exposed as more and more fall into despair. In this case, these people are not happy campers frolicking on the beaches or along the freeway right of ways, they are without other resources.

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  16. Yes, the law should apply to everyone. Here in Santa Barbara, there are City Community Development Department employees that are violating zoning codes, procedures, building and safety codes while they are supposed to be doing their job of working for us. George Buell was in charge of these people and he did not rectify these problems. And now he is gone because he did not do a good job himself. Really a sad and corrupt situation. And expensive to the taxpayers. Did you notice we have another pension to pay for probably another 30 years?

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  17. @ RHS- Keep making excuses for those poor down-trodden- The State of California has the HIGHEST poverty rate of ANY State. Most States deal with their bum/homeless issues- In California, which has been under a one – party system for the last 25 yrs. NOTHING is done to solve issues. They just legistlate more liberal ideas that are complete FAILURES to our society at large. The result is seen all around us. Crumbling infrastructure, homeless under EVERY freeway underpass from the San Fernando Valley to Orange County, Venice Beach and surrounding neighborhoods destroyed by vagrants- The City of LA is even telling homeowners to accept these vagrants as “unhoused neighbors” LMAO! Let’s not forget the huge taxes that the TAXPAYING percentage of California’s population is required to pay- the highest taxes in the NATION… Someone has to pay for the increasing % of the State Population getting Section 8 housing, Food Debit Cards, Free College Educations and yes, free Medical care until 26 years of age!

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  18. @ Coastwatch, not true. “Six of the 10 states with the most poverty are in the South. Here are 2018 poverty rates for the 10 poorest states:
    Mississippi – 19.6%
    Louisiana – 19.0%
    New Mexico – 16.6%
    Alabama – 16.0%
    West Virginia – 15.9%
    Arkansas – 15.9%
    Kentucky – 15.7%
    Georgia – 14.8%
    District of Columbia – 14.7%
    Texas – 13.7%
    (source: https://www.thebalance.com/us-poverty-rate-by-state-4585001)

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  20. Here is a little history for you all from a 7th generation Santa Barbara local. Upon her death Child’s left her estate to the homeless community to live where they had their own little town in the most prime spot in Sb. Locals called it hobo village. It was a beautiful sentiment and they had their own area that was for them to be. Then Santa Barbara city took that land by eminent domain to put the SANTA BARBARA ZOO. I love our zoo, but you all should know how it got there.

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  21. I’m more concerned about single people and small families occupying massive multimillion dollar McMansions, some of which are second and third homes that are unoccupied much of the year. The entire system is screwed up. I’m sure that the vast majority of the people sleeping in tents on the streets and beaches were rather be sleeping in real homes with plumbing and utilities. Something radical needs to be done about the obscene inequalities in our system, and it starts with a revamping of the tax code.

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  23. Fact is, a large % of the vagrants are drug -alcohol abusers and opportunists choosing to live the lives on the streets and on the backs of societal norms- They are now a “protected class” thanks to the ACLU. Another significant % are mentally damaged individuals who need to be institutionalized- yeah, I said it. The ACLU was going to sue Reagan 45 years ago as California Governor unless the “institutions” were closed and patients released. The one party that has been in control since, has done nothing but create more liberal policies towards vargant-life…. It’s a disaster, SB isn’t where LA is, YET – but it’s coming.

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  26. The city should come in and give them the boot. Trash their tents while their at it. There’s no camping allowed there. For anyone. Period. It’s very likely they’re using the beach and ocean as their toilet. Should I go on? I hear there’s a rescue mission 2 opening up in Maricopa.
    Oh yeah loosecannon let’s give the homeless guys living there a money pipeline direct from the wealthy – just blank checks and stuff for them. See what happens. We’ve been doing that here locally essentially through our elected officials fow a while now and it’s ballooned into what you see everyday now out in town. We’re getting overrun by panhandlers, vagrants, derelicts, call them whatever you want. These players are not upwardly mobile, i.e. limited by needing a tax change to send more money their way.

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  28. The Census Bureau reported that California still has the highest level of functional poverty of any state, averaging 18.2% of its 40 million residents impoverished during the three preceding years (2016-2018). DC is 0.1% more, but isn’t a state.
    Further, the raw number of Californians in poverty (7+ million) is 3 million more than the next largest state (Texas).
    https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-268.pdf

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  34. This is a local issue- It has to do with the ACLU approving this type of behavior in our society. They (ACLU) will threaten any City/Jurisdiction with a Lawsuit if you remove these meth heads…. Look at Venice Beach and Santa Moncia… it’s all coming here now. Ever heard of the “broken window” theory? If you let one, you open the flood gates.

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  35. Wrong @coast. This is a public health issue. In order to mitigate the highly contagious virus, homeless communities are being left alone where public health can monitor and offer services. Cleaning up these camps will further spread these people throughout the community.

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  39. I have watch this encampment grow over the last month. It is very big with lots of trash and bike parts all along the beach area. There are also two yellow schoolbuses that are living by the rainbow arch, the same yellow schoolbuses that were kicked out of Montecito by an active Nextdoor thread after they lived right next to the Coral Casino for two weeks selling artwork made of bones found on the beach. The newest tent city is popping up right at Milpas and the beach, where all the guys hang out in the palm trees, they’ve just started setting tents up in that area and are all sleeping there too. Perhaps of Santa Barbara residence rallied like Montecito residence they may get some action taken. I feel horrible for the police they have to constantly deal with homeless people. For those that have compassion for the homeless, I completely understand. I help a few individual homeless people, but that doesn’t mean I think it should be visible and taking over our public areas in Beach spaces. If you want to help, go find someone to help. You can’t help people by wishing from your home or putting up a sign, you can go do something. But something Needs to be done on East Beach before it’s already out of control.

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  41. I think at this point our actions as a city/county are actively making the problem worse. At least locally, it appears to be a lifestyle choice for most. In Isla Vista tents were given out, wifi is provided, fresh needles are provided, meals are often times donated, the health clinic is right next door, cell phones are given out and the students are pretty generous with giving money to people asking for change. All this aid makes it a more and more comfortable choice. Why go to the Rescue Mission with all it’s rules?

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  42. I remember the good ‘ol days of SB when we’d “camp on the lawn” at East Beach on some holiday, or when the moon was full and the Grunion were “running.” All us kids (and some parents) running around screaming & hollering as we tried to catch the slippery little suckers with our hands. Once caught, we’d clean them and drop them into a skillet to fry. Unfortunately, the good ‘ol days in SB can now only be read about, never again to be truly experienced as before.

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  43. ALEX: I actually have solution that I’ve mentioned before (see the recent article about the Narcan resuscitation). Many of these people could do with being hospitalized, as they’re suffering from horrible drug and/or mental problems. And please stop with the people losing their homes excuses. That does happen, but the majority of the homeless aren’t people who lost their financial analyst job at J.P. Morgan and then fell behind in the mortgage payments. Few of these people, the young ones with dreadlocks, piercings and tats, have ever been gainfully employed. Also, many who share your thinking have recently cited the current economic crisis due to COVID as being a driving force for homeless, conveniently ignoring the previous years of record low unemployment that we enjoyed while the homeless camps were exponentially expanding. As a libertarian, I don’t relish the idea of stripping people of their freedom, but sometimes you have no choice.

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  44. DOULIE – oh please….. I take my kids out for grunion runs almost every year! Sometimes we build fire and dad has a few beers as we wait, and then we run and watch them come in to spawn. The only difference is we don’t eat them, only because they don’t like fish. The “good ‘ol days” are gone, yeah, that’s how the phenomenon called time works, but you can still go out and do many of the things we used to do, you just have to go do it.

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  45. We condone behavior by the n’er-do-wells that would be a citation for the working citizens. We need equal treatment under the law. No one is allowed to camp on the beach, strew trash about, defecate in public. Those are agreements with the social contract in mind. By giving “special people” the encouragement and opportunity for subsidized failure we engender “learned helplessness” and we wallow in the result.

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  46. I bet most of the homeless would accept the keys to a condo if given them. The few that wouldn’t are probably mentally ill in some way. We have the problems of mental illness and drug addiction, and now a recession with millions of people being forced out of their housing. You can’t enforce your way out these problems, and it would cost a fortune if you tried. Can you cite any examples of where enforcement has been the solution and was cost effective?

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  47. Someone – I forget who – said the poor will always be with us. He succeeded in healing some, and inspired some good samaritans, families and caring communities who are able provide refuge. Agree with those who propose low cost housing solutions off the beach. The legal issues are real, but if a community can offer decent alternatives and be incredibly persistent, Maybe they can be implemented. But remember, The poor——

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  49. In the meantime, maybe the City could provide some port-a-potties down by the beach to avoid the public health issue that exists without access to restroom facilities. There were a bunch down there a few months ago – until they re-opened the restrooms. Yep – they were pretty gross and lots of street people were hanging around nearby, but the portable ones don’t close at night. All aspects of the problem need to be addressed.

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  50. Inequality in our system? I work hard save my money and buy my house and pay my taxes. So if I want a second home that’s my choice. I pay plenty of taxes. We should not have to pay more because we make more. I payed student loans for years. My education allows me to have a good job. I’m not willing to support the beach dwellers.

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  52. Chemical
    It’s a classic case of people wanting to find answers to problems. As a scientist I’d think you would favor looking at every possible option and then sorting for feasibility. We have a significant homeless problem in this country and we are trying to “move it along” to the next town or beach or block, or riverbed. That just doesn’t work and over the next six months it’s going to get much worse due to people losing their homes and not being able to pay their rent.
    And yet no one in leadership is trying to plan for this–and people like can only say “no” without providing options.

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  54. Freaky: Neocons have embraced hypocrisy as a core value, else your commenting peers here might look askance at your wallowing in the public trough for your salary and pension. You may experience fewer of the cognitive dissonance issues that fuel your misanthropy if you can find employment in the private sector. You have a choice.

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  56. Stop talking about it here and go out and do it yourself, tell them to vacate and take all that crap with them. If we drive it home that they are not welcome, they should get the point. Oh yeah, stop giving them hand-outs and services so they seek other places. They live a luxurious life in this city at no fault but our own. We know the mayor is not going to do anything for her constituents, the police obviously have more important things to do. When a wild eyed vagrant comes at you with a knife after telling them to leave, call 911 and see what they do.

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  57. Newsonville, lol.
    This is not a Federal issue.
    This is local & coastal issue. And this has been ongoing since the 80s.
    Just because you can see them now doesn’t mean that they are all newly homeless.
    We have had a large issue with no help from local govt for years.
    Build sanctioned tent city’s on vacant county land away from the tax paying families so we may use the parks and beaches safely. Between the feces, trash, needles, drug users, mentally unstable people it is not safe fir our children to go use the beaches or open parks.
    The state provides very little help and local govt provides no help for the vagrant homeless.
    The City only cares about building living room hangouts in downtown for them to hang out. And the temporary shelters have not increased despite the large number of homeless.
    No movement, our local govt turns the other way and ignores the issue.
    And Newsom wonders why people are leaving CA. Seriously!

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  60. Cruise ship industry now has an inventory of 537,000 empty beds on 314 now empty cruise ships. That should take care of housing for everyone who currently claim their are “homeless” in the US. Cruise ship industry will never start up again. Ships should be well priced for sale right now – scrap metal value only. Courts wuld be satisfied alternative housing was provided , so all unpermited tent camping on public spaces can be eliminated.

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  61. The city could care less, Look at the grass in front of city hall; it’s a freaking homeless haven. We’ve got these dipstick red shirted ambassadors walking State doing dick. I call the PD regularly to roust the bums near my business and bless the officers for doing a great job but their hands are tied by the phucked up policies. I roust them myself. Just last week a woman and her youngster came in my shop cause they were frightened by a profanity laced tirade from one of the bums. I promptly went out and asked him to move along. I received a bad google review when some douche saw me yelling at a half-naked bum to beat it. Why didn’t he just come over and offer the guy a hot bath and meal instead of hiding behind his screen like a wuss. We’ve got to take back our town!

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  63. Democrats want people to not take responsibility for their own lives and rely in big government to do things for them which is a losing proposition.
    Republicans expect people to get off their ass and get a job and not complain about what they do not have and rather be thankful they get to live in a country where there is freedom.
    Both sides agree you need to take care of the unfortunate.
    It is like how insurance works. Everyone pays a little so that they few who get totally screwed are covered. However, if everyone does stupid things and screws themselves, then system fails. Fires in California are expected just like Hurricanes are in the south. If you build a home next to a forest or a riverbank, then odds are you are going to get screwed.
    All comes down to personal responsibility. You want hand outs and trashy cities then vote for the Dems.

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  65. I agree with Loose that this is a major problem. In my neighborhood there are literally tons of homes that no one is ever at. Very strange. I propose an end to property tax on all primary residences (everyone has a right to a home), and a massive increase in property taxes on all secondary, tertiary, etc. homes. Property tax on primary residences is theft, and I am shocked that people would support this. Liberal Europe does not have property tax in the form we do here. You pay when you buy, and sometimes when you sell. It depends on each country. You pay a small nominal sum to a local authority for services like trash. That’s it. There is no ongoing exorbitant tax in most of Europe on your primary home. Someone may pay something like 500 euros. Nothing like here where my family needs to plan in perpetuity to shell over nearly 15k a year to the local government who do what with it exactly? Unbelievable that anyone would want to repeal prop 13 for primary residences.

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  66. Funny you’re all complaining all of a sudden… When I have brought this up several times in the past, citing valid concerns about the homeless starting arson fires and simply stating the fact that they are destroying the quality of life in this area, everybody just attacked me personally

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  67. Angry–remarkable to read your complaints about profanity from the street people when you resort to such so frequently. Really, “ph” is not a clever way to avoid saying fucked. Get our your Trump flag and prepare to march off into expatriate country where you can dominate the peasants.

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  68. Sorry Coast and Roger.
    Roger- I worked at Camarillo State Hospital as a sub-contractor.The ACLU DID have a lot to do with the nonsense of releasing patients to “transitional housing” as I recall it being called at the time and thinking this is crazy,these folks will never make it on the outside.
    That was Jerry Brown’s idea.
    It was a idea that came up during Pres.Carters admin.
    No wonder Jimmy has been working habitat for humanity ever since.
    I’m sure he would have a different opinion of what to do today……
    Coast-Reagan and Bush Sr. were at the helm at the transition,but bleeding heart wealthy liberals are the cause of what we see today.
    The tax $$$$$$$$$$$$ left the system and the people were on the street within a couple years. Fast forward 40 years and here we are still talking about it instead of dealing with it as a alcohol/drug/mental problem.
    Sorry everyone but, they need to be institutionalized,not coddled.

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  69. a) At under-utilized Camp Roberts north of Paso Robles, partition an area off from the base to create a separate area. Drag some of the empty military barracks buildings to that area. Fence it, open it up for use by the homeless. Santa Barbara & Goleta cops then will routinely round up homeless off our parks, beaches & roadsides, and send them by bus or Amtrak to Camp Roberts. State taxes to fund occasional humanitarian doctor visits, legal aid visits, educational training visits to help the homeless people there (i.e., shift some of the funding burden off of local towns and onto the state).
    Or maybe do this at some other military base further inland?
    b) Stop voting to empower all the hard-left wingers.

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  70. Why make reservations six months in advance to camp at the beach at El Cap or Refugio when we can just take our tent to any beach in the city for free.
    Ever go to a city council meeting or now watch a city council virtually? They don’t care about Santa Barbara. During the public comment Mike Jordan most of the time is eating not paying attention and Alejandra Gutierrez is doing something else at her desk. And most of them look bored & look like they are wondering why they are even at that meeting.

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  71. Mental poverty is on the increase thanks to Marijuana laced air, water, who knows what else.
    Dos the council get they are being watched– like picking your nose in your car is okay?
    They are faking looking busy so they can claim –“Oh, I wasn’t listening that carefully. I didn’t hear THAT. And so many people are the regular whiners with nothing else to do by keep the council bored.
    Starts the top as this becomes a new Santa Monica highrise -homeless encampment.

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  73. Mrs Childs let working men live in a camp on her property with very strict rules – no drinking, everyone had to have a job, they had to be self-governing and keep the place clean and respectable. And there was no social safety net at that time that is as generous as the one we have today: EBT cards, SSI, Section 8 housing, visiting nurses and 24/7 social support system and 24/7 hands off by the police. Mrs Childs provided a decent option on her large property for decent people, and expected mutual consideration in return. That has nothing to do with what our city councils have allowed to happen over the past 20 years. Yes, there has always been some degreee of vagrancy, but the volume of vagrancy and the intentionally enabling city policies have finally overwhelmed this community.

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  75. Is it possible to social distance on a cruise ship? What are the maintenance costs on those ships, and how many berths are available for this? It’s really not that hard to figure out why this might be hard to implement.

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  77. And they can do what, exactly? This is a nationwide problem that no one has been able to solve within the constraints of our system. I bet the only solution you can think of is to either put them in jail (expensive) or move them to Ventura (NIMBY). Not very creative.

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