The Isla Vista Community Services District Board of Directors is recommending a parking pilot program which would enforce stricter rules for parking in Isla Vista. The funding for this potential program would use $3.7 million in lawsuit settlement funds and is the top priority in a list of recommendations from the Board of Directors to Santa Barbara County for improvements to I.V.
The funding for this potential program would use $3.7 million in lawsuit funds and is the top priority in a list of recommendations to Santa Barbara County for improvements to I.V. Nexus file photo
In 2022, Santa Barbara County (SBC) sued the Regents of the University of California for failing to comply with a 2010 obligation to build more housing to match the growing student population. The Regents and SBC settled the suit in March, and subsequently, the Regents must pay the county $3.7 million for improvements to Isla Vista, as well as building new student and staff housing and imposing a 25,000-person limit to the student population.
The university and the county must agree on a finalized project list, but a deadline for this decision has yet to be established.
The Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) has recommended a parking pilot program to be added to the project list. The program would enforce existing and standard parking regulations, including issuing citations to cars parked in the same public spot for more than 72 hours, cars blocking sidewalks and driveways, cars parked on red curbs, and cars over-parked on timed curbs.
In a letter to the SBC, the IVCSD Board of Directors requested that the county match their contribution to the project of at least $300,000.
According to the proposal, the primary goal of the parking program is compliance, starting with “a warning notice campaign to educate drivers” before implementation.
According to IVCSD general manager Jonathan Abboud, “public safety issues take first priority, and the project is rooted in identifiable problems and community feedback.”
IVCSD claims a parking program is necessary to address over-parking in Isla Vista, as curbs had an average 102% occupancy over the 2024 Winter Quarter. Abboud said parked cars in Isla Vista are blocking sidewalks, bike lanes, curb ramps, red curbs, bus stops and more. As of now, street parking is “free and unenforced” and “additional growth of UCSB students and the campus population will lead to more of this behavior.”
Also compounding these issues is California’s incoming “Daylighting Ordinance,” which will ban parking within 20 feet of an intersection and will cause I.V. to lose about 150 parking spots effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Abboud stated that if the parking program was established, I.V. residents should expect increased access to parking and overall “quality of life.” The program is intended to be adaptable over time, and is best understood as a framework, rather than a strict set of rules, he said.
Abboud cited the ongoing Isla Vista Parking Study to support IVCSD’s recommendations. SBC, UC Santa Barbara and IVCSD funded the year-long study, which found that I.V. residents struggle to find available parking within 1-2 blocks of their residency and often feel unsafe when they park far away and have to walk. The study also observed that more frequent, direct and expansive bus services are likely to reduce car ownership.
According to the study, 93% of “students, families, business owners, long term residents, and coastal users” supported an IVCSD compliance program, and 99% of these participants also agreed with the statement that IVCSD could work with UCSB to discourage student residents from bringing cars.
The I.V. Parking Action Plan is a means to a larger goal of addressing housing inequities.
“Parking must be addressed in order for needed housing production to occur in Isla Vista as envisioned by the Isla Vista Master Plan,” Abboud said.
The Isla Vista Master Plan was a 2016 initiative to limit parking, overcrowding, substandard housing, and deteriorating infrastructure in Isla Vista to “better suit the needs and aspirations of its residents.” It was considered by IVCSD, but denied by California’s Coastal Commission because of concerns about over-parking and coastal access.
The next steps for the parking program include meetings with UCSB leadership, the California Coastal Commission and county representatives. Public review of the draft I.V. Parking Action Plan will begin in September, and the plan is set to be finalized in October.
