[UPDATE 10/17/25 1:38 p.m.]: The article has been updated to specify that Nov. 12 is the exact date of the Deltopia town hall with IVFP and IVCSD representatives.
Isla Vista Foot Patrol plans to propose a 72-hour festival ordinance on Deltopia weekend, effectively canceling Isla Vista’s annual unsanctioned street festival. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will vote on the proposed changes during a January meeting.
The current ordinance prohibits amplified music between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. during Deltopia weekend. Nathan Villaseñor / Daily Nexus
First held in 2008 but popularized in 2009 as Floatopia, Deltopia occurs during the first weekend of spring quarter. Over the years, the festival has seen a growing number of attendees, with many coming from out of town. In response, law enforcement, medical services and local alternatives have increased alongside the number of festivalgoers.
The current ordinance prohibits amplified music between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. during Deltopia weekend. The proposed expansion would extend from 12 a.m. on April 3 to 12 a.m. on April 6.
According to Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) Lieutenant Joe Schmidt, the expanded ordinance is being proposed as a way of “safeguarding the Isla Vista, [UC Santa Barbara], and our neighboring communities from the harmful impact of large, out-of-town crowds.” Schmidt named several incidents, such as the death of two college students, one balcony collapse, the 2014 Deltopia riot and increased reports of violence, sexual assault and vandalism as examples of Deltopia’s effect on the local community. Schmidt also said Deltopia strains local medical services due to drug and alcohol overdoses.
“The strain on medical resources needed to safely manage Deltopia reduces emergency medical coverage for other parts of the County,” Schmidt, a UC Santa Barbara alum, told the Nexus in a written statement. “If a patient in Goleta or Santa Barbara needs emergency medical attention during Deltopia, there are delays in getting them help because so many resources are pulled into Isla Vista.”
Seeing as the festival is unsanctioned, taxes fund several Deltopia-related costs such as overtime pay for IVFP and fire department services. Schmidt said that between 2023 and 2025, it cost $465,607 to pay for overtime, not including the additional medical professionals needed during the festival.
During the 2025 Deltopia, IVFP tripled its police presence. A record number of citations were issued, amounting to 485, alongside 130 medical calls and 84 arrests, which included a person in possession of a loaded firearm.
The 2025 Deltopia saw an estimated 25,000 people crowding the streets of Isla Vista. Shiuan Cheng / Daily Nexus
External Vice President of Local Affairs (EVPLA) and third-year political science major E.J. Raad acts as the liaison between UCSB students and county organizations, including IVFP. Earlier this summer, IVFP made Raad aware of the proposed noise ordinance, which he had immediate concerns over.
Raad said he takes issue with this proposed noise ordinance not just because students “want to party,” but because he believes students have no say in greater policing efforts in their community. He said that there is “absolutely that lack of communication” between the police and students.
“It’s about our rights to have some form of self-representation where we live. Instituting a whole new set of policing standards on the biggest event of the year, there should be input from us,” Raad said.
Over half of I.V. is populated by UCSB students, and while Raad believes that policing in and around the campus should have an education-first model of enforcement, he says that IVFP lacks this philosophy.
“When you’re in a higher education environment, like a university, you should have an education-first policing philosophy. They don’t display that at all. They very much have a punitive policing philosophy,” Raad said.
Raad says he understands the need for police in I.V. for public safety, but takes issue with IVFP making overarching decisions without consulting students. He points to the Police Accountability Board as an example of the UC Police Department trying to improve communication with students, and would like to see a similar program set up with IVFP.
On November 12, Raad and his office will host a town hall with IVFP and IVCSD representatives, community stakeholders and students to voice concerns and answer questions regarding the proposed noise ordinance.
Raad believes that students have the “ability to organize and get together and stop” the proposed noise ordinance and says the most efficient action students can take is to show up at the Santa Barbara County (SBC) Board of Supervisors’ January 2026 hearing and voice their concerns.
“We do have political leverage to make it known we don’t want this thing, and if you do pass this thing, you’re going to lose support from a big part of your constituency,” Raad said.
Raad also alleged that IVFP rejected further medical support for this past Deltopia. Schmidt clarified that it is not within IVFP’s jurisdiction and was a decision made by the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA).
In a statement emailed to the Nexus, EMSA clarified that a private for-profit company requested to provide medical services at an event on Del Playa Drive “due to safety concerns.” However, after a discussion with SBC Fire Department and SBC Sheriff’s Office (SBSO), EMSA felt the event “could [not] safely provide care in the proposed location.” EMSA said that “at no time did any medical emergency go without a safe and timely response.”
“The Santa Barbara County Fire Department, supported by the University of Santa Barbara Police Department, deployed foot teams made up of paramedics, EMTs and police officers who were mobile and able to safely and quickly provide emergency care to attendees,” the statement read. “Additionally, the EMS Agency … provided both emergency transport by ambulance as well a 32 bed field treatment site where heavily intoxicated party-goers could receive emergency medical care provided by Emergency Room physicians as well as Registered Nurses, paramedics and EMTs.”
Another instance of stricter enforcement of the festival ordinance being utilized was in 2014. Before Deltopia 2014, an IVFP sergeant posted on the Deltopia Facebook page that no music for a crowd of 500 or more would be allowed and that violators would be arrested. According to Nexus coverage at the time, the announcement came a few days before Deltopia. In addition, the SBSO installed surveillance cameras along Del Playa Drive and near Freebirds ahead of the festival.
The increased police presence surprised many locals and visitors, resulting in a clash between the police and attendees. An officer was attacked by an unknown partygoer, resulting in law enforcement declaring the crowd an “unlawful assembly.” According to Schmidt, who was an IVFP officer at the time, sheriff’s deputies and officers were “assaulted by rioters” for several hours and “extensive property damage also occured.”
The increased police presence surprised many locals and visitors, resulting in a clash between the police and attendees. Nexus file photo
Schmidt also said the active shooting incident that occurred on May 23, 2014, where six UCSB students were murdered, was originally planned for the 2014 Deltopia. The shooter decided against it due to the increased presence of cops.
“Had the active shooter occurred in the middle of the Deltopia riot, the casualties would have been unfathomable,” Schmidt said.
If the ordinance is passed and Deltopia is moved to a different date, Schmidt specified that SBSO will “consider all options,” including the adoption of an urgency ordinance. This would mean that if IVFP received word that the festival is planned for another day, they can propose that the ordinance be put into effect for that weekend.
According to Schmidt, IVFP is working with community partners such as the IVCSD and the Associated Students Program Board to create an “alternative event that’s safe and sanctioned,” likely similar to IVCSD’s existing Spring Festival.
“We are not just focused on passing the ordinance, we are determined to work with the community to keep it local and prevent past tragedies from occurring in the future,” Schmidt said. “We do not need another tragedy to learn that change is needed. We’re trying to be proactive and effect change before the next tragedy occurs.”
is there a place where we can read the official posting by IVFP? I’ve been searching for a source but been unsuccessful.