With students and community members lined up all the way down the block, the Associated Students External Vice President for Local Affairs, in collaboration with other community stakeholders, held the “Save Deltopia Town Hall” to a crowd of roughly 400 people in the Isla Vista Theater on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Students were mostly opposed to the ordinance, arguing for the festival’s place in I.V. culture and opposing its proposal without community input. Sherine John / Daily Nexus
Deltopia is an unsanctioned street festival that is held annually on the first weekend of Spring quarter. With the festival seeing a growing need for resources due to the number of attendees, many of whom are visiting from out of town, Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) is proposing a 72-hour festival ordinance on Deltopia weekend, effectively cancelling the event.
The event had catered Chick-fil-A for attendees, the majority of whom were students, with a group of long-term I.V. residents sitting toward the front. Students were mostly opposed to the ordinance, arguing for the festival’s place in I.V. culture and opposing its proposal without community input. Long-term residents who opposed “out-of-towners” negatively affecting the community largely agreed with the ordinance or increased control of the event to prevent a strain on county resources from affecting local taxpayers.
The town hall was moderated by UC Santa Barbara Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Life Suzanne Perkin, and panelists included the Associated Students (A.S.) Executive Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA) E.J. Raad, IVFP Lieutenant Joe Schmidt and Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) Community Programs and Engagement Director Myah Mashhadialireza. No other UCSB administration spoke at the town hall.
The meeting began with IVCSD General Manager Jonathan Abboud sharing a brief history of Deltopia and crime statistics since the first major “Floatopia” in 2008. He cited the 2013 Deltopia as the first with “major harm” to safety, resulting in an enforced festival ordinance in 2014 which led to a riot. Since 2023, Deltopia has seen a rise in attendees, which has resulted in increased police presence and a higher number of arrests and citations.
Afterward, the panelists introduced themselves. Raad clarified that A.S. does not endorse the proposed ordinance, as they don’t believe it will be an “effective solution.” He clarified that, while IVFP presented the ordinance for A.S. to review, the foot patrol made it “very clear” they would bring it to the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors regardless of disapproval from the association.
“[The ordinance] was made in the I.V. Foot Patrol’s office and then presented to us to look at, but they made it very clear they would be going to have it voted on regardless, so community input was not taken into consideration,” Raad said.
Raad also said he believes the ordinance will encourage students to hold Deltopia at another time, which he considers “even less safe” since it will give medical resources less time to prepare. Schmidt clarified IVFP can adopt an urgency ordinance in the event the ordinance is passed and Deltopia is moved to a different date.
“That also creates a lot of issues because there isn’t a clearly defined probable cause of when they think Deltopia is happening,” Raad said. “My understanding is they’ll have a private investigator who collects evidence on that, but that’s pretty vague and so they can also move that ordinance unlimited times.”
Raad concluded his introduction by emphasizing that the county should stop trying to “control” I.V. and instead work with the community, garnering cheers from the crowd.
Raad clarified that A.S. does not endorse the proposed ordinance as they don’t believe it will be an “effective solution.” Sherine John / Daily Nexus
Schmidt then introduced himself, reminding the audience he has worked for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for 21 years and graduated from UCSB in 2001. Since his time here, Schmidt says he’s seen numerous harmful impacts to I.V. and its neighboring communities because of Deltopia due to its strain on law enforcement and medical resources, which comes at an “exponential cost” to taxpayers.
According to Schmidt, 84 people were arrested last year, as well as 57 patients treated at a medical tent and 25 patients transported to a hospital. Schmidt clarified that IVFP is not trying to “kill Deltopia” but rather rebrand it into a sanctioned and “less harmful” event.
“What we’re trying to do is not cancel this event; we want to keep the celebratory spirit up, but we need to do better,” Schmidt said. “We need to do better by having a permanent event that is attractive to the student community, that can reduce the out of town crowds from all the harm that’s occurred the last 16 years.”
Mashhadialireza then introduced herself on behalf of IVCSD. She emphasized IVCSD’s goal of prioritizing harm reduction and increasing access to local safety resources while providing events such as its Spring Festival. This year, IVCSD is suggesting an alternative event for students in collaboration with local businesses, as well as a popular performing artist.
Following introductions, the town hall went into public comment. First to speak was A.S. President and fourth-year global studies, Spanish and communication triple major Le Anh Metzger, who considered the ordinance being proposed without community involvement “abhorrent.” While she agreed Deltopia has “historically been a dangerous event,” she believes the ordinance will cause “widespread civil unrest.”
“Look around, this is just a small fraction of the number of students who care deeply about Deltopia, our traditions as a community and our freedoms as human beings. We’ve seen how ordinances without community involvement can backfire, like the 2014 Deltopia riots, which occurred due to confusion about a proposed noise ordinance,” Metzger said.
Next, the owner of the newly opened Mesa Pizza, Virandra Singh, said that the ordinance will not solve the strain on local resources. Singh suggested a controlled and sanctioned event run by local governance as a solution, as he believes “pushing for abstinence from partying isn’t realistic.”
“By turning Deltopia into a legitimate, sanctioned event, you can set expectations, reduce incidents and build a strong relationship between students and law enforcement, creating a safer, more positive community experience for everyone,” Singh said.
Henry Sarria, who’s lived in I.V. since 1987 and attended the first-ever Deltopia, said the event was initially “great” due to the lack of out-of-towners. He believes the promotion of Deltopia has led to non-locals “damaging the community.”
“Have you ever had to hold a crying young woman that was sexually assaulted? Have you ever had to do that? I did. Have you ever had to fight off an attacker from a young woman who was in the process of being sexually assaulted? I had to do that. It was an out-of-towner in both cases. I’m sorry, but I can’t support out-of-towners coming in and ruining our community,” Sarria said.
Henry Sarria believes the promotion of Deltopia has led to non-locals “damaging the community.” Jaesa Verdaguer / Daily Nexus
Next, an I.V. resident spoke on her experience with Deltopia in the past three years. She said college students need to be more aware of the fact that I.V. is not exclusive to them, especially considering the children who live here.
“My husband and I will live in Isla Vista through at least this decade. We would like to put down roots, buy a home and start a family, but we’re apprehensive because, despite the beautiful beaches, the large parks and excellent schools, Isla Vista is not a place I feel comfortable bringing a child into,” she said. “I want to raise my child in a community that values education and reputation, not one that prioritizes a rager over health and safety.”
Fourth-year biology major and president of UCSB Panhellenic, Lexi Kinne, spoke on her concerns regarding the community outreach prior to the ordinance. She said while Panhellenic had been “part of this conversation” to collaborate on next steps for the ordinance, IVFP’s outreach was not “mirrored” to other campus communities.
Ethan Bertrand, an 11-year resident who represents I.V. on the Goleta Union School District Board of Education, said he believes Deltopia “ruins the relationship” between the community and law enforcement due to its increased police presence. He also believes landlords are a part of the problem since they allow tenants to host “out of control parties” on their properties.
Third-year UCSB student Sarah spoke against Schmidt’s main arguments for the ordinance, specifically that Deltopia comes at a cost to taxpayers. She said that UCSB students are the “backbone” of the county’s economy since many students work jobs and bring service to businesses.
“We are what drives this economy, and just reducing [or] canceling Deltopia to taxpayers makes it seem like our contributions to this economy are not important. Therefore, I believe that we need to be represented with our tax dollars,” she said.
Another resident who has lived in I.V. since 1998 but did not identify herself spoke on the “enormous property taxes” that come with owning a house in the area. She urged students to listen to long-term residents as “eventually, many of [them] will leave” and that their opinions need to be balanced with other members of the community.
“Just think about your parents, wherever it is that they live, or your grandparents, wherever they live, and how what you do impacts our community,” she said.
Third-year applied math and statistics and data science double major Lang Liu spoke on his experience as a music producer who actively promotes and “enables” parties in I.V. He said he chose to attend UCSB because of its “one of a kind” party culture and music scene, and he questioned how he and others like him can work with the community and law enforcement when planning parties.
In response, Mashhadialireza instructed those hosting events in I.V. to be mindful of the number of people in a space and whether there are enough bathrooms or water stations to accommodate them. She also emphasized the importance of adequate safety measures, such as easily recognizable exits.
Following the town hall, Raad said he felt the event went “amazing,” and said they ran out of all catered food, which was enough for “well over 300 people.” Raad said he still remains unconvinced as far as the ordinance’s effectiveness, and while he understands the concerns from longtime residents, he does not believe the ordinance will lead to a “safer, more well-organized Deltopia.”
The SB Board of Supervisors will vote on the proposed ordinance during its Jan. 13 meeting.
Hi all, this is Henry Sarria, just wanted to point out a little misquote, what I actually said was I attended the 1st FLOATOPIA, no deltopia.