A.S. EVPLA Noah Luken summer update

This summer, Associated Students 2026-27 External Vice President for Local Affairs Noah Luken was appointed to the Isla Vista Community Services District and developed a survey to analyze living conditions in Isla Vista, while preparing for the academic year.

The External Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA), a position unique to UC Santa Barbara, serves as a liaison between the Associated Students (A.S.), the Santa Barbara County (SBC) Board of Supervisors and other local governing bodies, such as the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD). The EVPLA also represents the student body on local issues such as housing and safety resources.

In August, Luken, a fourth-year economics and philosophy double major, was appointed to the IVCSD Board of Directors, which he will serve on until December 2028. While he has yet to attend a board meeting, Luken said he has been oriented to IVCSD and spoken with other board members, creating channels for greater “continuity” between IVCSD and A.S.

“It’s already increased my access to just the Board of Directors and all of their expertise in the community,” Luken said. “It’s informed a lot of my thinking about how we can approach issues, and [it’s] already began to highlight for me how … this kind of coordination between IVCSD and A.S. is going to just give us so much more room to breathe in terms of our approach to solving issues in I.V.”

During his campaign, Luken stated one of his main goals is the pursuit of I.V. cityhood. Currently, IVCSD is working on a financial feasibility study of I.V. cityhood and is waiting on data from SBC, according to Luken.

In regards to reducing police presence in I.V., Luken said that it has “in-part resolved itself” since the I.V. police headquarters have moved farther away. I.V. police has begun operating out of the Goleta Valley Bureau, rather than the Isla Vista Foot Patrol station. His office has also continued to work with the University of California in Isla Vista, a non-police affiliated student organization, securing permits for weekend safety stations from the Isla Vista Recreation & Park District and are discussing possibly adding another station. 

As an outspoken critic of the 72-hour Deltopia noise ordinance, Luken said he and IVCSD have been looking into repealing the ordinance and trying to understand how it will be implemented in 2027 given the changes in I.V. policing. 

“Ideally, it’s just bringing the decision making back into the community’s hands, which would be to get rid of the noise ordinance,” Luken said. “Should that not be the case, [then] working to ensure that police presence is minimized and then that there is alternate programming that is fun.” 

One of the main things Luken’s office has been working on this summer is creating a survey of living conditions in I.V. He said that it is designed to be statistically significant and that they are currently finalizing questions.

The survey will be “comprehensive,” asking questions about rent and the number of tenants to a room, as well as give those surveyed the option to allow for follow-up mold and water tests.

“Hopefully by the end of fall, or as soon as possible, we can then start using those results, comparing what we find to national baselines, to state baselines, to other communities [and] start to draw a picture of what living conditions really look like in I.V. rather than just the anecdotal stories that we all hear,” Luken said.

Luken also highlighted the A.S. Rate My Landlord website for I.V. renters, created by the former EVPLA’s office, and there are currently discussions to expand it to better direct renters to available resources. 

Another one of Luken’s goals is to make A.S. an enterprise with revenue sources that may one day allow for the elimination of student fees. This summer, he said he has discussed the logistics of enterprising within his office and with A.S. staff.

Additionally, Luken mentioned that he and other A.S. executives have ensured that the library will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m., and that students will have access to two 24-hour study rooms in the Humanities & Social Sciences Building room 1203 and Phelps Hall room 1521.

A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Oct. 1 print edition of the Daily Nexus.