January Public Policy Committee Update – Bailard and Solomon Hills Projects

The Chamber’s Public Policy Committee ended 2022 by setting high-level topics of focus for the Chamber going into 2023. The top 3 issues were housing, childcare, and energy. The committee began 2023 with several discussions related to the top issue, housing. On February 22 the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission will hold a hearing regarding…

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Goleta Economic Development Strategic Plan Situation Assessment

The City of Goleta and consultant Coraggio moved into the next phase of the Economic Development Strategic Planning. On December 20 the Situation Assessment, based on community feedback, was presented to Council. The assessment, made up of 10 themes compiled by Coraggio, highlighted what residents and economic development stakeholders wanted to see reflected in the…

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Santa Barbara County Industry Sector Roundtables

On February 6 the Chamber completed Round 2 of a series of virtually hosted industry specific roundtables. The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber has partnered with the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce to gather industry specific feedback from businesses across the county, regarding business recovery related to COVID-19, the workforce shortage, and any other…

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State of the County 

The Chamber hosted the 2022 State of the County in Santa Barbara on November 30, featuring presentations from Third District County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato, and UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project Director Peter Rupert.  Supervisor Hartmann gave an overview of the county’s priority items and actions related to…

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Goleta 2023-31 Housing Element

On January 17 the Goleta City Council adopted the revised 2023-2031 Housing Element, after the CA Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sent the initial version back with comments that the document needed to reflect more significant administrative efforts by the City to encourage and facilitate housing development. The City’s quick turnaround to produce…

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First Meeting of the Santa Barbara Cruise Ship Subcommittee 

On December 1, the first meeting of the Santa Barbara Harbor Commission’s subcommittee on cruise ships was held. The Cruise Ship Subcommittee received a presentation from Waterfront staff outlining the economics of the cruise ship program, community concerns, regulatory framework regarding cruise ships, and existing mitigation practices. The Subcommittee also received a presentation from the…

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Applications now open for Carpinterian of the Year and Junior Carpinterian of the Year

The Chamber is very excited to celebrate the 64th Annual Carpinteria Community Awards Gala on April 1 at Rincon Beach Club. This special event brings together the community to honor those who have gone above and beyond to give back to Carpinteria, support our youth, and recognize our area’s non-profits.  This year, a Special Recognition…

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Annual Membership & Regional Business Awards

Many local businesses were honored at the Chamber’s Annual Membership Meeting and Regional Business Awards held at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort on Thursday, February 2. The Chamber welcomed incoming board members while honoring outgoing and current board members. View the photo gallery here. To read about this event on Noozhawk, click here. To read about this…

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