Santa Maria unveils $75 million Betteravia/101 interchange study, chip-seal pavement strategy and developer fee updates
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Summary
Public Works Director Brett Fulghoni described two interchange concepts for Betteravia/101 estimated at $75 million, a new pavement maintenance approach emphasizing partial paving plus chip-seal, and a developer impact fee update that reduces proposed fees in response to feedback.
Public Works Director Brett Fulghoni presented conceptual designs for a Betteravia Boulevard loop on-ramps to U.S. 101 and related North-Side improvements, saying the project has been in the Measure A investment plan and is estimated at about $75,000,000 funded with developer impact fees and Measure A dollars.
Fulghoni said the city will take two conceptual interchange options to Caltrans, begin public engagement, and proceed to environmental review. He said construction is expected after the 101 improvements in Santa Barbara are complete and indicated a multiyear timeline.
On pavement strategy, Fulghoni described a two-step approach: repave heavily traveled travel lanes (estimated $5–6 per square foot) and use chip-seal (about $0.55 per square foot) to treat remaining lanes. He said the approach allowed the city to do about 80 lane miles of chip-seal work recently and to stretch limited funds for higher-priority arterials and collectors. Fulghoni said gas tax and Measure A dollars contribute to the work.
On developer fees, Fulghoni said the city released a draft update after two years of analysis and public outreach. He said an earlier July proposal pegged a fee near $56,000 for a 2,000-square-foot house; staff re-released a revised fee around $38,000 for the same example. He also noted an example where a 1,000-square-foot restaurant fee would drop from about $57,000 to $34,000 in the revised proposal. Fulghoni said the next public meeting on the impact fee update is planned for early November.
Fulghoni also noted the city’s transit fleet is 100% electric for fixed-route buses, with a backup diesel fleet and continued ridership improvements, plus a new route to San Luis Obispo and regional consolidations to improve connectivity.
