Residents tell Santa Barbara Creeks committee draft creek buffer ordinance risks property loss, access problems

At a meeting of the Santa Barbara City Creeks Advisory Committee, two members of the public raised concerns about a draft creek buffer ordinance, saying the proposal as drafted would impose impractical requirements on some property owners and could worsen conditions for low-income residents living next to creeks.

The concerns were voiced during the committee’s public-comment period by Dr. Joseph Crowley and Crystal Burrows of the Flamingo Mobile Home Park, both of whom described how the ordinance could affect individual homes and residents living along Sycamore Creek.

Dr. Joseph Crowley, who said he has lived near a creek in Santa Barbara for 40 years, called the draft ordinance “well intentioned” but “got a lot of practical problems.” He told the committee that, under the ordinance as presented at an earlier workshop, he would have had to “redesign my whole house,” a change he said could have cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Crowley also said the maps and diagrams used in the outreach materials show creek conditions vary greatly and that a single, standard buffer would be “unfair and impractical” for many parcel layouts.

Crystal Burrows, a resident of Flamingo Mobile Home Park on the Lower East Side, told the committee the mobile-home community sits on Sycamore Creek and that a proposed 50-foot buffer would in some cases extend into streets and make compliance physically impossible. Burrows also described a long-standing local problem at what she called the Hutash Culvert, where constriction forces the creek into a narrow pipe; she said the culvert routinely plugs during storms and that residents — many of them seniors and low-income — have faced mandatory evacuations as a result. Burrows said city staff member Dan Henske would “be looking at” how state and mobile-home residency law might affect possible exemptions or accommodations for the park.

Why it matters: committee members and staff will consider public input as they refine the draft creek buffer ordinance. If implemented without adjustments, residents say the ordinance could impose significant retrofit costs, restrict sales and complicate flood response for residents in places where existing drainage infrastructure is constrained.

Committee response and next steps: staff reminded the public the city is continuing to accept written comments on the creek buffer draft through the close of business the week announced in outreach materials (date referenced during the meeting). Committee Chair Penny Owens thanked the speakers for their comments; the meeting record shows no formal action or vote on the ordinance during this session.

The committee did not adopt any ordinance language at the meeting. Public comments and staff follow-up (including the item Burrows mentioned about legal and mobile-home residency constraints) remain part of the public record and will inform future drafts and staff briefings.