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Isla Vista board endorses county waste‑ordinance amendments to curb litter
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Summary
The board voted Feb. 10 to endorse County of Santa Barbara Chapter 17 amendments that would require larger, lidded 35‑gallon carts, mandatory recycling, per‑bedroom service scaling and new enforcement powers to address chronic litter in Isla Vista.
The Isla Vista Community Services District board voted on Feb. 10 to endorse proposed Chapter 17 amendments to Santa Barbara County’s waste ordinance designed to reduce persistent litter in Isla Vista.
Staff from the county presented a multi‑year study finding that much of the litter problem stems from under‑subscription, inadequate container types and insufficient recycling. County staff and the district’s staff recommended changes including requiring each occupied parcel to have a single account with the hauler, upgrading residential service to 35‑gallon carts (delivered with lids), adding mandatory recycling service, year‑round service and consolidated container requirements.
A county ordinance specialist clarified that the new minimum service levels would be scaled on a per‑bedroom basis and that properties with 10 or more bedrooms would be required to subscribe to dumpster service equivalent to the required volume. The specialist said the amendment also aims to capture large single‑unit homes (defined as single houses with four or more bedrooms) and treat them similarly to multiple‑unit premises for service requirements.
“Most of the trash cans in Isla Vista do not have lids attached to them…that creates a space issue and a containment issue,” a county presenter said during the presentation. Board members pressed staff on how the standard would apply to large properties and were told the requirement scales by bedroom count and that code enforcement would gain clearer authority to mandate additional service after repeated notices.
Board members praised Jenna and county partners for the work; staff reported just one written letter of opposition from a property manager and limited other pushback after outreach via property‑manager listservs and hauler contact lists. The board made a motion to endorse the ordinance amendments and, by voice vote, approved sending a letter of support to the county.
The presenter noted the ordinance was last updated in 1995; staff said the proposed changes, if adopted by the county, would be enforced through existing code‑enforcement channels and would require coordination with Marborg (the regional hauler) to implement changed account and container rules.
Staff will forward a signed letter of support with district letterhead if the board’s endorsement stands and will monitor the county’s rulemaking process and public comment period.
