Westside District’s Oscar Gutierrez Talks Parking Wars, Fly-by-Night Street Vendors, and State Street’s ‘Bad Bicyclists’

Westside District’s
Oscar Gutierrez Talks
Parking Wars, Fly-by-Night Street Vendors, and
State Street’s ‘Bad Bicyclists’

Santa Barbara City Councilmember
Shares What He’s Doing to Address
His Constituents’ Concerns

by Nick Welsh | June 14, 2023

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, district elections changed the DNA of political representation in the City of Santa Barbara, and nowhere is that more evident than on the Westside. Although the Westside was previously represented by two councilmembers who later went on to become mayors — Helene Schneider and Cathy Murillo — they both moved there as politically active adults and before district elections. Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez, by contrast, has always been for, of, by, and all about the Westside, which is where he grew up and never really left.

On the council dais, Gutierrez is not one to bogart the mic and wax rhapsodic, but outside the council chambers, few councilmembers take such obvious relish in meeting and greeting people, which is how, he says, he learns what people really care about. Independent writer Nick Welsh had a quick sit-down with Gutierrez at the Bella Rosa Bakery to talk about the concerns in his district.

With rents sky-high and vacancies nonexistent, more tenants are competing for limited street parking spaces, resulting in short tempers. A recent proliferation of street vendors, many of whom Gutierrez says come from out of town, has added to the friction. He also talked the future of bicycles on State Street. Hint: If Gutierrez could help address the so-called problem of wheelie-poppers, then maybe something can be done about the young e-bike riders zooming down State Street.