Santa Barbara Will Keep Its Downtown Parklet Experiment Going, for Now

After a marathon meeting with two hours of public comment and another few hours of back-and-forth discussion over the future of downtown parklets, the exhausted and frustrated members of Santa Barbara City Council agreed — by way of five separate motions and votes — to keep the downtown outdoor dining experiment going forward, for now at least, along the State Street promenade. The city will continue to explore other options for a long-term plan to regulate parklets on private property and other public rights-of-way.

The topic has become one of the most hotly debated issues in the city, and Tuesday’s decision was a win for the dozens of city residents, restaurateurs, and alternative transportation activists who spoke in favor of keeping the downtown promenade open for pedestrians and bicycles. But for those who feel like a closed-off State Street was a temporary fix that has run its course, the city’s choice to keep it open could also be a sign of council’s reluctance to change.

Councilmember Eric Friedman, who voted against extending the temporary Economic Recovery Extension and Transition Ordinance (ERETO) — which was set to expire at the end of the year — said the situation made him think of the paradoxical quotes made famous by New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra: “It’s like déjà vu all over again. When you see a fork in the road, take it. If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up someplace else. No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”