Past and Future Collide over Ortega Park Murals

Debate over the fate of the iconic Chicano art murals that define Ortega Park on Santa Barbara’s Eastside has heated up so fast in the last two weeks that City Administrator Paul Casey felt compelled to pull an item — having to do with a grant application for a multimillion-dollar makeover proposed for the park — from this week’s City Council agenda. Initially, that vote had been slated for the council’s “consent agenda,” the bailiwick for items deemed such slam dunks that no discussion is necessary. But the debate over the future of Ortega Park and the murals’ rich cultural past demonstrates there’s no such thing as a slam dunk anymore. And a whole lot more discussion will definitely be necessary.

The big question confronting City Hall is to what extent such additional outreach will interfere with the application deadline of March 12 for the $8.5 million grant application City Parks and Recreation Director Jill Zachary hopes to submit to fund the development of an ambitious new plan for Ortega Park, approved by the council last year.