Wow... "there's always Google..."
Totally agree, and they need a fundraiser to finance this blight on nature
604 Santa Barbara Street, across from the new SBPD headquarters under construction. Happy to help but of course there's always Google....
Could we get Mother Dough's address? It's not evident on their website
You happen to be in the minority of cases, so nice for you. Your class of housing is also not what’s housing most of the renters in SB. SB’s population is not going to be housed by people renting their single units like you are.
You’re right. No, it’s not a money hack to provide housing for SB’s population. It’s a business. People don’t build and maintain apartment buildings for fun.
My reading is that it applies to most apartment buildings, which amount to most rentals, in SB. It’s pretty radical.
The justification is mostly knee-jerk and emotional. Anecdotes like “I grew up here and I deserve to be able to live here,” or “I’m going to be homeless.”
No, and no. You’ll be homeless if you believe you’re so entitled to live in one of the nicest places on Earth that you’ll choose homelessness here over the presumably more rational but less dramatic choice, which is moving somewhere you can afford.
What this will do for sure, as proven by decades of research, is drive prices up and quality down in the long-run. Nobody, but nobody, is taking a chance of building housing in a city with a radical city council driven by emotion rather than economics.
Glad to see the City take the minimalist and long-term least-expensive route with Francheschi. A little-used location with a house that was not particularly historical. Not popular with all but a responsible decision…
Your critiques of properties are spot on!
Wow, thank you for saying this so eloquently. It's so very important to read the fine print/details.
As someone who grew up camping down Paradise Road, with many family members living in the cabins on forestry land, I do not support this new development. Is there no where anymore that people won't build. Can we just not leave the forestry land alone and enjoy the beauty when we camp or go to the little water holes. Sad that someone buys this vacant land and thinks let's build and add more traffic to an area not needing it. Personally I hope it takes years to get approved and built.
Well said.
Unbearable Skee Lodge
The back side of 14 State Street, Mountain Air Sports on Helena Avenue.
I'm wondering if you missed the broad exceptions to the moratorium? It's quite a few paragraphs down:
"The temporary rent freeze does not apply to any units built in the past 30 years; single-family dwelling units and most condos; transient occupancies such as hotels and motels; institutional or government housing; or units subject to affordability covenants. The moratorium will last through December 31, 2026."
I'm a local landlord. I rent out one single family dwelling. So my property isn't subject to the moratorium -- but I'd be ok if it was. Why? because I'm not sitting on an oversized mortgage or a ton of deferred maintenance. Renting out property is a business, but many landlords don't treat it that way. Being a landlord isn't an infinite money hack. Maintenance has always been expensive, insurance has been getting more complicated for years. If a landlord hasn't anticipated these challenges, then they're really not paying attention to their business!
I rent to a family; a couple and their kids. One is an educator, the other is a skilled tradesperson. I've rented to them for over 10 years, under market rate. They're stable tenants who take great care of the property, and I have a healthy income stream.
Jeanine's raspberry white chocolate surpasses most other cakes in town imo.
Hi Derek, I would hope that before you make comments, that you make sure you have the correct information. I do have a temporary ADA placard as I will be receiving surgery for both knees soon. That being said, It is a dangerous parking space as it runs right into our guest ordering lines. The city has agreed and said that I should park there since I do have a ADA placard. You are welcome to reach out to me at Oku or Happy Cat if you have concerns.
Not to out-pedanticize you, but as someone who worked in specialty coffee for over a decade, I must point out that your pedantic paradoxical parable unfortunately gets many of the details wrong.
"Espresso solo" is not a common way to order in Italy in my experience, more commonly it's just ordered as "un caffe" as American style drip coffee does not exist, so "coffee" just means espresso without milk. But someone who spends more time drinking espresso in Italy than me can correct me if I'm wrong.
More importantly, drinking espresso "neat" is absolutely NOT doing a disservice to the coffee. In fact many espresso aficionados would argue the exact opposite, that adding milk to a well executed espresso is masking the nuance of the coffee.
While the crema does contain some coffee oils, it is absolutely FALSE that this is "where the most flavor is." In fact, the crema is mostly C02, trapped in the roasted bean and off-gassing from the fine grinding and pressurized brewing process (with a result similar to the "Guiness effect" with nitrogenated beer or cold brew kegs), and tends to impart mostly bitterness to the overall cup as a result of its carbon nature. While traditionally crema is considered a desirable trait in espresso as it adds to the perception of body and a thick, syrupy mouthfeel to the drinking experience, modern specialty baristas and coffee experts agree that it does not tend to enhance the overall flavor profile, so some even choose to spoon it off before drinking. I think reasonable coffee people can disagree on the aesthetics, but facts do matter.
"...oils quickly oxidize and the acids break down, which can make the shot go bitter, bland or even sour." do you have a source for this? bitter, bland and sour are three very different defect descriptors in an espresso shot, and each usually have their own cause, none of which have much to do with an espresso shot sitting or crema dissipating for one minute before drinking. Bitterness is usually a result of over-extraction in the brewing process or over-roasting or just low quality coffee. Sourness is usually under-extraction due to too coarse a grind or water that isn't hot enough. It can result from an espresso shot that sits unconsumed on the counter for many long minutes, but not usually after one minute. Blandness/flatness could be a number of causes, from the source coffee, the roast profile, the age of the coffee, water quality, brew temperature, etc.
"Espresso is pulled at around 200 degrees so it’s difficult to drink while it is still fresh." What? Nonsense. Unless you are very sensitive to hot temperatures, an espresso is usually drinkable right away or after 30 seconds or so at most. That's the whole point. Express. Fast. It's only 2oz of liquid give or take, so unless the barista preheats the demitasse with a blow torch, it cools down to drinking temperature very quickly. However, the shot does not "deteriorate" in one minute, that's outdated coffee science. The crema may dissipate but how quickly varies highly by coffee and brewing parameters. Adding steamed milk does nothing to "preserve the shot" or the crema other than adding volume and diluting espresso flavor. Not saying a well made cappuccino isn't delicious in it's own right, but this particular barista "of character" would never order a "bone dry" cappuccino. I know your anecdote is just for giggles, but I think even if we go by your false philosophy that milk is somehow necessary to "preserve" an espresso, then the "gentlemen of character" (whatever that silly marketing phrase means) should truly order a macchiato.
I walk past that mysterious little pied-à-terre on E. Carrillo almost daily with my dog. Happy to catch some photos of the interior and courtyard. What a delightfully intimate way to describe a galley kitchen.
Not many boutique health resorts being built for the middle class Im afraid.
On the plus side lots of jobs from construction and operations.🙂
Hi Erik, listing agent for 411 E. Carrillo here. Thank you so much for the write-up. I really enjoy reading your work, and waking up to see this home featured at the top of my favorite Santa Barbara real estate news source truly made my day.
Apologies that we weren’t open for Broker Caravan this Thursday, but I’d love to invite you to stop by one of the open houses this weekend, Saturday or Sunday from 1–4 PM. It would be great to show you the home in person.
Thanks again for the thoughtful commentary, much appreciated.
I'm glad there is an animal crossing
With just a tiny bit of research, Rincon Farms is a regenerative organic farm , yay !
I’m excited to try Monte’s, and equally as excited to see what they do with The Palms, a long time favorite of my family!
Sounds exactly like the person you don’t want to meet at a bar…
Will this health resort only be accessible for the wealthy? Is this a resort that the working class can also afford?
2021? Are you stuck down there? Do you need help? We’re up here in 2026.
