The Police Station Project received unanimous approval from the Planning Commission on March 18, 2021, for the height exception for this community benefit project.

On March 18, 2021, the Police Station project was presented to the Planning Commission seeking a height exception for the Community Benefit Project and it received unanimous approval. The Project will be heard once again by the Architectural Board of Review today, April 19, 2021, from 4:00 – 5:00 to review the latest revisions. If you are interested in participating or listening in, the link to the meeting can be found on today’s ABR Agenda here: https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/brdcomm/ac/abr/agendas.asp

Tomorrow, March 18, 2021, this project be presented at the Planning Commission for a conceptual review and a height exception request. As part of the request, the design team has put together photo simulations that are posted at the site for the public to review, as well as two virtual simulation videos that will show how the project will fit within the City.

Police Station Update:
On February 12, 2021, the Architectural Board of Review (ABR) held a publicly noticed work session with the Design Team for the Police Station Project, and it was overall very positive. In addition to presenting the revised plans, the goal was to provide the ABR with some additional background on the project that previously had not been presented due to the time constraints for the presentations.

The Architectural Board of Review will be conducting a Work Session with the Applicant and design team for the City’s Police Station Project on Friday, February 12, from 1:00 – 4:00 PM. Public is welcome. If you would like to virtually attend the meeting, the login information is found on the ABR Website: http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/brdcomm/ac/abr/agendas.asp

On Monday, November 16, the same presentation that was given on November 9, 2020, will be given to the Architectural Board of Review for the concept hearing of the project. The public can participate virtually and all online participation information is on the agenda for the ABR meeting here santabarbaraca.gov/abr.

On Monday, November 9, the City held a virtual neighborhood preview meeting for those within 300’ from the proposed project site. As neighborhood outreach is a part of every large project, the Covid-19 circumstances required that this outreach be virtual and provided information about the project and the opportunity to ask questions. the recording of the meeting is available for those interested and can be accessed here by clicking here.

Much has happened over this past year on the Police Station Project and great progress has been made since City Council selected the Cota Commuter Parking Lot as the preferred site alternative for environmental review. As part of the preliminary environmental review, the Cota site was thoroughly studied, and 30% plans for the Police Station were created.

In response to requests at recent public meetings, City staff have released a detailed explanation of the site selection process for the new Police Station.

Phase 2 of the new City Police Station Project is underway. Phase 2 considers potential sites for the new City Police Station and parking structure. During this phase, we invite the community to learn more about the site selection process by attending one of the scheduled informational meetings. Please see schedule of opportunities here. To stay up-to-date, check back on this page and/or enter your email address into the “Stay Informed” box near the top of the page.

Phase 1 of the new Police Station project, which recommended a new building footprint and size based on assessment of the Police Department's needs, was completed this summer. On August 14, the City Council approved the next phase of the new Police Station project.