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Redevelopment Agency

The Historic Redevelopment Agency (RDA) of the City of
Santa Barbara & the Successor Agency

View information on the Successor Agency Oversight Board.

The Historic Redevelopment Agency (RDA)

The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Barbara was a public body corporate and politic, created and governed by the Santa Barbara City Council in 1968 to alleviate conditions of blight in the city's downtown, industrial, and waterfront areas. Established in 1972, the Central City Redevelopment Project Area encompassed 850 acres of this Pacific Coast seaside community.

The Redevelopment Agency's purpose was to:

  1. Encourage harmonious environmentally compatible and economically efficient land uses throughout the Project Area, thereby achieving functional, economic and visual order
  2. To coordinate such land uses and accompanying standards, controls and regulations with existing City controls and review processes
  3. To create an economically viable central core that offers an attractive and pleasant environment

By building affordable housing, improving public infrastructure, and developing new parks, parking facilities, and cultural attractions, the Redevelopment Agency strategically leveraged its use of public funds to stimulate millions of dollars in private development, and added vitality to the Project Area.

Central City Redevelopment Project - Environmental Impact Report, January 1977 (broken into four parts below)

Central City Redevelopment Project - Environmental Impact Report, Technical Document (broken into three parts)

RDA Implementation Report and ROPS

Some Redevelopment Agency Success Stories

The Redevelopment Agency invested several million dollars annually through property acquisitions, site planning, development, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of properties within the Redevelopment Project Area. Development projects included a mix of affordable housing, commercial, cultural, and public infrastructure components. These projects were aimed at eliminating blight, enhancing the area for existing residents and businesses, and making the area more attractive to potential employers and private investors. This type of public investment was designed to act as a catalyst that inspires private investment and further improvement of the area.

Here are just a few completed successes
Affordable Housing
Carrillo Recreation Center
Coffee Cat Pedestrian Improvements
Brinkerhoff Street Lighting
Downtown Parking Structures Improvements (2, 9 & 10)
East Cabrillo Boulevard Sidewalks
East Cabrillo Boulevard Sidewalks – Phase II
Fire Station #1 Administration Annex
Fire Station #1 Emergency Operations Center
Fire Station #1 Remodel
Granada Theatre
Historic Railcar Restoration
Jardin de las Granadas
Louise Lowry Davis Center
Plaza Vera Cruz
Spencer Adams Parking Lot Improvements
Thompson Avenue Improvements
West Beach Pedestrian Improvements
West Downtown Improvements
Westside Center Park Improvements

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2021
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