Thursday, March 25, 2021
Santa Maria regulates mobile car washers
Posted By Malea Martin on Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 11:30 AM
Santa Maria City Council voted to continue a proposed ordinance that will regulate mobile car washers, but some of those affected aren’t happy about it.
After the ordinance passed its first hearing 4-1 on March 16, car washers took to the Santa Maria streets in protest on March 23, City Public Information Manager Mark van de Kamp said in a statement issued later that day.
“The city wants to help mobile commercial car washes to prosper, with reasonable regulations for safety, fairness, and to protect the environment from uncontained wastewater discharged onto the street,” van de Kamp said. “The city is not trying to put anybody out of business. The goal is to have mobile commercial washers return to being mobile, not stationary on a street, which is what drives many of the complaints we receive.”
The ordinance was first brought before the council last summer, City Attorney Thomas Watson said at the March 16 council meeting, after the Regional Water Quality Control Board reached out to the city with concerns about the stormwater impacts of mobile car washes. The issue, Watson said, arose because some of the city’s mobile car wash operations have become effectively stationary, causing much larger quantities of wastewater to drain on public streets.
“But due to COVID and the impacts on the economy, as well as a request from council to do outreach to both the brick-and-mortar car washes as well as to the mobile car washes, there was some time lag to bringing [the ordinance] back,” Watson said.
The city’s code enforcement staff conducted outreach with about 40 mobile car wash operations, which Code Enforcement Supervisor Joy Castaing said is roughly half of those operating in the city. She added that the city has received a variety of complaints about mobile car washers that operate in one location. Residents are concerned about loud music, cones in the street, extension cords running across streets, trash, and parking issues.
“Most of these issues could be eliminated by simply not setting up in one location,” Castaing said.
Watson said that when the city team was conducting outreach, it found 31 mobile car washers set up on Boone Street on one given day.
“While again, with COVID, we’ve been understanding, it is becoming detrimental to the community,” Watson said.
The ordinance will require that mobile car washers maintain proper equipment setups to contain and dispose of water; that they no longer operate on public property, meaning they must go to their customers’ homes to conduct their services; and that the operations be inspected every two years.
All mobile washers will also have to obtain a permit, Castaing said.
Councilmember Gloria Soto supported the ordinance.
“I know that we are in the time of COVID and we need to do all that we can to support and protect small businesses, entrepreneurs, but when we’re talking about our storm drains being impacted and those pollutants going straight into creeks and oceans, that’s a concern of mine,” she said.
Councilmember Etta Waterfield voted in favor of the ordinance, but expressed some concerns about how it might impact the small business owners.
“I think what upsets me the most is you get one rotten peach that destroys the whole basket, and with the 30 that are stationary on Boone Street, and doing other things, is causing hardship for the ones that are doing it legally and that are being mobile,” Waterfield said.
The council ultimately motioned to continue the ordinance with the caveat that, if passed, it come back for review in six months to ensure that it is effective and not creating unforeseen hardships. Councilmember Michael Cordero was the only dissenting vote.
“Some people will go out of business,” Cordero said during discussion of the ordinance. “It’s going to be difficult and somewhat expensive for some of these people that are barely making it as it is.” Δ
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the City Council passed the ordinance at its March 16 meeting. The council actually voted to continue the ordinance to a second reading on April 6, where it passed 3-2.
After the ordinance passed its first hearing 4-1 on March 16, car washers took to the Santa Maria streets in protest on March 23, City Public Information Manager Mark van de Kamp said in a statement issued later that day.
“The city wants to help mobile commercial car washes to prosper, with reasonable regulations for safety, fairness, and to protect the environment from uncontained wastewater discharged onto the street,” van de Kamp said. “The city is not trying to put anybody out of business. The goal is to have mobile commercial washers return to being mobile, not stationary on a street, which is what drives many of the complaints we receive.”
The ordinance was first brought before the council last summer, City Attorney Thomas Watson said at the March 16 council meeting, after the Regional Water Quality Control Board reached out to the city with concerns about the stormwater impacts of mobile car washes. The issue, Watson said, arose because some of the city’s mobile car wash operations have become effectively stationary, causing much larger quantities of wastewater to drain on public streets.
“But due to COVID and the impacts on the economy, as well as a request from council to do outreach to both the brick-and-mortar car washes as well as to the mobile car washes, there was some time lag to bringing [the ordinance] back,” Watson said.
The city’s code enforcement staff conducted outreach with about 40 mobile car wash operations, which Code Enforcement Supervisor Joy Castaing said is roughly half of those operating in the city. She added that the city has received a variety of complaints about mobile car washers that operate in one location. Residents are concerned about loud music, cones in the street, extension cords running across streets, trash, and parking issues.
“Most of these issues could be eliminated by simply not setting up in one location,” Castaing said.
Watson said that when the city team was conducting outreach, it found 31 mobile car washers set up on Boone Street on one given day.
“While again, with COVID, we’ve been understanding, it is becoming detrimental to the community,” Watson said.
The ordinance will require that mobile car washers maintain proper equipment setups to contain and dispose of water; that they no longer operate on public property, meaning they must go to their customers’ homes to conduct their services; and that the operations be inspected every two years.
All mobile washers will also have to obtain a permit, Castaing said.
Councilmember Gloria Soto supported the ordinance.
“I know that we are in the time of COVID and we need to do all that we can to support and protect small businesses, entrepreneurs, but when we’re talking about our storm drains being impacted and those pollutants going straight into creeks and oceans, that’s a concern of mine,” she said.
Councilmember Etta Waterfield voted in favor of the ordinance, but expressed some concerns about how it might impact the small business owners.
“I think what upsets me the most is you get one rotten peach that destroys the whole basket, and with the 30 that are stationary on Boone Street, and doing other things, is causing hardship for the ones that are doing it legally and that are being mobile,” Waterfield said.
The council ultimately motioned to continue the ordinance with the caveat that, if passed, it come back for review in six months to ensure that it is effective and not creating unforeseen hardships. Councilmember Michael Cordero was the only dissenting vote.
“Some people will go out of business,” Cordero said during discussion of the ordinance. “It’s going to be difficult and somewhat expensive for some of these people that are barely making it as it is.” Δ
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the City Council passed the ordinance at its March 16 meeting. The council actually voted to continue the ordinance to a second reading on April 6, where it passed 3-2.
—Malea Martin
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Re-introduced bill would reform parts of agricultural guest worker system
Posted By Malea Martin on Thu, Mar 18, 2021 at 10:28 AM
A piece of legislation recently reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal and a group of bipartisan House members aims to streamline the U.S. agricultural guest worker program and provide a path to legal status for farmworkers.
Called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, Carbajal told the Sun that the bill will be on the House floor for a vote next week. The act, which passed in the House last Congress with bipartisan support, includes three main components: earned legalization, reforming the H-2A program, and creating an E-Verify system for all agricultural employment.
The last time the bill passed the House, 34 Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it.
“We’re hoping to get as many of those to continue to stay on next week,” Carbajal said.
The nine members who crafted the legislation include five Democrats and four Republicans.
The bill creates a whole new type of temporary status for farmworkers called Certified Agricultural Worker, Carbajal said. Applicants who show that they’ve worked 180 days of agricultural employment over the past two years and pass a background check can achieve the temporary status, which can be renewed.
If a farmworker with Certified Agricultural Worker status desires to do so, they can earn a path to a green card, Carbajal said.
“Workers with 10 years of agricultural work prior to the date of enactment must complete four additional years of such work,” a bill fact sheet states. “Workers with less than 10 years of agricultural work prior to the date of enactment must complete eight additional years of such work.”
Achieving this legal permanent residence then gives individuals the option to pursue citizenship, just like anyone else who holds a green card, Carbajal said.
The bill also proposes reforms to the H-2A guestworker program.
“In essence, we are creating a modern day guest worker program that would allow employers to address some of the challenges that they have with the existing H-2A program,” Carbajal said, such as recruitment, the filing process, reducing costs associated with the visa process, and reforming H-2A wages.
Finally, it creates a nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural employment, which Carbajal said would be phased in after the legalization and H-2A reforms are implemented.
“Farmers will have a system by which they will vet people that are here,” Carbajal said. “That was part of the compromise that was reached.”
Carbajal said the bill serves as a shining example of compromise and collaboration in the House.
“This has been a great bipartisan effort, and I think provides a model for how we can work together on our continued immigration efforts that we are no doubt going to be working on,” he said.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act hits close to home for Carbajal, whose father was a farmworker in the country’s original guest worker program in the ’50s and ’60s, he said.
“In the summers, after the farmworker program was over, he immigrated our family and I worked with my father many a summer in the fields,” Carbajal said. “So I have a unique perspective of having worked in the summer with my father who was a farmworker and knowing that kind of work, and now representing a district whose No. 1 industry is agriculture.” Δ
Called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, Carbajal told the Sun that the bill will be on the House floor for a vote next week. The act, which passed in the House last Congress with bipartisan support, includes three main components: earned legalization, reforming the H-2A program, and creating an E-Verify system for all agricultural employment.
The last time the bill passed the House, 34 Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it.
“We’re hoping to get as many of those to continue to stay on next week,” Carbajal said.
The nine members who crafted the legislation include five Democrats and four Republicans.
The bill creates a whole new type of temporary status for farmworkers called Certified Agricultural Worker, Carbajal said. Applicants who show that they’ve worked 180 days of agricultural employment over the past two years and pass a background check can achieve the temporary status, which can be renewed.
If a farmworker with Certified Agricultural Worker status desires to do so, they can earn a path to a green card, Carbajal said.
“Workers with 10 years of agricultural work prior to the date of enactment must complete four additional years of such work,” a bill fact sheet states. “Workers with less than 10 years of agricultural work prior to the date of enactment must complete eight additional years of such work.”
Achieving this legal permanent residence then gives individuals the option to pursue citizenship, just like anyone else who holds a green card, Carbajal said.
The bill also proposes reforms to the H-2A guestworker program.
“In essence, we are creating a modern day guest worker program that would allow employers to address some of the challenges that they have with the existing H-2A program,” Carbajal said, such as recruitment, the filing process, reducing costs associated with the visa process, and reforming H-2A wages.
Finally, it creates a nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural employment, which Carbajal said would be phased in after the legalization and H-2A reforms are implemented.
“Farmers will have a system by which they will vet people that are here,” Carbajal said. “That was part of the compromise that was reached.”
Carbajal said the bill serves as a shining example of compromise and collaboration in the House.
“This has been a great bipartisan effort, and I think provides a model for how we can work together on our continued immigration efforts that we are no doubt going to be working on,” he said.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act hits close to home for Carbajal, whose father was a farmworker in the country’s original guest worker program in the ’50s and ’60s, he said.
“In the summers, after the farmworker program was over, he immigrated our family and I worked with my father many a summer in the fields,” Carbajal said. “So I have a unique perspective of having worked in the summer with my father who was a farmworker and knowing that kind of work, and now representing a district whose No. 1 industry is agriculture.” Δ
—Malea Martin
Monday, March 8, 2021
Pismo Beach to install four-way stop at James and Frances Way
Posted By Kasey Bubnash on Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 10:52 AM
The city of Pismo Beach is putting a four-way stop at the intersection of James Way and Frances Way, where several residents say they’ve had close calls with cars while attempting to cross the 65-foot wide roadway.
At a Traffic Safety Committee meeting on Feb. 11, several residents complained about the intersection, which they said is confusing and dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. While there are already stop signs on Frances Way, there aren’t any stopping the flow of traffic on James, which is often host to dense and speedy traffic during busy travel times.
That makes it difficult to use the designated crosswalks leading across James Way, which Pismo Beach city staff say families and children often use to get to a nearby church and school.
Pismo Beach resident Summer Barnett wrote in an email to the City Council that her family uses the crosswalks at the intersection of James and Frances to get to a nearby pharmacy. It’s hard for drivers to see pedestrians when they first start crossing, and cars often don’t stop for her while she’s making her way over the road. Barnett said she doesn’t feel comfortable taking her daughter to cross that street during busy travel times.
“I’m sure some older children walk there without parents and need to cross,” she wrote, “and I am so concerned a tragedy will at some point occur at this intersection if a stop sign on James Way is not installed.”
A traffic study conducted at the intersection after the Feb. 11 Traffic Safety Committee meeting determined that the roadway is eligible for traffic calming stop signs. Pismo Beach City Council unanimously approved the installation of stop signs on James Way at a meeting on March 2.
“It is nice when government works and works efficiently,” City Manager Jim Lewis said at the meeting. “So we’re pleased that we could work on that for that neighborhood.” ∆
At a Traffic Safety Committee meeting on Feb. 11, several residents complained about the intersection, which they said is confusing and dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. While there are already stop signs on Frances Way, there aren’t any stopping the flow of traffic on James, which is often host to dense and speedy traffic during busy travel times.
That makes it difficult to use the designated crosswalks leading across James Way, which Pismo Beach city staff say families and children often use to get to a nearby church and school.
Pismo Beach resident Summer Barnett wrote in an email to the City Council that her family uses the crosswalks at the intersection of James and Frances to get to a nearby pharmacy. It’s hard for drivers to see pedestrians when they first start crossing, and cars often don’t stop for her while she’s making her way over the road. Barnett said she doesn’t feel comfortable taking her daughter to cross that street during busy travel times.
“I’m sure some older children walk there without parents and need to cross,” she wrote, “and I am so concerned a tragedy will at some point occur at this intersection if a stop sign on James Way is not installed.”
A traffic study conducted at the intersection after the Feb. 11 Traffic Safety Committee meeting determined that the roadway is eligible for traffic calming stop signs. Pismo Beach City Council unanimously approved the installation of stop signs on James Way at a meeting on March 2.
“It is nice when government works and works efficiently,” City Manager Jim Lewis said at the meeting. “So we’re pleased that we could work on that for that neighborhood.” ∆
—Kasey Bubnash
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Lompoc’s Beattie Park now home to largest inclusive playground in Santa Barbara County
Posted By Malea Martin on Thu, Mar 4, 2021 at 1:50 PM
After a rainy morning, the clouds over Beattie Park in Lompoc begin to part around noon and the sun peeks out. Kids shriek and giggle as they leap from play structure to structure, fly down slides, and swing across monkey bars still wet from a morning drizzle.
The brand new playground was unveiled on March 3 by city officials, and these children are the first to play on its state-of-the-art equipment.
Ground broke on the project in August 2020, thanks to a combination of Proposition 68 per capita grant funding and Lompoc Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. It’s now the largest inclusive playground in Santa Barbara County.
“It feels great,” Lompoc Recreation Manager Mario Guerrero Jr. said at the playground’s ribbon cutting. “It's something for the community, for all ages and ability levels.”
Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne said that the playground’s designed to accommodate people with a range of abilities and mobility. It also means that people can come from anywhere to enjoy the park.
“We welcome not only those who live here to enjoy it, but those in our surrounding communities to come visit us,” Osborne said. “The other really amazing thing is that this park design has been nominated as a Triple National Demo Site, because it meets inclusive design, youth play, and adult fitness.”
A Triple National Demonstration Site designation is reserved for parks that meet stringent design standards in these three categories, making it accessible for not just kids of all ability levels, but adults, too.
The new playground replaces a much smaller structure that had to come down more than two years ago, Osborne said.
“We weren’t sure when we’d ever have the kind of funds to set something back up,” Osborne said. “This is 100 percent grant-funded, and it didn’t burden the city in any way, and we got to deliver way more than the little playground system that was here.”
City Manager Jim Throop said that the Proposition 68 grant funding the city received for the project was a big win.
“It’s a competitive funding source,” Throop said. “This was our first go-around competing with that.”
Lompoc’s success in securing and implementing the funding for the playground project will open up doors down the road, Throop said.
“We’re also putting in [funding applications] for many other projects around the city, now that we’ve been successful,” he said. “We think that we will have a very competitive edge against other cities to help bring up other parks that are in need of repair. … Stand by for more of these wonderful things to happen with Lompoc.” Δ
The brand new playground was unveiled on March 3 by city officials, and these children are the first to play on its state-of-the-art equipment.
Ground broke on the project in August 2020, thanks to a combination of Proposition 68 per capita grant funding and Lompoc Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. It’s now the largest inclusive playground in Santa Barbara County.
“It feels great,” Lompoc Recreation Manager Mario Guerrero Jr. said at the playground’s ribbon cutting. “It's something for the community, for all ages and ability levels.”
Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne said that the playground’s designed to accommodate people with a range of abilities and mobility. It also means that people can come from anywhere to enjoy the park.
“We welcome not only those who live here to enjoy it, but those in our surrounding communities to come visit us,” Osborne said. “The other really amazing thing is that this park design has been nominated as a Triple National Demo Site, because it meets inclusive design, youth play, and adult fitness.”
A Triple National Demonstration Site designation is reserved for parks that meet stringent design standards in these three categories, making it accessible for not just kids of all ability levels, but adults, too.
The new playground replaces a much smaller structure that had to come down more than two years ago, Osborne said.
“We weren’t sure when we’d ever have the kind of funds to set something back up,” Osborne said. “This is 100 percent grant-funded, and it didn’t burden the city in any way, and we got to deliver way more than the little playground system that was here.”
City Manager Jim Throop said that the Proposition 68 grant funding the city received for the project was a big win.
“It’s a competitive funding source,” Throop said. “This was our first go-around competing with that.”
Lompoc’s success in securing and implementing the funding for the playground project will open up doors down the road, Throop said.
“We’re also putting in [funding applications] for many other projects around the city, now that we’ve been successful,” he said. “We think that we will have a very competitive edge against other cities to help bring up other parks that are in need of repair. … Stand by for more of these wonderful things to happen with Lompoc.” Δ
—Malea Martin
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