The Santa Barbara City Council will tackle a few critical issues facing the city today.
First up, at the request of Dale Francisco and Michael Self, members of the Council will look to amend the Chapala Street Design Guidelines to remove the sentence… “Curb and Sidewalk Bulb Outs shall be added at all intersections.” Guidelines mandating these traffic impediments were developed in 2003.
UPDATE: The Santa Barbara City Council approved the amendment to remove a requirement for bulbouts on Chapala Street.
Then, a possible suspension of the hedge ordinance.
According to the Agenda, “a large number of hedge-related complaints in the summer of 2008 caused significant community discord. This prompted the City Council to adopt on November 25, 2008 an ordinance to suspend for two years the application of SBMC §28.87.170.A and §28.87.170.B.1 to hedges. These code sections limit the height of fences, screens, walls, and hedges to eight feet (8’) in required setbacks, and three and one-half feet (3½’) within ten feet of a front lot line. The Council’s goal in doing this was to reduce neighborhood discord, enable adequate community outreach, and allow for a thorough discussion and review of a possible amendment to this section of the code. At the introductory hearing, an exception to the suspension ordinance was added regarding bamboo hedges.”
If permanently suspended, hedges (except bamboo) would be allowed to grow to an unlimited height. The hedge ordinance was originally developed in 1957.
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If only they applied the same amount of community outreach and thorough review to the RDA as they do to the hedge ordinance.
So, what’s the discrimination against bamboo? Unlike pittosporum or eugenia, it really is not a plant that takes kindly to being topped — and does make a very attractive hedge.
@ Local anon. – My guess, and this is entirely a guess, is bamboo’s tendency to spread to streambeds quickly and have a significant impact on native habitat when it does. I believe bamboo has been targeted as an invasive species for that same reason.
While bamboo is fast growing its not a threat to the local habitat. Former mayor Marty Blum didn’t like bamboo and that’s why the beautiful and hollow grass was targeted.
Conform… I mean “win for the future”!
Seth, I can understand that if the house is next to a stream bed — but most are not. And there can be other ways of checking than banning for everyone. I think you may be thinking of Arundo donax which looks a little like bamboo and is very much an invasive species.