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Old Town Goleta : 7/30/2010

"unique charm and personality"? "eclectic"? Old Town Goleta is a DUMP. The storefronts are shabby, the buildings are old and run down. The parking is terrible. What does it say when the best looking building is a Wendy's? Maybe the shops would get more business if they were more inviting and had some parking.

PJ

Old Town, yes it is OLD : 7/30/2010

Looks like little Tijuana! Clean up the stores, get rid of the crappy signs and fix the sidewalks. And some better parking for those of us who don't take the bus.

URU

Who owns the property? : 7/30/2010

I have a question. are these properties privately owned? If so, Why are the tax payers getting hit with improvement costs? The increase in business will benefit the owners most of all and the return to tax payers will be a fraction of their profits via the taxes they pay. But, this seems backwards, the lions share being paid by tax payers for a small return much like louisiana oil who own the oil but sell it to private individuals for only 7% of its true worth.
Or does the city own the land and lease it? Anyone know why tax payers improve storefronts for private individuals? I am not sure what is going on.

anonymous

Look Beyond the Facades : 7/30/2010

Has PJ or URU been inside any of these so-called "dump" businesses? I hope neither of you are judging the people around you as superficially as you judge our little community out here. There are some great small businesses in OT Goleta that deserve respect and our patronage because of what they sell and how they treat their customers. Several offer merchandise, expertise, and services that are unique in our area. While I would love to see some of these businesses improved (like pushing a functional alley through all of OT behind the businesses on the North side of Hollister so parking can be improved while also improving traffic flow and pedestian and bike safety) and beautified, let's not do it like down town State street where even half a century later the cost of doing business there makes it more of a window shopping experience than a real busines experience for so many people

JK

Old Town Goleta : 7/30/2010

These comments are racist and I hope the Sound deletes them. I was part of the redevelopment workshops and committees twelve years ago and it is apparent that the only people who think there's something wrong with Old Town's architectures are developers and their shills who want to bring national chains there. Almost everyone else, including stakeholders, businesses owners, workers, residents, and Goleta community members wants pedestrian and bike friendly improvements like street trees, traffic calming, sidewalk improvements, public amenities, and parking.

LauraF

Public space improvements : 7/30/2010

The improvements to the streets and the sidewalk to provide parking and walking space, are not to private property and would benefit the general community - the ones who pay the taxes. Sales tax is high in our community so I hope it is used in a way that we can see, not just going towards political stuff based on who is in office. E87ZW

ruralwannabe

Ready for the Big One ? : 7/30/2010

I bet many, if not all, of the buildings in Old Goleta have not been earthquke retrofitted. Those buildings that haven't should be upgraded or torn down. You can't upgrade the town until you know what is left to work with.

VetteGuy

The DIVE in Goleta needs overhaul : 7/30/2010

Awesome that Goleta is going to FINALLY get a make over facelift!
Currently there's nothing compelling for anyone to visit that area which has remained pretty much the same over the past 50 years. Local area needs desperately to duplicate 'old town' Santa Barbara quality of aesthetic and charm and cleanliness.
Interesting to note also that Calle Real, specifically, is not what is desired to be emulated. This is an investment property scheme - a bit mechanical - and where no one is earning equity into the property they're paying, commercially or otherwise.
This trend needs to change. We have provided incredible amount of bail outs to banks - but not quite benefiting the average citizen.. where investors themselves have proven insufficiently innovative in providing solutions toward economic vitality without depending on public funds.
Hence, whatever redevelopment occurs against tax payer money, stipulate tenants are earning equity into the property they are paying into.

Only a couple people own the entire region of downtown Goleta

Funny : 7/30/2010

duplicate 'old town' Santa Barbara quality of aesthetic and charm and cleanliness.
LOL!!! good one.
I guess we need to get some bums drinking thunderbird laying on the sidewalks to be like SB!

Bunny : 7/30/2010

You mean those bum landlord property investment managers taking the wealth accrued from their tenants, and spending it at the bars downtown Santa Barbara - instead of their own neighborhoods?
Know whatcha mean.
At least this way these bums will feel compelled to stay in their own Civic Centers - or the lack of, em - in Goleta.

Good One

Old Town is charming : 7/30/2010

Like going back in history, but still having the modern conveniences. Sure it looks different from glamorous Santa Barbara and the Big Boxes and strip malls. It does not need a makeover or renovation. New paint, some facade touch-up and flower pots will help. Hollister should be kept free of potholes and sidewalks fixed for safety.. Parking is and always has been a problem, but it has hundreds of nearby consumers who walk to the stores. On the whole , the merchants are cheerful and proud of Old Town. They will work with positive improvement ideas, but not a remake of this small area. The storefronts are not showing all the vacancies, as is the Santa Barbara and Big Boxes have. Old it is, but still flourishing. Unique, yes. Why not?

Bajamama

Ready for the big one : 7/30/2010

VetteGuy -- I know for a fact that my 1927 in Old Town was earthquake retrofitted because the County building inspector was having breakfast one morning in Old Town, browsed the building and contacted the owner, and the owner did it. This was probably 20 years ago or longer. Most of the buildings are not high risk unreinforced masonry but are the more sturdy wood frame type. But it's a California law and I think it's been pretty strictly enforced here but if someone knows otherwise, let us know.

LauraF

NOT another State Street : 7/30/2010

Excellent! Thank God we live in a democracy and can voice ALL of our opinions. RE READ: "Wide streets with cars parked on both sides, NEIGHBORHOOD FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WALKING TO SHOPS AND A BUSY hum of traffic, including frequent MTD buses rolling through town, are part of the area’s unique charm."
According to a press release from 2005 from the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration "Small business continues to drive the United States economy, according to a report issued today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Newly released data show that in 2005, small businesses represented 99.7 percent of all the nation’s employer businesses. Data also show that they employed 57.4 million Americans or 50.6 percent of the non-farm private sector workforce."
With these data, personally living the perils of current harsh reality of crush of Wall Street, real estate crisis, HUGE corporate scandals, makes me wonder what the powers to be and the "Goleta leadership" have on mind for the revitalization plan?
GOLETANOS ARE AWARE THAT WE ARE NOT SANTA BARBARA, nor do we want to be...State Street fancy shops and Paseo Nuevo architectural designs are for OUTSIDE TOURIST.
Goleta is a recently born city (9 years) with a promising future: one of sustainability and a environmental vision.
NO TO THE GENTRIFICATION OF OUR CITY!!!!!
My questions to the readers and public in general are:
Who will provide housing to sustain the structure of our cities?
Where are we going to find our workers if they have to commute for hours to get to work?
Maria

Excuse Me? : 7/30/2010

Painting Old Town Goleta as a quaint place? It's solid gang territory. I lived there for the past few years and am lucky I and my child made it out alive. You can't walk down the streets there and not walk past gang members. At the lunch hour lots of business people stream in to the restaurants to eat, which gives the allusion at that hour that Old Town is pleasant. But try hanging out at the 7–Eleven. That's where the bus stop is where that woman disappeared from several years ago (the one with the head injury that left her mentally disabled). Ask the sheriff's department if you need proof of what the area's like, or take a walk there.

Spooky Place, High Crime

Housing in Old Town Goleta : 7/30/2010

Why hasn't all the rental housing in Old Town changed from absolute slums into privately owned/occupied housing or even NICE rentals? After all, we do have a housing shortage/crisis here in S.B./Goleta. So why? Because the slum landlords that own it all can charge enormous rents and the poor tenants can afford it by packing their illegal relatives and friends into the bedrooms, so making the rent is easy. And illegals are great for slumlords–they don't complain to have anything fixed. I had neighbors who packed entire families into their one spare bedroom (that totaled six people in a two-bedroom). The families would come from Mexico (obvious because they were looking around scared of getting caught all the time), not speak any English, get jobs, then move into better housing arrangements. And, the reason it stays Hispanic is because if you are of another race you will be driven out by the racism.

No Charm Here

Truth Hurts : 8/1/2010

I am a resident of Goleta and a teacher at a local public school. Goleta is like it is because of people like the ones on this board. If someone calls a business dirty, or ugly, and a mexican lives there, they are labeled as racist. Developers who provide affordable housing are called slumlords, yet developers who want to implement proven strategies for improving business are called greedy. Bottom line: no one goes to old town for anything of substance. No One Goes Shopping in gangsterville Old Town Goleta. After 8pm, no one goes there for anything but booze. The Calle Real side is boring and full off snobby old poeple (centered around trader Joe's hippy haven), except when the drunk kids make their way to taco bell from IV. I'm also convinced Goleta means terrible driver in Spanish. They say SB is the home of the newlywed and the nearly dead. Goleta has less newlyweds.

Thomas Paine

ignorance and stupidity : 8/3/2010

I wonder how many of you actually live or work in Old Town Goleta. Probably not even one. You make claims and suggestions for whats best in OT but none of you actually live there to give the rest of us a fair description of day to day life. Everyone has an outsider's opinion of what they think should be done with OT but none of you have any real connections to the community. How could you sit and critique this community when you're really not apart of it? The obvious anti-immigrant rhetoric is cute and expected of you sheep. "Thomas Paine" is also entertaining. Thanks for criminalizing the community with your "gangsterville" labeling! Its sad to see our teachers spread hate and racism to our youth in our own city.

Dump, Slum, Ghetto...If the shoe fits... : 8/4/2010

Sorry to inform the previous poster, but I work in Old Town and know first thing what a hell hole it is. Call me a rascist if you want, but do we really want to work and/or live in gang-infested slums? My company has its offices in Old Town and no out of town visitor will stay there (in the otehrwise nice Hampton Inn) twice. It is a scary place with few amenities for anyone but illegal immigrants and people looking for check cashing. I say bulldoze the whole area and start over,

SB Native

Time to clean up Old Town Goleta : 8/5/2010

Old town could use fixing up as well as repairing the side walks. There is no parking there at all. It has been taken over by the illegals. Look at all the mexican dinners, run down business that cater to the illegals & gangs.Mexican holes in the walls.How many of the business are really used by the public or are the fronts for drugs,and other criminals. There use to be family stores there.There are lots of empty building on hollister. It's not safe there anymore to walk. Many residents Don't shop there at all. Lots of filthy sidewalks, drunks, gangs hanging out at night .The old town Goleta Needs some Gang removal & Illegals to start. Don't go over there after 5 pm. You might get robbed, beat up by the illegals. I have lived here in Goleta 50 years. It is no longer safe to walk to Rite aid for ice cream. My friend was jumped and beat up by a gang at 6 pm. How about the people robbed in the morning 9 am on there way to Albertsons. How about all the robberies in Goleta? Get the Businesses like Vons , Kmart to quit hiring the illegals under the table.Let them go home and get free medical , food and housing back in Mexico.

Time to make some changes!!!!

Who Owns The property in Old town Goleta??? : 8/5/2010

Seems like most of the area around there is housing for illegals and drunks. Not many clean family stores. I wouldn't call a run down mexican dive filled with a bunch illegals, a family store. It looks like a Dump..How many of the run down business really help Goleta?How can you expect people to shop there or walk there if it isn't safe? The sidewalks are a mess Get rid of the illegals hanging out at every corner. Clean up the store fronts. Put some plants and trees along the town. Make some parking along the streets and behind the stores/. There are a lot of business like Santa Cruz market, hamburger habit, and taco bell that have been here for years. There are so many people out of work..We need more businesses to want to move here. Everything is so expensive..Look at all the empty building and stores on Hollister.

Make the property owners pay for the work.

So many little Adolfs... : 8/5/2010

OT Goleta is not pretty, I agree. I've been living there for a year and I never felt insecure, and I walk and ride my bike at night, I go to 7 eleven, and no, I'm not your average gangsta looking, so I would be the "perfect target".
So much prejudice and disguised racism...poor mentality.
Let me tell you that comparing to some blocks on the East and West sides of SB...OT Goleta looks like Kindergarten!
Maybe some of the gang-bangers grandpas and grandmas live in OT Goleta...but the majority of the violent scum is in SB.
Sorry for the off-topic but the lil' nazis are everywhere!

Was Heinrich Himmler a Santa Barbaran?