Isla Vista, California
Isla vista is a small college town in the county of Santa Barbara. The majority of people who live in Isla Vista, are students who attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, and others who attend the nearby Santa Barbara Community College. This college town however, is also made up of families with children who attend the Isla Vista Elementary School. All together, we generate a population of 23,096 within an area of 1.86 square miles (Wikipedia).
The Road to Self-governance
When one thinks of Isla Vista, they think about all the negative aspects. Us Isla Vistians are looked at as crazy college students running a town. We are especially known for negative past events, which often overshadows the good that we do. For example, the rioting, high crime rates, sexual harassment assaults, drug and alcohol abuse, and of course the most famous reputation of being the best partiers. Isla Vista is extremely really looked down upon, no one wants to have any part it IV. The city of Goleta, for example, fought for independence and became its own city. According to Wikipedia, "the “city of Goleta was incorporated in 2001, the residents of Goleta successfully persuaded LAFCO to exclude Isla Vista from the new city's boundaries.” In the article “Isla Vista hopes to become it own city,” a writer of the Horizon a publication of Westmount College, Ariel Adams sates, “IV has had a history of failed attempts to gain cityhood in 1972, 1975 and 1983. Many argue that Isla Vista is a risk to take on and shouldn’t have self-governance” because the majority of people who live in IV are transient students and believe they wouldn’t make wise decisions.
Source: Measure E & F Facebook page
Image taken by Arlene Arroyo
Image taken by Arlene Arroyo
Image taken by Arlene Arroyo
Image taken by Arlene Arroyo
Image taken by Arlene Arroyo
Image taken by Arlene Arroyo
Source: Measure E & F facebook page
Source: http://www.independent.com/news/2016/nov/08/santa-barbara-votes-2016-general-election/
Election Day
November 8th 2016, Isla Vista California
On November 8th 2016 for the first time in the history, we were finally able to decide on the future of our community. we voted on two historic measures, Measure E and Measure F. As a community we elected Joan Hartmann as county supervisor, who supports Measures E & F, to represent the beautiful and unique city of Isla Vista. After decades of efforts, Isla Vista finally reached its accomplishment of gaining self-governance.
Measures E & F
According to the website islavista2016.com, the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) is the foundation for Measure E. Its main focus is to improve the quality of life in Isla Vista by ensuring safety, representation, and empowerment through self-governance. The IVCSD will provide residents with a seven-member Board of Directors that can make decisions on behalf of their community: five residents elected at large and two appointees. Measure F, is the Utility User Tax (UUT) is the most vital part of the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) as it will fund all services and administration of the district ranging from community policing to tenant mediation and parking control (IslaVista2016.com). Johnathan Abboud, a former Campaign Organizer for Yes on E & F – IVCSD 2016 states that Measures E & F will bring a “dedicated tax revenue that is wholly managed locally here in Isla Vista that can only be used for direct improvements to our community, a voice for the community, a local representation and better and more community services.”
Measure E
Measure E was designed to establish a local government called Community Services District that would be run by Isla Vista residents. It will implement 8 essential services. A tenant mediation program, A parking district, Lighting, gutter, sidewalk and street tree improvements, Graffiti abatement, Community policing, an Area Planning Commission, Operating of an Isla Vista Community Center, and a Municipal Advisory Council. (IslaVista2016.com)
Measure F
Measure F is designed to fund Measure E, it will be in the form of an 8% Utility User’s Tax on your electricity, water, gas, and trash bills - amounting to about $5-$10 per resident per month to raise $512,000 for the direct benefit of Isla Vista, according to an impartial government options financial analysis. (IslaVista2016.com)
Why does Isla Vista need self- governance?
In the Isla Vista Study 1969, Linda Bond, a Student Intern writes about how “Isla Vista has the potential to become either ghetto-like environment characterized by landlord-tenant tensions, over-policing and resident apathy or a model environment of intellect, concerned people working together toward community beautification and renewal.” In the document, she includes issues in Isla Vista that need attention, these issues include subjects such as “realtor-student tension problems, impersonal police practice, and poor physical surroundings such as lack of parks, sidewalks, bikeways and lighting.” Bond also includes the results of a survey where 1511 residents of Isla Vista answered several questions regarding government issues.
In this survey, 76.7% residents were in favor of rent control and 67% residents were in favor of sidewalks being placed in areas where there are no sidewalks. Lastly 50% if residents voted yes in agreeing to pay an annual tax to pay for the added cost of running the city of IV.
47 years ago Isla Vista had tension between students and landlords, and problems with parking, sidewalks and lighting. Does that seem familiar to you? It’s 2016 and nothing has seemed to change. Still, we have parking problems, insufficient sidewalks and lighting and problems between students and landlords. Still, Isla Vista is fighting for cityhood, and still people would have been willing to pay an extra tax for these services.
Picture taken by Arlene Arroyo
Source: https://localwiki.org/islavista/Walking_in_the_street
Source: http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=146869
Picture taken by Arlene Arroyo
There are times where I would be too afraid to walk at night because some streets in IV don’t have sufficient lighting or real sidewalks
Leslie Acero, Soledad, CA
Slide 1: http://archive.vcstar.com/news/police-quell-isla-vista-crowds-as-ventura-county-officers-sent-to-help-photos-ep-458915222-351410191.html Slide 2: http://vdbphotos.com/?page_id=2452 Slide 3: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/100-people-arrested-after-college-party-turns-violent-n73171
In the Daily Nexus article Deltopia 2014: What Happened? Daniel Slovinsky states it all began “when the officer was struck in the head with a backpack containing bottles of alcohol.” The violence began to spread in IV as the battle between the law enforcement and the participants continued. The law enforcement “formed a barricade and dispersed crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets” and the participants threw objects such as bottles, bricks and rocks, burned mattresses, ripped up stop signs, destroyed car windshields and damaged police vehicles. Jazmine Gutierrez, a UCSB alumni said “they were screaming out “fuck the police” and we knew then and there they were out of towners because clearly if you live in IV you know not to mess with the cops… and we were right….”
2014 Isla Vista Massacre
Source: http://archive.gradpost.ucsb.edu/headlines/tag/isla-vista
Source: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/unfortunate-accident
Source: http://www.thesurfchannel.com/news/20140530/video-isla-vista-memorial-paddle-out-to-honor-victims/
Source: http://archive.gradpost.ucsb.edu/headlines/tag/isla-vista
On May 23rd 2014, a man went on a horrifying shooting rampage in the small college town of Isla Vista. A former SBCC student, 22, killed 6 UCSB students and left 13 wounded before taking his own life. According to Willian Avila of NBC Los Angeles News, he “stabbed three men to death inside his Isla Vista apartment” then got into his black BMW and fatally shot 3 people, two in front of the Alpha Phi sorority house and one inside the Deli Mart. The shooting lasted eight long minutes before the man took his own life. The community came together and created the UCSB Week of Solidarity cope with the tragedy, it consisted of a week’s worth of events such as “a candle light vigil Saturday evening, where 5,000 students joined together to march silently through the streets of Isla Vista” It went “from dog therapy to free massages to a paddle out to the ocean, there is an immense amount of love coming from the people in this beachside home away from home.” (Sky Serge, I Survived the Isla Vista Shooting, http://www.vice.com/read/i-survived-the-isla-vista-shooting)
We were definitely there for each other. A lot of people where really traumatized. It was just hard to see them go through it and not really knowing what to say.. It made everyone in the community much more closer together and more careful.
Luis Diaz, Isla Vista, CA
Josh Ortiz, The Daily Nexus
Measure E had won overwhelming approval with 87.52 percent of the vote, but Measure F gained 62.46 percent approval. It needed 66.66 percent of the vote to pass.
The concept of Measures E & F seems to have been in controversy for many decades. Forty-seven years ago issues in Isla Vista such as student and tenant tensions, poor sidewalks, lighting, and parking were in public debate. Forty-seven years later, these topics are still in discussion. With better lighting, more sidewalks, better police relations, we may be able to create a safer environment in Isla Vista and can hopefully prevent tragedies.
2016 was the year to achieve cityhood and resolve major issues as Measures E & F finally made it on the ballot. According to Josh Ortiz, a writer of the Daily Nexus, “Measure E had won overwhelming approval with 87.52 percent of the vote, but Measure F gained 62.46 percent approval. It needed 66.66 percent of the vote to pass.” Measure F was just 4.2 percent votes short. Now, without Measure F, there basically is no Measure E. Ortiz quotes “the newly elected CSD board member Jay Freeman said it will be difficult to obtain enough money ‘to pay for anything important.’”
So now what? The Assembly Bill 3 states that if the UUT is not approved by voters before January 1 of 2023, the CSD shall be dissolved as of that date (California Legislative Information, Assembly Bill No. 3). With this being said, the Community Services District board members can technically decide to incorporate the User Utility Tax on the next midterm election however, running another campaign means that they would need money in order to do so. This would be difficult to achieve since the big issue about this campaign is the lack of money.
Other concerns is the question of how difficult it would be “to have voters approve a tax that has already been denied” (Ortiz). Darcél Elliott, Yes on E&F campaign manager believes that the voters were misled into believing that “the tax would significantly increase rent, when, in actuality, the tax would have only been an additional $5 to $10 every month.”
So here we are now, with Measure E but no F. So many opportunities 2016 had to offer and for the first time in history the small densely populated college town gained one thing out of this long process, that is, cityhood. To the residents of the City of Isla Vista, we had one job. To all the problems still yet to be resolved in IV, hang in there, we’ll get to you eventually (hopefully).
Deltopia Riots
April 5,2014
On April 5th of 2014 A riot broke out at UCSB's annual event held during spring break called "Deltopia"