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For a meeting about urban planning, Monday night’s gathering drew an unorthodox crowd: health care officials and social service providers.
As the city heads into the long process of updating of its general plan -- a major effort to dictate growth and development for the next 20 years -- health officials say that high rates of obesity, diabetes and other health-related issues can be compounded by poor planning.
“The things you do dictate where people go, how they get from Point A to Point B,” said Alex Kelter, a retired physician and statewide chief of Epidemiology and Prevention for Injury Control. “What you do probably has more to do with health care than anything.”
Kelter directed those comments toward the city leaders and planning staff in the audience, but those local officials were by far the minority among the 70 people who attended Monday’s gathering at Cottage Hospital.  From left, John Ledbetter, Judy Corbett and Alex Kelter answer questions at a General Plan meeting that focused on health care. Photo by Melissa Evans/SBN
It is no accident, Kelter said, that obesity rates rose as neighborhoods fanned out from city centers, schools and workplaces.
Other speakers Monday included Judy Corbett, executive director of the Local Government Commission, a group that has helped cities plan better for the health of its residents; and John Ledbetter, the principal planner in charge of Santa Barbara’s general plan update, called Plan Santa Barbara.Ledbetter and others agreed downtown Santa Barbara is already a good example of smart planning; for example, it has elements of mixed use construction and transit efficiency. But the city also completed a recent study of the upper State Street area — an area considered not so pedestrian-friendly, needing better connectivity to the rest of the city.
Santa Barbara also has an ongoing and looming problem -- how to build housing for middle class workers. Sprawl is not the answer, Kelter said.
 Helene Scheider
Communities all over the country will have to do a better job as the rates of obesity skyrocket, he said. Deaths from illnesses attributable to excessive weight are near the rate of deaths from tobacco, according to his figures.The city will begin a series of community meetings throughout the summer to get input about what people like and don’t like about Santa Barbara. The plan isn’t expected to be complete for another two years.
Monday’s meeting certainly deviated from the norm. Usually, general plan discussions are packed with developers and architects.
“You are not the usual suspects when it comes to planning and urban design,” Schneider told the crowd, “but you should be.”
Kelter and Corbett made cases for more dense development downtown, including a more creative use of mixed use buildings that include commercial and residential components.
Grouping people together leaves more room for larger parks, which lead to more active lifestyles, and makes transit more efficient, they said. It also encourages people to get out of their cars and onto to their feet, bikes, strollers and walkers.
Density, though, is a hotly debated topic in Santa Barbara -- especially now. A number of tall buildings being erected in the downtown corridor has sparked a heated discussion about protecting the character of Santa Barbara, including its scenic views and historic districts, and providing housing for the workforce.
The key planning agencies in Santa Barbara are discussing ways to deal with the height of buildings, something expected to be a huge component in the general plan update.
The discussion over Santa Barbara’s future will continue with the next General Plan meeting, which is from 6 to 9 p.m. June 13 at the Faulkner Gallery. For a complete schedule or more information about the General Plan, visit www.YouPlanSb.org. |
