At the March 16 Carpinteria City Council meeting, Julie Broughton received a commendation for her retirement from the Tree Advisory Board, which she chaired for nine years. Julie, a certified arborist and botanist, integrated her scientific knowledge to make recommendations for the health and protection of Carpinteria’s urban forest. We thank Julie for her many years of service to our community.

The Carpinteria City Council honored Peter Brown this week for his 36 years of excellent service to the City of Carpinteria. Peter retired in 2021 from the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and from the role of Principal Contract City Attorney for the City of Carpinteria. During his long tenure, he shepherded the City through numerous varied and complex legal matters.

Peter started with the City as a Deputy City Attorney in 1985 and was promoted to Senior Deputy City Attorney in 1990 and Principal Contact Attorney in 1992. His tenure is most notable for how he went about the work, conducting himself with the utmost integrity and professionalism, earning the trust and confidence of City Council and staff members, and the Carpinteria community. At the March 14 City Council meeting, members of the current City Council and City staff, several former Carpinteria mayors, and numerous former associates of Peter’s lauded him for his many years of hard work, skill, compassion and dedication to the City.

Carpinteria Community Pool will be closed on Wednesday, March 16 this week starting at 2:30 p.m. for a Carpinteria High School swim meet. Thank you for your patience with the closure. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/CarpinteriaPool.

The Carpinteria City Council will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, March 14 at 5:30 p.m. In accordance with State guidance, the City will provide both in-person and virtual attendance and participation options for the meeting.

Members of the public may attend the meeting at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. or view the meeting live at www.carpinteria.ca.us, on Government Access Television Channel 21 or by logging into the Zoom webinar.

The following topics are highlights of the agenda. Additional details and numerous ways for the public to provide comments can be found at https://bit.ly/3JazbDD. Comments posted on social media will not be provided to council members.

• Special City Council Commendation to retiring Tree Advisory Board Chair Julie Broughton.
• Congratulations to City Attorney Peter Brown on his retirement and commending and thanking him for 36 years of loyal and dedicated service to the City of Carpinteria. (Following the presentation the Council will recess to the patio for cake.)
• Receive a status report, award a construction contract, and authorize a budget increase for the Carpinteria Skate Park Project.
• Possible reconsideration and/or amendment to the motion and vote made at the Feb. 28 City Council Meeting regarding the selection of the proposed final map for City Council districts (at the request of Councilmembers Alarcon and Clark).
• Interim and long-term options for the establishment of City-operated, or sponsored, senior programs, including the provision of a City facility, or facilities, for programming.
• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Committee recommendations concerning the 2022-2023 Public Services Grant Applications and allocation of program funds.
• The City’s 2021 Housing Element Annual Progress Report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development on the status of implementation of its goals, policies and objectives.
• Highway 101 Fire Incident Emergency Repair update, approval of a budget allocation for the City’s potential portion of costs, and authorization for the City Manager to arrange for reimbursement to Caltrans as determined necessary.

Adults and young adults who are interested in learning to ride a bike more safely on city streets should consider signing up for free classes offered through SB Bike and COAST. Rotating monthly classes are offered, and flexible dates are available for special groups. Classes provide instruction for people learning to ride, those who want to ride more safely and confidently on city streets, those who are new to e-bikes, and even adults who want to lead group rides. To learn more, contact Diana at diana@sbbike.org or visit https://www.sbbike.org/adult_education.

The County of Santa Barbara is updating its Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) and has released a draft plan for public review at https://bit.ly/3IXwe9g. The purpose of the MJHMP Update is to improve disaster preparedness and reduce or eliminate risks to community, life and property. The MJHMP was last updated in 2017 and this update will apply beginning in 2022. The MJHMP Update will identify local hazards and mitigation measures available to reduce associated risks. “Mitigation measures” include actions or policies implemented to reduce or minimize the potential for an adverse impact, such as establishing fire safety setbacks to reduce the potential for a fire to spread.

Here are two ways for community members to participate and provide feedback.

1. Review any of the draft documents provided at  and send written feedback to J.D. Saucedo by 5 p.m. on March 15 either via email at jsaucedo@countyofsb.org or via mail to 4408 Cathedral Oaks Road, Santa Barbara, CA, 93110.
2. Attend the virtual public review and feedback workshop scheduled for Wednesday, March 9, at 5:30 p.m. No registration is necessary to attend; just use the information provided through the link above on March 9 to access a hyperlink to the virtual meeting room.

The City of Carpinteria honors women in our community, across our nation and around the world for their incredible accomplishments despite obstacles. We celebrate you!

At the recent Swim-A-Thon, members of the Carpinteria Aquatics Club raised over $15,000 toward new equipment and scholarships. The City of Carpinteria thanks our hardworking coaches for the highly successful event. Our hats are off to head coach Leilanie Silva, swim coach Armando Ramos, swim coach Sharon Otsuki, water polo coach Andrew Fedders, and an extra special shout out to swim coach Lexi Persoon who took the lead on this project.

Thanks to the support of the community, the club raised 50% more than its $10,000 goal. Our appreciation goes out to sponsors and raffle donors: City Market, Clementine’s Steak House, Food Liaison, Jacks Bagels, Carp Sports, Murrays Sports, Robitailles, A-Frame, Rincon Designs, Trader Joes, Bryn Fox of Patagonia, Odd Animals, Joni Acquistapace, and Uncle Chens. Also, a huge thank you to our volunteers, swimmers and parents for making this event possible.

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce will honor several outstanding Carpinterians at its 63rd Annual Carpinteria Community Awards Gala on Saturday, March 12, at Rincon Beach Club. Ahead of the event, filmmaker Larry Nimmer interviewed each Junior Carpinterian of the Year finalists and the Educators of the Year for a series of videos that can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3sMHZdd. Junior Carpinterian finalists are Sierra Mayoral, Kate Cooney and Eduardo Vences. Educator honorees are Ryan Ethington (2020), Kate Guede and Carolyn Haines. The City of Carpinteria congratulates these outstanding members of our community for their hard work and dedication. To learn more about the Community Awards Gala or to purchase tickets, visit www.sbscchamber.com/.

The California Green Business Network is hosting free info sessions for business owners and managers to learn how to access our $500 cash incentives/rebates while learning the best sustainable business practices. Join a session to find out exactly what you will need to do to qualify and get help signing up for our challenge by March 31, 2022. These grants won’t last on are limited to the first 60 enrollees — sign up today at bit.ly/SBCv22!