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STOEBER A FUTURE HERE

District 6 · State Street & Downtown

State Street should be Santa Barbara's front porch: safe, active, local, creative, and full of life.

An operating plan, not endless drift.

Position on record · Updated July 12, 2026

Candidate standing on a palm-lined downtown pedestrian promenade

The position, plainly

I support a pedestrian-first State Street and the decision to keep the promenade in place while the permanent plan is completed. The next step is disciplined execution: safer walking and biking, reliable emergency access, accessible routes, clear deliveries and outdoor dining, clean public spaces, faster business openings, useful parking and transit, local programming, and a public dashboard that shows whether downtown is working.

What is happening

The long-term design is moving forward. Daily operations still cannot wait.

The City describes the State Street Master Plan as a 20- to 30-year vision for downtown. A revised draft was released in April 2026, public review closed June 30, and the final plan was scheduled to return to City Council in August 2026.

On June 30, Council directed staff to maintain the pedestrian-centered promenade while the permanent plan is completed and to return with the ordinance work needed for the interim configuration. Council also called for practical improvements around accessibility, e-bike safety, and the operating details that shape the daily experience.

That decision settles the interim direction. It does not complete the work. A successful State Street still depends on lighting, cleaning, public safety, emergency access, deliveries, outdoor dining, parking, transit, storefront openings, housing and adaptive reuse, cultural activity, and clear responsibility when something fails.

State Street is more than a street-design question. It is civic and fiscal infrastructure: the front door for downtown businesses, residents, workers, visitors, arts institutions, public events, and confidence in Santa Barbara's ability to execute.

People walking, dining, and shopping along an active downtown street
Candidate speaking with a resident beside an active downtown street

Honest scope

What City Council actually controls here — and what it does not.

Council should decide the public direction, fund the work, write clear rules, use public assets well, and require measurable delivery. It should not pretend it can personally choose tenants, set private rents, or manufacture consumer demand.

Council decides

  • The street's legal configuration, permanent design framework, capital phasing, and public-space standards.
  • Budgets for maintenance, lighting, sanitation, police presence, mobility, parking, public restrooms, and activation.
  • Rules for bicycles and e-bikes, deliveries, loading, emergency access, outdoor dining, vending, events, and accessibility.
  • Downtown parking policy, City-owned lots and assets, shuttle partnerships, wayfinding, and access investments.
  • Zoning, adaptive reuse pathways, housing rules, public leases, and development agreements within lawful process.
  • Business-opening programs, permit standards, contracts, performance dashboards, and accountability reviews.

Beyond this seat

  • Private lease rates, lender decisions, tenant selection, business models, and whether an individual store succeeds.
  • Interest rates, construction prices, insurance costs, tourism cycles, and broader retail-market changes.
  • Day-to-day department deployment or preferential permit treatment for a particular applicant.
  • Federal and state accessibility, fire, transportation, labor, and environmental requirements.
  • Every personal preference about cars, bicycles, dining, events, parking, housing, noise, or design satisfied at once.
  • Council can still create certainty, lower avoidable friction, protect public value, and make performance visible.

Alexander's operating plan

Manage the street every day while building the permanent future.

ACTION 01

Healthy Streets Operating Plan

Run State Street as one coordinated public place, with block-level standards for safety, cleaning, lighting, sanitation, restrooms, repairs, reporting, and visible activity.

Owner: City Administrator with Public Works, Police, Parks and Recreation, Community Development, and downtown partners.

First step: Publish one operating map showing responsible departments, service standards, recurring problem locations, contact routes, and escalation rules.

Voters will see: Lighting uptime, cleaning and repair times, visible coverage, usable sidewalks, restroom availability, and fewer repeat failures.

ACTION 02

Safe Movement & Access Plan

Make pedestrian priority real while reducing conflicts among walkers, bicycles, e-bikes, deliveries, emergency vehicles, people with disabilities, and major events.

Owner: Public Works, Police, Fire, Accessibility staff, and the City Administrator.

First step: Set a near-term package for speed, separation, signage, crossing behavior, enforcement, emergency lanes, loading windows, parades, and accessible routes.

Voters will see: Fewer conflicts and injuries, clearer routes, reliable emergency access, better compliance, and published before-and-after data.

ACTION 03

State Street Local Life Plan

Fill the public realm with reasons to return: arts, music, film nights, youth performances, local vendors, family activities, nonprofit events, civic conversations, and seasonal programming.

Owner: Parks and Recreation and Community Development with arts, cultural, business, nonprofit, school, and neighborhood partners.

First step: Create a 12-month programming calendar, simple event pathway, block-by-block capacity map, neighborhood protections, and clear public-safety and cleanup responsibilities.

Voters will see: More locally produced events, stronger repeat visitation, balanced programming, and public spaces used throughout the week—not only on special occasions.

ACTION 04

Small Business Clear Path

Build on ACCELERATE State Street so an operator can understand a space before signing a lease and move through design, building, fire, accessibility, and public-works review without insider knowledge.

Owner: Community Development with Fire, Public Works, Finance, Sustainability, and a designated downtown development liaison.

First step: Require one intake, one coordinated pre-lease assessment, one correction record, transparent fees, target timelines, and public reporting on permit completion.

Voters will see: Faster openings, fewer avoidable surprises, better use of vacant spaces, and a clear explanation when a project misses its target.

ACTION 05

Downtown Access & Parking Network

Treat parking, deliveries, transit, walking, biking, rideshare, accessibility, and wayfinding as one access system rather than competing talking points.

Owner: Public Works and Downtown Parking with MTD, businesses, residents, hotels, and visitor partners.

First step: Publish parking occupancy and turnover, loading needs, employee access, shuttle use, wayfinding gaps, accessible parking, and event-demand patterns by district and time of day.

Voters will see: Easier arrivals, clearer parking choices, functional loading, stronger transit connections, and pricing tied to service and public value.

ACTION 06

Downtown Housing & Adaptive Reuse Pathway

Add residents and useful space where it fits—especially upper floors, underused offices, mixed-use sites, and public assets—while protecting historic character, access, safety, and economic feasibility.

Owner: Community Development with Housing and Community Vitality, Public Works, Fire, Finance, and lawful review bodies.

First step: Identify the most viable conversion and infill categories, the rules blocking them, infrastructure needs, and projects capable of moving in 12, 24, and 36 months.

Voters will see: Completed homes and conversions, occupied upper floors, preserved public value, and more daily customers without vague promises.

ACTION 07

State Street Public Results Dashboard

Put the street's operating, economic, safety, mobility, housing, and fiscal measures in one public place with a responsible owner and next action.

Owner: City Administrator and Finance, supported by operating departments and downtown partners.

First step: Establish a baseline before major capital construction and publish quarterly results with costs, deadlines, risks, and corrective actions.

Voters will see: What changed, what it cost, who owns the next step, and whether permanent investments are delivering the promised public value.

Public Results Test

This page, held to the campaign's standard.

What is the action?
A daily operating plan, safe movement rules, local-life programming, a business clear path, a connected access network, a reuse pathway, and one public dashboard.
Who owns delivery?
The City Administrator assigns departmental ownership; Council sets policy, budget, public standards, and review.
What does it cost?
Every operating expansion and capital phase receives a recurring-cost note, capital estimate, funding source, maintenance obligation, and effect on reserves.
What is the deadline?
Near-term operations begin before permanent construction; every capital phase receives a published milestone schedule and decision date.
What is the result?
A State Street that is easier to use, safer to move through, faster to open a business on, more active throughout the week, and financially explainable.

ACTION · OWNER · COST · DEADLINE · RESULT

How progress will be measured

The numbers residents, workers, and businesses should be able to see.

Clean and functional

Cleaning frequency, lighting uptime, restroom access, repair time, waste conditions, blocked paths, and repeat service locations.

Safe movement

Crashes, injuries, reported conflicts, observed speeds, crossings, accessibility barriers, enforcement, and emergency-access performance.

Business health

Storefront vacancy, openings, closures, permit time, tenant durability, sales-tax trend, and the mix of locally useful businesses.

Access

Parking occupancy, turnover, employee permits, accessible spaces, deliveries, shuttle ridership, wayfinding, and arrival satisfaction.

Public life

Events, attendance, repeat visitation, family and youth programming, local vendor participation, public-space use, and complaints resolved.

Housing and reuse

Applications, approvals, construction starts, completions, upper-floor occupancy, adaptive reuse, affordability, and delivery time.

Fiscal value

Operating cost, capital commitments, maintenance liability, parking performance, sales-tax contribution, funding sources, and reserve effect.

Public trust

Issue-response time, named owners, published milestones, missed deadlines, corrective action, and resident and business confidence.

A fair look at the debate

People disagree about vehicles. Most agree the temporary feeling and daily friction should end.

Some residents and business owners believe returning cars would restore visibility, convenience, direct access, and the traditional commercial purpose of the street.

Others believe a pedestrian-centered corridor has created safer gathering space, stronger events, outdoor activity, and a more valuable public realm—and that reopening the street would reverse that progress.

Both groups raise legitimate operating questions about e-bikes, accessibility, deliveries, emergency response, parking, business performance, cost, beauty, and historic character.

My position: keep State Street pedestrian-first, stop treating the issue as a permanent tug-of-war, and build a flexible, enforceable, fiscally honest design around how the street must actually function. Public life and reliable access have to work together.

Questions people actually ask

State Street: straight answers.

Are you for cars or no cars on State Street?

I support a pedestrian-first State Street and keeping the current promenade while the permanent plan is completed. I do not support returning the entire corridor to its pre-2020 configuration. The permanent design should remain flexible enough for emergency response, deliveries, accessibility, parades, maintenance, and carefully managed access where evidence shows a clear public benefit.

Has the City already decided what happens next?

On June 30, 2026, Council directed staff to maintain the pedestrian-centered promenade while the Master Plan is completed and to return with the ordinance work needed for the interim configuration. The City had scheduled the final Master Plan for Council consideration in August 2026. The final design, funding, phasing, ordinance details, and implementation schedule still require public decisions.

What would you do first?

Require a 90-day Healthy Streets Operating Plan with named owners for cleaning, lighting, public safety, accessibility, bike and e-bike conflicts, deliveries, restrooms, emergency access, repairs, events, and issue reporting. Long-term design should not become an excuse for avoidable daily failures.

How would you handle e-bikes and pedestrian conflicts?

Use physical separation where feasible, clear pedestrian-priority zones, visible speed rules, better intersection treatment, consistent signage, focused enforcement, education, and published conflict and injury data. A rule that is hard to understand or rarely enforced is not a functioning rule.

How does this help small businesses?

Businesses need reliable foot traffic, visibility, safe surroundings, convenient access, workable deliveries, clear outdoor-dining rules, faster tenant-improvement review, and fewer surprises before signing a lease. I would strengthen ACCELERATE State Street and publish permit, opening, vacancy, and access performance rather than judging downtown by anecdotes alone.

Does pedestrian-first mean parking does not matter?

Parking matters as part of the access network. The City should measure occupancy, turnover, employee needs, accessible spaces, pricing, security, wayfinding, and event demand—and connect parking to the shuttle, transit, walking, biking, deliveries, and rideshare. The goal is a clear arrival experience, not loyalty to one mode.

Do you support outdoor dining?

Yes, where it is accessible, safe, attractive, fairly administered, and compatible with emergency access, deliveries, sanitation, neighboring uses, and the permanent street design. Businesses deserve standards they can understand before investing, and the public deserves a street that remains usable.

Where does housing fit?

More downtown residents can support local businesses, reduce some trips, activate upper floors, and make State Street feel lived in throughout the week. I support housing and adaptive reuse where they fit, with clear design, infrastructure, fire, access, feasibility, affordability, and public-value standards. Housing is part of downtown renewal, not a substitute for daily management.

What about homelessness, safety, and public behavior?

State Street needs visible public safety, clean and accessible spaces, clear rules, fair enforcement, outreach, shelter and crisis-care pathways, and accountability when conduct harms others. The Health plan explains the broader system. Humanity and order belong together.

How will the City afford the permanent plan?

Phase it. Publish the capital cost, operating cost, maintenance obligation, funding source, reserve effect, and measurable benefit before each commitment. A beautiful rendering is not a fiscal plan. Every permanent investment should pass a public-value test for safety, access, business vitality, housing, public life, beauty, durability, and cost.

Related

The full platform, the public-safety system, and the actions.

Platform

A Future Here

See how Housing, Health, and Hope work as one governing system for District 6.

Issue page

Health & Public Safety

Read the plan for professional public safety, crisis care, public-space standards, and measurable trust.

Download

Actual Actions Plan

Review the campaign's named Council actions, ownership paths, and public-results framework.

What brings you downtown—and what keeps you away?

Share what you experience as a resident, worker, customer, business owner, visitor, cyclist, pedestrian, driver, or neighbor. Alexander reviews these responses directly.

Share your State Street priority Join the campaign

Sources

Where the public record comes from.

  1. City of Santa Barbara — Create State / State Street Master Plan. Official project status, timeline, updates, public documents, and contact information.
  2. Draft State Street Master Plan and Draft Appendices. The City's 2026 long-term design, mobility, economic, public-realm, infrastructure, implementation, and technical materials.
  3. Santa Barbara City Council — June 30, 2026 meeting. Official agenda and meeting record for the interim State Street direction and Title 31 discussion.
  4. City of Santa Barbara — State Street Initiatives and Promenade Rules and Regulations. Current City programs and public-use standards.
  5. City of Santa Barbara — ACCELERATE 2.0. Pre-lease assessment, expedited design review, priority plan review, and coordinated downtown business-opening assistance.
  6. City of Santa Barbara — Downtown Parking Lots and 2026 Downtown–Waterfront Shuttle. Current access, parking, and transit context.
  7. City of Santa Barbara — Paseo Nuevo Redevelopment. Current downtown housing, public-asset, and redevelopment context.
  8. Alexander Stoeber — Actual Actions Plan. The campaign's State Street environmental safety, local-life, business-opening, housing-delivery, and public-results proposals.

This page states a campaign position and proposed governing approach. Project design, costs, legal documents, and implementation details remain subject to lawful public review, adopted budgets, final engineering, and the public record. Recheck the final Master Plan status after the scheduled August 2026 Council consideration.

Facts last verified July 12, 2026

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