Blog note; This article references a grand jury report, highlighted below.
City Administrator Paul Casey is under heavy pressure on multiple fronts, most notably the operations of the Community Development Department
Paul Casey spoke these words a month ago at a
Santa Barbara City Council meeting: "This is the worst disaster in 100
years."
At the time, he was talking about the COVID-19
pandemic, but his analysis of this time period has taken on an entirely
different meaning for Santa Barbara City Hall and its Community Development
Department.
Like the 1925 earthquake that toppled Santa
Barbara's buildings, an unprecedented crush of criticism and controversy has
rattled Santa Barbara's government with enormous force that has everyone
shaking.
Behind the scenes, according to multiple City
Hall sources, Casey is crafting multiple plans, one of which could result in
Community Development Director George Buell announcing his retirement soon,
giving Casey cover and possibly some political protection.
Casey did not comment to Noozhawk when asked
about such a scenario.
"It all goes to back to Paul," said Jim
Knell, founder of the SIMA Management. "He hires everyone underneath him.
It is up to him to say, 'I am responsible for this and I will change.' But it
has never happened."
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Casey, 54, is
grappling with the kind of big-decision, career-defining moments that can make
or break a bureaucrat.
Casey, who earns about $290,000 annually, is
under pressure to shake up the Community Development Department, which is based
at 630 Garden St., or risk his own position as the city administrator.
The business community has been complaining for
years about the sluggish pace of city permitting and approvals. State Street
has long been struggling with retail and restaurant storefront vacancies in the
downtown core. But the problems have exploded in recent months.
A civil grand jury report released
June 2 stated that "a bias existed against growth in the city of Santa
Barbara" and "this bias was most evident in the delay in approval of
permits."
The grand jury determined that "there is a
lack of strong leadership at several levels, insufficient coordination and
communication between the Building and Safety Division and the Planning
Division, an impression of a slow-growth policy, inconsistent customer service
and a fee structure which could be a deterrent to building development."
The report stated that city inspectors don't
communicate quickly and efficiently what corrections need to made to projects,
which leads to multiple unnecessary visits, causing delays.
In addition, the report stated that city staff
does not routinely hand out checklists at the beginning of the process,
enforces building standards inconsistently depending on the staff member, and
that many of the employees are newly hired, lacking knowledge, training and
experience.
The grand jury report was just one of the
temblors.
The city in the past 18 months commissioned two
consultant studies, at a cost of $86,000 and $84,000. Known as the Novak and
Kosmont reports, they both confirmed what business leaders have been saying for
years: The planning and building department is broken and in need of drastic
changes.
New City Council Perspectives
But while it's not unusual for business leaders
to grumble about government bureaucracy, the turmoil at City Hall stretches
much deeper than just anguished property managers and business owners.
Several members of the Santa Barbara City
Council — Casey's bosses — are openly calling for change.
That's likely in part because of district
elections, which have infused new perspectives into City Hall. Eastside and
Westside council members aren't playing the political game of necessarily
ingratiating themselves to the city administrator.
Traditionally, council members have deferred to
the city administrator, while focusing instead on the politics, sound bites and
broad-brush policy issues.
For the first time in decades, however, council
members are looking inside of City Hall and raising questions — and demanding
answers — in ways that have not happened previously during Casey's tenure.
The seven members of the council are all going
their separate political ways, and with the mayor under fire on multiple
fronts, there is no unifying leadership amid the several public scandals.
"We need to start holding people
accountable, and we need to start with the leadership," Councilwoman
Alejandra Gutierrez said. "You have these huge reports that are basically
saying the same thing that the community is complaining about. Paul, as the
city administrator, he is going to have to make really tough decisions.
"We can no longer be paying $86,000 for
reports that tell us what we already know. That is a slap in the face. He is
going to have to let people go.”
Gutierrez brings street smarts to the council.
She asks a lot of questions, and has come in hot since she ousted Jason
Dominguez in November.
She said in the real world, outside of
government, people learn to act sooner and quicker because it's a matter of
survival.
"We literally are in a state of emergency,
and we have to do what we have to do to move on," Gutierrez said.
In addition to the consultant and grand jury
reports, developer Ed St. George launched a petition in February calling for
Casey to be fired, and Santa Barbara resident James Fenkner launched a petition
calling for Casey and top city officials to take a 30-percent pay cut amid the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Casey spoke to Noozhawk about the turmoil, but
said that Community Development Director George Buell would not be made
available for an interview.
Buell did not respond to Noozhawk's separate
requests for comment.
Multiple sources speculated to Noozhawk that
Buell might announce his retirement soon, but that could not be confirmed.
"I have been here 23 years," Casey
told Noozhawk. "This is easily the most challenging professional moment of
my career. I wake up every day and work very hard, keeping focused on the task
at hand and keeping focused on what's important, and that's making sure the
city is responding to the pandemic in a thoughtful and meaningful way, that
we're dealing with the worst budget crisis this city has faced in modern times,
in a methodical and deliberate way."
Casey's hands are tied in terms of what he can
say.
His bosses are the seven members of the City
Council, some of whom have intimated that if he doesn't take action in the
Community Development Department, it will be at his own risk.
He was hired as city administrator in 2015, and
before that served as the community development director. Perhaps more so than
any other city administrator in the past 45 years, Casey is experiencing a
shift in direction from a council.
Historically, City Council members have been
slow-growthers, getting elected with promises to maintain Santa Barbara's
unique charm and sense of history.
Prior to district elections, the council was
made up of largely retired people. Younger, newer members of the council now
give the business leaders their ear, and that outside influence is showing up
at City Hall.
Noozhawk
By Joshua Molina, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @JECMolina
June 11, 2020
By Joshua Molina, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @JECMolina
June 11, 2020
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