STATE, COUNTY AND CITY OF SANTA BARBARA GIVE THE GREEN LIGHT FOR RETAIL & RESTAURANTS TO OPEN

STATE STREET CLOSES TO CARS AND OPENS
 TO PEDESTRIANS FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

On Tuesday, Santa Barbara city council voted unanimously 7-0 to allow restaurants and cafes to expand their seating into sidewalks, public and private parking spaces as “creating parklets” and some sections of roadway citywide as an emergency measure to give more space to conduct business using social distancing practices.  
 
On Wednesday evening Governor Newsom gave the green light to move Santa Barbara into phase 2B which allows Retail and Dine-in Restaurants to open again, under the guidelines provided.
 
Late Thursday the City of Santa Barbara has made the decision to close State Street (from Sola Street to Haley) to vehicular traffic and open the roadway to give businesses and their customers more space to social distance over Memorial Day weekend and (potentially for some weeks, possibly months ahead for a temporary emergency measure due to Covid-19.) Cross streets will remain open to vehicular traffic.  State street will close to vehicular traffic at 4 pm today, Friday May 22 .
 
Questions about street closures can be directed to Rob Dayton, at  RDayton@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.
 
Guidelines for re-opening restaurant and retail businesses are described in the RISE guide at the links below . These forms will be required by ALL Businesses even if you have been open thus far. So, two things you will need to do:
 
 
This process is free and there will not be any inspections, unless large modifications have been made to your business.
 
RISE is the guidelines put in place by the County, so please refer to them as needed. 
 
As we move into the re-opening of our downtown over Memorial Day weekend, we encourage you to be cautious and safe as you begin to open. 
 
Please let us know when you are open so we can help spread the word!
Email Tim Persson Digital Marketing Manager at  Tim@DowntownSB.org

How can I expand my restaurant seating to outdoor areas?
The city is quickly preparing information to provide guidelines for establishing outdoor dining. The City will provide technical assistance on alcoholic beverage regulation issues, including completion of ABC forms, and related matters. More information will follow regarding these items. To propose an outdoor dining area adjacent to your business, send an email to OutdoorDining@SantaBarbaraCA.gov .

We are excited about the possibilities and the renewed energy this will create for our downtown. All of this is possible because of the hard work and collaboration of many businesses, public and private entities, and agencies. More work will need to be done as we work through the additional phases. Downtown Santa Barbara will continue to communicate information as we receive it from local authorities. 
 
Reactivating Downtown
DSB staff will be working to additionally activate downtown spaces in an increasing way over time with a focus on highlighting downtown businesses and area organizations. 
 
If you are interested in offering an activity in the street or sidewalk  or if you have additional questions in general contact Robin Elander, Downtown Santa Barbara Interim Executive Director at  Robin@DowntownSB.org  or Erik Krueger at  Erik@DowntownSB.org .