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Isla Vista Voters Approve Special Tax Measure For Parks, Community Services

Residents of a Santa Barbara County community approved a special tax to help support a number of community services ranging from lighting to parks.

Isla Vista Recreation and Park District voters approved Measure O by an 80% to 20% margin. The measure creates a roughly $29 dollar a year special tax per bedroom in Isla Vista, and a 72 cent a square foot a year special tax on non-residential property. It would generate about $250,000 a year, or $2.5 million dollars over the ten year lifespan of the special tax. Boosters say the money is needed to help fund the district’s 50 acres of parks and other facilities, as well as community programs. There was no organized opposition to the proposal.

Because a park bond measure ended this year, the new tax will mean many property owners will actually end up spending about the same amount as they did in past years.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.