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City supports backfill bills Reminding the public that 60 percent of the recently reduced vehicle license fees (VLF) go toward funding out local fire and police services, Councilwoman Iya Falcone urged people concerned about public safety funding to follow the city’s lead and contact Senator Tom McClintock, Assembly Member Hannah-Beth Jackson and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about three pending backfill appropriations bills: SB 5x 1 (Brulte); AB 5x 1 (Cox) and AB 5x 2 (Lowenthal).

According to Mayor Marty Blum’s letter, “If the Legislature and Governor fail to enact this appropriation, the December quarterly payment to cities and counties will be reduced by over two-thirds.” For the remainder of this fiscal year, this reduction will amount to $2.9 million in lost revenue to the city, in addition to the $1.1 million in deferred backfill payments already owed to the city by the state. — L.D.

No more parking at the parks
In case it wasn’t clear before: when the parks are closed so are the parking lots. On Dec. 16 the City Council adopted a change to the parking violation penalties that will enable police to issue $35 tickets to vehicles parked in park lots between
10 p.m. and sunrise. “This will clarify a great deal of the confusion that park parking lots are not a part of the parks,” said Richard Johns, director of the parks and recreation department.

Incoming councilman Das Williams spoke against the penalties of behalf of those people who live in recreational vehicles, who will now have one less place they are legally allowed to park overnight.

Councilwoman Iya Falcone said she is an advocate of additional legal spots for those people who live in their vehicles, but supported the new fines along with the rest of the current council. — L.D.

Music Academy plans hit snag Governmental congestion continues to snarl plans for expanding the Music Academy of the West.

A thumbs-up from the Montecito Planning Commission never surfaced Dec. 11 after neighbors of the world-class Montecito school of 150 students and 80 staff complained about parking and transportation problems.

Academy expansion architect Steve Metsch said the school sits in the middle of a parking and traffic problem it didn’t create, and neighbors continue to claim the school’s 52,000-square-foot, mostly-vertical expansion will make it worse.

“The sense that we are getting is we like it the way it is. Don’t change anything and don’t make it bigger,” he said.

The project goes before the Commission on Feb. 18 and will likely lack the parking garage in the original plans. Without it, the school will have to pave its gardens and other areas. Even then, the commission may not approve it.

The Academy intends to get what it needs, said Metsch, but it would be nice to have the neighbors onboard after talking with them since 1996.

“We want to end up with a project that everybody says yes to. We don’t want to start construction with the neighbors feeling like we jammed it down their throat. It’s not the Music Academy way,” he said.

However, Metsch said, “there are people who aren’t even willing to see what it is we’re doing.’’ — D.D.