State Street's Car Fight Covers Nine Blocks. This Fall's Changes Landed on Only a Few

Late in September, paid signature gatherers set up outside Ralphs in downtown Santa Barbara. They were asking registered city voters to back a referendum on reopening State Street to cars. The campaign belongs to Jim Knell. He founded SIMA Corp, and the Santa Barbara Independent calls him by far the biggest commercial landlord on State Street, with 300 business tenants. His Committee to Re-Open State Street needs 5,400 valid signatures.

The referendum asks one question about the whole promenade. The street itself has spent the last four months sorting itself out block by block. Restaurants that opened this summer clustered on the lower and middle blocks. The rooms that closed in September sat mostly on the 1100 and 1200 blocks, and the owners gave reasons that ranged from a lease dispute to a remodel. None of them pointed to cars.

Two Decisions Four Weeks Apart

On September 1, the City Council adopted the State Street Master Plan 6–1. Mayor Randy Rowse was the only no vote. The plan was designed by architect and urban planner Stefanos Polyzoides over close to five years of public process. It carries an estimated cost of just over $96 million, about $9 million per block. More than half of the $68 million construction budget goes to infrastructure underneath the street, including $17.5 million for utility relocation and $14.5 million for stormwater work. Master Planner Tess Harris told the council those upgrades would be needed with or without the plan.

The adopted concept gives the street 30-foot sidewalks on both sides, a 20-foot travel corridor down the middle, and retractable bollards at the intersections. The plan leaves the hours when vehicles could use that corridor for a later council decision. If the city moves on an accelerated schedule, construction could start in as little as 18 months and run in three phases over about six years.

Knell's referendum would undo that work. Technically it asks voters to repeal Title 31, the ordinance that keeps cars off State Street. Title 31 already allows cars back on certain blocks at certain times, but neither the blocks nor the times have been set. If the signatures qualify, the council can either make the change itself or send it to voters. The earliest special election would be next March, at an estimated cost to the city of $300,000.

The Numbers Each Side Is Using

Knell's argument rests on sales tax comparisons. In his telling, downtown sales tax revenue has grown about 1 percent since the street closed. Over the same stretch, he says, Coast Village Road grew 42 percent, the Funk Zone 15 percent, and Milpas Street 14 percent. He also says rents that used to be $4 a square foot now bring about $1, and that tenants who moved to Coast Village Road pay $9 a square foot after paying him $2.25 on State.

Harris read the same corridor differently. She said State Street's slide started in 2017, before the pandemic closure, and that downtown sales tax has mostly been flat since. She also said the blocks have split. The 500, 700, and 900 blocks have done significantly well. The 1000 and 1200 blocks have done significantly poorly.

The two sides also cite vacancy numbers that measure different things. Knell's 40 percent is downtown office vacancy. A June opinion piece from Businesses for State Street, a group that supports keeping the street car-free, counted about 30 vacant State Street storefronts in Q1 2026. That is down from 48 at the 2020 peak and close to mid-2019 levels, and the group said vacancy rates were highest on blocks still open to traffic. Both figures can be true at once.

Walking It From the Bottom Up

Here is where the season's food changes actually landed, mapped against the blocks Harris described.

At the bottom of the street, Francesco Amendola's Sweetaly opened in Paseo Nuevo with Italian-style gelato made every day. On the 500 block, Sandbar reopened after a major redesign under Baja Sharkeez CEO Greg Newman, with chef Ray Alvarez in the kitchen.

Milio's Pizza at 801 State is the clearest sign of foot traffic this season. Kamil Jumale and chef Miles Robbins opened the New York-style slice shop on Friday, August 14. They planned to stay open until 11 p.m. and sold out by 5:30. On Saturday they sold out at 6:30 p.m., and they did it again on Sunday. The pair first noticed Santa Barbara because their catering clients kept second homes in the area. Before this, they ran Godmothers Graze inside Godmothers Books in Summerland.

Silvergreens Café at 1001 State is the season's one opening on a block Harris called weak. Founder Jay Ferro serves the brand's salads, wraps, and sandwiches there with Renaud's pastries and Handlebar coffee. A few doors up, World of Magic set up a seasonal Halloween store at 913 State this September.

The bigger anchors are also on the lower and middle blocks. Harris pointed to UCSB leasing space on the 400 block and the Music Academy of the West preparing to break ground on the 900 block. Its new building will hold performance, rehearsal, and teaching space, directly across from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Film Center, which is already open. She also noted that City College is moving its cosmetology program to State Street and that Westmont already has a downtown presence. She counted nearly 20 businesses that signed leases or opened in the past six months.

The Upper Blocks Lost Three Long-Running Rooms in a Month

The September departures cluster above the 1100 block, and each one has its own explanation.

Satellite had been a natural wine bar and vegetarian restaurant at 1117 State for 10 years, attached to Kiva Coworking. Founder Drew Cuddy said the business had been on a month-to-month lease for about a year and couldn't reach an agreement with its landlord. He is regrouping the wine club, tastings, and music events at The Factory, 616 E. Haley St. Cuddy told the Independent the closure had little to do with cars on State Street, and he named the shortage of downtown housing as the real problem for businesses. At the September council hearing, he said he supports the master plan. He said he would like to come back downtown someday:

"One day, hopefully, if we can figure out a way to make State Street sustainable for small local businesses."

At 1213 State, Bibi Ji had quietly closed by early September, and owners Alejandro and Charlotte Medina were negotiating a lease transfer. Down the block at 1230-A State, owner Laura Knight served Pascucci's last meals on September 19, after 33 years. She described a few weeks of remodeling followed by a new menu, new decor, and a new concept in the same space. That makes Pascucci a reinvention on the 1200 block, not a closure.

Half a block off State, Roy Gandy says Roy at 7 W. Carrillo will reach its "swan song, or at least a transitional formation" by the end of the year. He opened in 1991, and Jack Johnson played some of his earliest gigs there. Gandy says he isn't so much retiring as moving closer to family in Texas. He is open to an interested operator keeping the restaurant going, though so far no one has stepped forward.

The 1200 block also runs differently from the rest of the promenade. The city's general closure covers the 500 through 1300 blocks, but 2026 coverage describes a one-way lane pilot on the 1200 block. Business owners there don't agree with each other. At a July council hearing, Jenna Berg of The Grand on State asked for the 1200 block to stay open only to pedestrians and bicycles. Stephanie Payne-Campbell of Domecíl said visitors are missing the businesses on upper State.

Where the Block-by-Block Ideas Already Live

Several of the people closest to the debate have already proposed treating blocks differently. In September, Councilmember Eric Friedman supported the master plan but proposed reopening the four blocks above Canon Perdido to cars during construction. The proposal didn't pass. In July, Councilmember Mike Jordan voted to renew Title 31, and he has said he wants cars back at some times and the street closed at others. The Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association backs the plan and supports vehicle access on most days, with closures for events, selected weekends, or peak seasons. Organizer Colleen Macey says the State Street Business Alliance, a group of 152 business owners, wants the street reopened to vehicles.

Public comment before the September vote leaned toward keeping the street closed. Of the comments the city tallied, 368 favored keeping cars out and 87 asked to bring them back. Knell's view is that a citywide vote, not the council, should settle the question.

Still Open as October Starts

• Interim operations: Noozhawk reports the plan for the stretch before construction comes back to the council "later this fall." No date has been set.
• Council calendar: Regular meetings are listed for October 6 and 27 and November 10 and 17. None of the listings so far includes a State Street item.
• Signature count: No submission deadline or current count has been reported for the referendum drive.
• Environmental review: Knell has said he plans to sue over state environmental review requirements. City Attorney John Doimas said his office is looking into the claim.
• Pascucci's next concept: The new name and menu at 1230-A State haven't been announced yet.

The street will be busy this fall regardless. The free Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival runs on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Harbor Way. The Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival opens at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St., on November 12.

How these votes turn out will be decided block by block, address by address. If you own property near State Street and want a discreet read on how the master plan phases, the interim decision, or a March election could affect it, Robert Edie is following each step. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.