Santa Barbara Airport’s airline terminal project was unveiled Wednesday evening at a workshop attended by Santa Barbara city officials, airport commissioners, and the public.

On display throughout the visitor center were renderings of the proposed new airport terminal, which is intended to provide more space for the growing number of people who use the airport, as well as to improve the facility’s functionality.

While still in the very preliminary design stages, the major elements of the terminal’s new design include a new 63,000-square-foot, two-story building designed for improved traffic flow, as well as more space for offices, concessions, amenities and increased accessibility. Boarding bridges for regional jets are also part of the plan.

“We’d like to see the 737s come back,” assistant airport director Hazel Johns said of the 120-passenger plane that went out of use locally several years ago after United Airlines’ bankruptcy.

A new entrance road will be built from the corner of Fowler Road and Moffett Place, and there will also be a longer front curb and an extra transportation lane in front of the terminal.
The historic terminal, which was built in 1942 by United Airlines, will still be part of the layout. The airport plans to demolish the additions built in 1967 and 1976, and move the remaining portion forward about 60 feet, and restore it. This building will house the skycap porter service, security operations, a lost and found and art and history displays on the airport and the Goleta Slough.

In addition, the site encompassing both buildings, extended curb and the transportation lane will be elevated about two and a half feet to prevent flooding, as the airport is located within a floodplain area.

Long-term parking will remain in the same area, while some parking will be reconfigured for short-term users.

Many elements are expected to go through several changes, the designers said, in their efforts to interpret and retain “the Santa Barbara Airport experience.” Covered waiting areas and an open courtyard are part of the plan. Orange trees are being looked at as a potential enhancement for the visitors’ experience.

“Even though this is a Santa Barbara (project), has this been been run past Goleta in any way?” asked a workshop attendee. “Would they react to oranges over lemons?”

To pay for the $63 million project, the airport will take out a $40 million bond. The rest will come from fees charged to the businesses using the airport. As a result, prices at concession stands and car rental rates may increase slightly but, said Johns, not excessively beyond street prices charged for the same items in Santa Barbara.

There will be more workshops planned for the future, said Johns, though the dates have not yet been set, nor has the date for presentation to the city of Goleta, although the airport has made presentations to the city in the past. SBA is aiming for Santa Barbara Planning Commission approval by the end of the summer, with construction ready to start by fall of next year.

For more information, call the airport at 967-7111 or visit www.flysba.com.

Courtesy illustration

Caption: An artist’s rendering of the proposed new Santa Barbara Airport terminal. The $63 million project would retain the original terminal, built in 1942 by United Airlines.