It would easy for Goletans to ignore Santa Barbara’s City Council election Tuesday. After all, one might think, why should we care? They’re there and we’re here.

But the truth is that decisions made in Santa Barbara have a ripple effect on the Goleta Valley. Critical issues such as housing and traffic can’t be seriously addressed here unless they’re taken serious there.

So editors at the Voice posed three questions to candidates for the Santa Barbara City Council, hoping to get a sense of how next Tuesday’s election will affect the city of Goleta.

The questions were:

1. Given the impacts of the S.B. Municipal Airport on Goleta, do you think the city of Goleta should have a say in running it?

2. Does Santa Barbara’s ongoing tourism growth increase housing pressures in Goleta?

3. Should Santa Barbara annex eastern Goleta?

Of the 10 who are running for three open seats, three candidates were unable to answer the questions because of time pressures: Brian Barnwell, incumbent Babatunde Folayemi and Carlos Quintero.

Replies from the remaining candidates, with some editing for space consideration, follow.

Scott Burns:

1. Yes, I believe the City of Goleta should have a voice in the management of the airport.

2. Probably not. I have reviewed ... a profile of Goleta’s community housing needs. I could not find a mention of Santa Barbara tourism growth in the booklet. In 1993 ...I was a candidate for Goleta City Council in the failed cityhood attempt, so I am clearly motivated to work with the local governments.

3. I think that the voters of that area should decide what sort of what form of government they want.

Robert Cawley:

1. Of course.

2. Of course.

3. No.

Bob Hansen

1. Yes. They fly over the houses, create noise and traffic.

2. I would think so. This impacts traffic, people come and stay here, and drive here. I’d put a one penny or two penny tax on every gallon of gas and use that money to buy buses and run them for free.

3. It should be up to the voters that live in East Goleta.

Helene Schneider

1. The Santa Barbara airport not only impacts the city of Goleta, but the entire south coast. With the newly established incorporated city of Goleta, regional cooperation in all airport operations is key to our success in promoting a healthy business climate, as well as protecting our coastline.

2. It is not just the growth in Santa Barbara’s tourism industry, rather it is the imbalance of the high number of all types of jobs ... to the lower number of housing units that is increasing housing pressure in Goleta. The city of Santa Barbara just completed its Housing Element Update, where it was determined that there are still ample opportunities and space within the Santa Barbara City limits to build the state mandated number of new housing units. The challenge now is to create innovate ways to provide this housing in an environmentally sustainable manner that does not compromise our parks and open space and ensures that adequate infrastructure for those units, such as police, fire, schools, sewer, water, etc., exists.

3. This is a very important question that needs to stem first from the residents of eastern Goleta before the City of Santa Barbara takes any formal action.

Michael Magne

1. The city of Goleta does have a voice in regards to the airport. They are invited to participate in all meetings regarding the airport and their input is welcomed and needed.

2. The fact that Goleta is stopping any increase in housing has had a negative impact on all of us in the county. Many workers have to commute north and south, which has created more traffic and on 101. I feel it is very important to have a regional dialog that brings all of the leaders together to discuss how we are each intertwined and the decisions that one municipality might affect others.

3. The question should be do the residents of western Santa Barbara want to become part of the city of Santa Barbara? This is something that I believe should be driven from the residents of an area, not the city.

Das Williams

1. I think that the Santa Barbara City Council should be a good neighbor and try to work with the city of Goleta to mitigate the impacts of the Airport. I think it is unrealistic to ask the airport to give away sovereignty, but the airport could be more accomodating both as a good deed and to avoid lawsuits.

2. Any activity that generates jobs also increases the demand for housing, but I have not seen any data that supports the conclusion that tourism increases housing demand more than any other industry. At the same time, the beauty about tourism is that it gives our region an economic incentive to protect the coast, improve our water quality, and save open space.

From an environmental and planning perspective, it makes sense to have housing as close to the place of employment as possible, and that means in Santa Barbara.

3. Local residents should be able to decide for themselves what type of local governance solutions will work for them. If this means that a community-based effort comes forward with a proposal supported by neighbors to annex an area of eastern Goleta to Santa Barbara, I would support that type of annexation. As long as that annexation is done in a manner that meets the needs of local residents, preserves a demographic balance in the City, and is fiscally fair and responsible to all parties.

Bruce Rittenhouse, write-in candidate

1. The airport affects everyone. I believe the city should continue its independent operation of the City Airport, seeking input at all times from the surrounding communities.

2. The pressures on housing growth in Goleta and the county are increasing but not just from Santa Barbara tourism, the county and Goleta derive benefits from Santa Barbara’s economy. The housing growth pressures in the county and Goleta are fueled primarily by the availability of land, which is lacking in Santa Barbara.