A real estate management company will put Santa Barbara County on the witness stand on January 23, the culmination of frustration over a change in zoning policy.
Sandwiched between the 101 and the rumble of Amtrak trains, the Bowtie corridor is in an unincorporated part of the county, home to dozens of small, local service businesses like auto repair shops, car rentals, and warehouses. This is where Hollister Avenue turns into State Street between Auhay Drive and just past the entrance to Highway 154.
In 2015, an amendment to the mixed-use ordinance and its application to the Bowtie corridor changed its zoning from commercial (C1) to mixed-use (MU). This rendered some businesses in the area “legally nonconforming,” uses not approved under the MU designation.