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Chamber Connection
SANTA M ARIA VALLE Y CHA MBER MONTHLY NEWSLET TER | NOVEMBER 2022
State of the City 2022: Mayor Patino Paints a Hopeful Picture of the Future of Santa Maria for Years to Come Arguably the most important business event of the year, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber hosted the 2022 State of the City at the Radisson Hotel Santa Maria on October 26th. Local community leaders and business representatives gathered for an update by our local government leaders: Mayor Alice Patino and City Manager Jason Stilwell. There were many exciting new developments discussed including: • The continued installation of fiber optic cables in the City of Santa Maria, keeping the community prepared with the latest technology. • 16,000 new housing units planned for completion by 2045. • The Downtown Revitalization Project, and the planned apartment complexes around Broadway & Main Street. • City Manager Stilwell also reported on the status of public safety, the housing market, and the general economic outlook of the city. The morning was a promising message of hope and as Mayor Patino stated, "I think the state of our city is healthy and we're getting healthier." Mayor Patino explained how the City of Santa Maria has had a long standing tradition of being fiscally conservative, only spending the money that is available within the budget, and making a priority to save for 'rainy days' to prepare for whatever the
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber hosted the 2022 State of the City address on October 26th at the Radisson Hotel Santa Maria. Mayor Alice Patino and City Manager Jason Stillwell addressed local business and community leaders on the state of our city. future may hold. This same value was seen when city leaders secured a water rights contract from the State of California, enabling the city to carry out its plans to build a significant number of new housing units in response to the statewide housing crisis. Mayor Patino retirated that the City is doing everything
they can within their power to allow new construction, however, the most significant challenges poised come from newly implemented state regulations. “Housing is the biggest challenge I think we face in the state of California. More and more, it’s being taken out of local control, and it should not be taken out of Continued on p. 2
WHAT ' S INSIDE : NOVEMBE R 2022 ISSUE
Month in Review p. 3
Santa Maria Valley Leadership Article p. 4
September & October Ribbon Cuttings p. 5