Look for the August issue in your mailbox or
pick up a copy at the Orcutt Post Office.

Artist's rendering of propsed Richards Ranch project at Union Valley Parkway and highway 135

Development at Union Valley Parkway
and Highway 135 Continues Looking for a
Path for Approval

The Richards Ranch housing/commercial proposal at the east intersection of Union Valley Parkway (UVP) and State Highway 135, if eventually approved, would have a major impact on Orcutt. With 400 apartments, 100 townhomes, a market, service station, storage facility and various other commercial services, there would be major impacts on traffic and schools, just for openers.
“It’s a huge property in the heart of Orcutt,” Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson told about 50 residents at a community meeting in June at the Oasis Center. Currently, the project is being reviewed by both the Santa Maria City Planning Department and Santa Barbara County.
If state legislation became involved calling for more affordable housing, commonly labeled ‘builder’s remedy,’ densities on the 44 acres may be increased, adding several hundred units.

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Construction on New DMV Office to be
Completed by Christmas

Before the end of the year, construction of the long-awaited future home of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Field office on Santa Maria Way will be complete. A spokesperson from Sacramento confirmed the December timeline but a date for a grand opening has not been determined. The replacement 13,000-square-foot field office situated on three acres at the northeast corner of Santa Maria Way and Sunrise Drive will serve drivers from southern San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties and has been anticipated for more than a decade. The new field office will replace the antiquated building of 3900 square feet at 523 South McClelland Street which opened in 1969 when the Santa Maria population was about 35,000 people. The current population of Santa Maria is just over 110,000 residents.
The price tag for the new field office is approximately 16.3 million dollars.
Steve Southwick reporting