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75-818: Although the communities are divided among three counties (four, if New Cuyama, which is in Santa Barbara County , is included), they are tied together by the local newspaper, the Mountain Enterprise , the Mountain Communities Chamber of Commerce , and the Ridge Route Communities Museum and Historical Society . All the communities are unincorporated areas , and all are served by their respective county agencies, such as sheriff's departments and county fire departments. The source for this section

150-455: A proprietary organization . Associations can include condominiums , homeowner associations or cooperatives . Whereas governmental communities are financed with taxation , where taxes typically have little connection with benefits, private communities' benefits are financed by payments from its members. In a hotel, for example, the public goods such as elevators and security are paid for from room charges. One early American example

225-724: A budget of $ 10,000, along with a part-time clerk and space at the supervisor's office in Frazier Park. It would cover only the Kern County part of the Mountain Communities. Watson responded to a query from The Mountain Enterprise that I am opposed to any new layer of government that adds significant costs and bureaucracy. … The idea of a municipal advisory committee or perhaps some other local representative would be strictly advisory. Ultimately, decisions for

300-476: A large economic impact in the northern portion of the county and continues to be the site of frequent satellite launches. Agriculture is a major industry. Strawberries are the county's top crop, with $ 413 million in production making up more than a third of all county agricultural production. Wine grapes are typically number two. In 2022, cauliflower was number two due to the weather and popularity of cauliflower rice . County farmers began growing hemp after it

375-406: A large military base, Vandenberg Space Force Base , and thus military interests are prominent. These influences have created a Republican-leaning northern half. The southern portion of Santa Barbara county has had an economy based on tourism, with a significant percentage of people with white-collar jobs, formerly in aerospace but more recently in software and other high-tech pursuits. Additionally,

450-559: A referendum, this effort was defeated by a 3-1 margin. In 2006, northern county organizations initiated a similar secession proposal, to create a proposed "Mission County." Then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed a formation commission to research the viability of the proposed northern county, which reached the conclusion, stated in its final report released on March 28, 2005, that "the proposed County, upon formation in 2006, would not be economically viable at current levels of service." The proposed new Mission County would have included

525-411: A spark for the modern environmental movement, coated the beaches and Santa Barbara Harbor with a thick crude in 1969. In recent years, major oil companies have left the area, turning over their oil leases to small independents, and decommissioning some leases areas that were no longer profitable. Concerns about the economy were foremost when, in 2014, Measure P was placed on the county ballot. If approve by

600-596: Is a rural coastline north of Goleta. This last undeveloped stretch of Southern California coastline consists of dramatic bluffs , isolated beaches and terraced grasslands . North of the Santa Ynez range in the Santa Ynez Valley are the towns of Solvang , Buellton , and Lompoc ; the unincorporated towns of Santa Ynez , Los Olivos and Ballard ; the unincorporated areas of Mission Hills and Vandenberg Village ; and Vandenberg Space Force Base , where

675-696: Is based on vacant housing units of any type in March 2000. Some figures have been rounded. As unincorporated areas, the Mountain Communities have no local government, but they were served by the volunteer Mountain Communities Town Council, formed in 1995 "to provide a stronger local voice in community development" and to be "a liaison between various government agencies and the community at large." The first officers were Bob Anderson, president; Fred Rose, vice president; Richard Haugh, treasurer, and Ana Soares, secretary. The highest number of votes cast

750-485: Is on the southern coastal plain, referred to as the "south coast" – meaning the part of the county south of the Santa Ynez Mountains . This region includes the cities of Santa Barbara , Goleta , and Carpinteria , as well as the unincorporated areas of Hope Ranch , Summerland , Mission Canyon , Montecito , and Isla Vista , along with stretches of unincorporated area such as Noleta . The Gaviota Coast

825-655: Is the U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder. A total of 6,066 people lived within the four areas of the Mountain Communities that were distinguished in the March 2000 U.S. census — 2,348 in Frazier Park, 1,600 in Pine Mountain Club, 1,285 in Lebec, and 833 in Lake of the Woods. There were 3,931 housing units — houses, apartments, trailers, etc. — of which only 2,392 were occupied. The area's residents were older than

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900-475: Is the current chief probation officer . The department was established in 1909 following the enactment of California's first probation laws. After 106 years in service, there are currently 241 probation officers and juvenile institutions officers keeping tabs on 6,600 adults and 1,350 juveniles as of 2015. The probation department has locations in Santa Maria , Santa Barbara , and Lompoc . For most of

975-645: The California Air Resources Board lent it equipment to test air quality in Lebec. The Town Council voted to dissolve itself, with its last meeting held on October 16, 2008. At that time, the council decided to bring the matter of a municipal advisory council — or MAC — before Watson again. Rose thereupon sent a letter to Watson on behalf of a "Mountain Communities MAC/CSD Working Group" for establishment of an elected municipal advisory council , or MAC, with

1050-495: The California State Assembly , Santa Barbara is split between the 35th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Jasmeet Bains , and the 37th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Gregg Hart . The Santa Barbara County Sheriff provides court protection, jail management, and coroner service for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of

1125-717: The Channel Islands – San Miguel Island , Santa Cruz Island , Santa Rosa Island and Santa Barbara Island – are in Santa Barbara County. They form the largest part of the Channel Islands National Park (which also includes Anacapa Island in Ventura County ). Santa Barbara County has a mountainous interior abutting several coastal plains on the west and south coasts of the county. The largest concentration of population

1200-706: The County of Santa Barbara ( Spanish : Condado de Santa Bárbara ), is a county located in Southern California . As of the 2020 census , the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara , and the largest city is Santa Maria . Santa Barbara County comprises the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area . Most of the county is part of the California Central Coast . Mainstays of

1275-565: The Nature Conservancy . The four Channel Islands in Santa Barbara County are Santa Barbara Island , San Miguel Island , Santa Rosa Island , and the large Santa Cruz Island . All of them contain native and endemic wildlife, like the island oak and Torrey Pine. All four have the deer mouse living on them, the three latter, the island fox, and the two latter, the island spotted skunk. There used to be skunks on San Miguel Island, but due to predation from marine life, birds, and foxes,

1350-681: The Orcutt , Lompoc , Santa Maria Valley, and Cat Canyon fields provided jobs and a steady supply of oil, gas, and asphalt since the first oil discovery in the Solomon Hills in 1901. Protests have marked periodic resistance to the impact of oil drilling over the years. A protest in 1929 in Santa Barbara expressed the frustration of the wealthy who came here to get away from it all. The largest spill in California waters , credited as

1425-468: The University of California, Santa Barbara contributes to a liberal populace. The southern portion of the county has a strong history of left-wing activism, with anti-war protests common in Santa Barbara. It is generally believed that the inspiration for Earth Day was the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill . Gaylord Nelson , the senator who proposed the idea, has never directly cited any direct cause for

1500-504: The 18th century. Since commercial viticulture rebounded in the 1960s, Santa Barbara County has become a prominent viticultural region. The 2004 Alexander Payne film, Sideways , set in the Santa Ynez Valley , brought additional attention to the county as a wine region, especially for its Pinot noir wines. The region, also noted for its Chardonnay wines, is gaining a reputation for Rhone varietals including Syrah and Viognier . The areas planted with wine grapes are mixed in with

1575-461: The 20th century, Santa Barbara County was a Republican stronghold. From 1920 to 1988, it was only carried by two Democrats: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson . However, the county has leaned to the left in recent years. Overall, Santa Barbara now usually supports Democratic candidates in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county

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1650-485: The Kern County Board of Supervisors, with the first members to be Stacy Havener of Pine Mountain, Linda MacKay of Lebec, Steve Newman of Cuddy Valley, Robert Peterson of Lebec, and Anne Weber of Frazier Park. In 2013 the organization, dubbed MCMAC, contained 4,370 registered voters among the area's 8,384 Kern County residents. Few local residents, however, attended the council's meetings. MacKay resigned from

1725-424: The Mountain Communities will lie with the elected Supervisor, whoever that is." On February 23, 2009, an open meeting of about 75 people was held in Frazier Park under the control of Supervisor Watson. A poll by show of hands revealed about 40 in favor of a MAC, 7 opposed, and 20 undecided, with others not voting. On August 14, 2009, Watson announced he would recommend the formation of a Municipal Advisory Council to

1800-600: The Northern Channel Islands , was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago. Evidence for a Paleoindian presence has been found in the form of a fluted Clovis -like point found in the 1980s along the western Santa Barbara Coast, as well as the remains of Arlington Springs Man found on Santa Rosa Island in the 1960s. For thousands of years, the area was home to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans, complex hunter-gatherers who lived along

1875-486: The San Miguel Island skunk has gone extinct. Santa Barbara County has a mild warm-summer Mediterranean climate . Along the coast, temperatures rarely exceed 100 °F (38 °C) in the summer, but rarely dip below freezing in winter. In the interior, however, summertime temperatures can soar over 100 °F (38 °C). Above 2,000 feet (610 meters), temperatures can frequently fall below freezing during

1950-739: The San Rafaels. North of the mountains is the arid and sparsely populated Cuyama Valley , portions of which are in San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties. Oil production, ranching, and agriculture dominate the land use in the privately owned parts of the Cuyama Valley; the Los Padres National Forest is adjacent to the south, and regions to the north and northeast are owned by the Bureau of Land Management and

2025-602: The Santa Barbara area or surrounding counties. A tribal homeland was established in 1901, the Santa Ynez Reservation . Following the Mexican secularization of the missions in the 1830s, the mission pasture lands were mostly broken up into large ranchos and granted mainly to prominent local citizens who already lived in the area. 604 of these land grants were later confirmed by the state of California, with 36 in Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County

2100-588: The Santa Ynez River flows out to the sea. North of the Santa Ynez Valley are the cities of Santa Maria and Guadalupe , and the unincorporated towns of Orcutt , Los Alamos , Casmalia , Garey , and Sisquoc . In the extreme northeastern portion of the county are the small cities of New Cuyama , Cuyama , and Ventucopa . As of January 1, 2006, Santa Maria has become the largest city in Santa Barbara County. The principal mountain ranges of

2175-483: The U.S. median — which was 35.3 years of age at the time. Pine Mountain Club was the "oldest" community — the median age being 45 and 15 percent of the residents being older than 65. Lake of the Woods's median age was 39, with 14 percent of its population over 65, Frazier Park's median age was 38, with 10 percent of its residents over 65, and Lebec had a median age of 36, with 13 percent over 65. By another measurement, Lebec

2250-502: The Woods showed $ 42,742 and $ 43,468, and Lebec trailed with $ 39,063 and $ 40,972. To measure the income of a household, the pre-tax money receipts of all residents over the age of 15 over a single year were combined. Family income measured households with two or more people related through blood, marriage, or adoption. Educational levels correlated to a large degree with income: Thirty-one percent of Pine Mountain Club residents had bachelor's degrees or higher, compared to 22 percent in Lake of

2325-550: The Woods, 15 percent in Frazier Park and 12 percent in Lebec. But Pine Mountain Club had the highest percentage of people whose incomes were below the poverty level — 17 percent (193 people), with Lake of the Woods following at 14 percent (119 people), Frazier Park at 12 percent (291 people) and Lebec last at eight percent (100 people). The utilization by Mountain Community property owners of residences as second homes, vacation homes or seasonal rental properties can be shown by

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2400-421: The Woods, and nine percent in Pine Mountain Club. Reported yearly incomes for each person in the labor force were $ 25,465 (in 1999 dollars) in Pine Mountain Club, $ 19,302 in Frazier Park, $ 17,983 in Lake of the Woods, and $ 14,895 in Lebec. Pine Mountain Club also had the highest household and family incomes (at a median of $ 45,250 and $ 62,750, respectively), Frazier Park was next with $ 40,721 and $ 46,857, Lake of

2475-405: The age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.8 and the average family size was 3.33. In the county, 24.9% of the population was under

2550-460: The age of 18, 13.3% was from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 46,677, and the median income for a family was $ 54,042. Males had a median income of $ 37,997 versus $ 29,593 for females. The per capita income for

2625-622: The area's climate and meteorology influence how the pollution are diffused. The 2010 United States Census reported that Santa Barbara County had a population of 423,895. The ethnic makeup of Santa Barbara County was 295,124 (69.6%) White , 8,513 (2.0%) African American , 5,485 (1.3%) Native American , 20,665 (4.9%) Asian (1.6% Filipino, 1.0% Chinese, 0.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.4% Indian), 806 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 73,860 (17.4%) from other races , and 19,442 (4.6%) from two or more races. There were 181,687 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (42.9%); 38.5% of

2700-635: The body after five months, saying that it had been "hijacked" by Watson to be a rubber stamp and that she was appointed for "token diversity." Watson appointed nobody to fill MacKay's seat. The people of the mountain communities began to boycott the meetings. The MCMAC often met to empty rooms: four people talked to each other and empty chairs for nearly three years. In April 2012, however, both candidates to succeed Watson—David Couch and Harley Pinson—each said he favored an elected Mountain Communities Advisory Council, and after Couch won

2775-587: The cities of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Guadalupe, Buellton, and Solvang, as well as the Cuyama Valley and Santa Ynez Valley, including Lake Cachuma . Most of the south coast of Santa Barbara County, along with the Channel Islands, would have remained with that county, with the exception of the stretch from Hollister Ranch to Point Conception . Most of the Los Padres National Forest also would have remained with Santa Barbara County. But in June 2006, voters rejected

2850-528: The coast and in interior valleys leaving rock art in many locations, including Painted Cave . Europeans first contacted the Chumash in AD 1542, when three Spanish ships under the command of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the area. The Santa Barbara Channel received its name from Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno when he sailed along the California coast in 1602; his ships entered the channel on December 4,

2925-417: The country as a whole — nine percent. The vacancies correlated with the elevation of the communities — 5,554 feet for Pine Mountain Club, 5,121 feet for Lake of the Woods, 4,767 feet for Frazier Park, and 3,481 feet for Lebec. Elevation generally corresponds to snow levels in the winter. Lebec had the highest valuation of single-family owner-occupied homes. The median, as identified by the census respondents,

3000-546: The county and two cities by contract. Incorporated municipalities within the county that have their own municipal police departments are Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara City. Carpinteria and Goleta by contract with the Sheriff. The Santa Barbara County Probation Department provides services for those placed on probation or detained in Santa Maria Juvenile Hall or Los Prietos Boys Camp. Tanja Heitman

3075-698: The county are the Santa Ynez Mountains in the south, and the San Rafael Mountains and Sierra Madre Mountains in the interior and northeast. Most of the mountainous area is within the Los Padres National Forest , and includes two wilderness areas: the San Rafael Wilderness and the Dick Smith Wilderness . The highest elevation in the county is 6,820 feet (2,080 m) at Big Pine Mountain in

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3150-529: The county was $ 23,059. About 8.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. The population of the area south of the Santa Ynez Mountain crest—the portion known as "South County"—was 201,161 according to the 2000 census; thus the population is almost exactly split between north and south. Recent years have shown slow or even negative growth for regions in

3225-471: The county was 72.7% White , 2.3% Black or African American , 1.2% Native American , 4.1% Asian , 0.2% Pacific Islander , 15.2% from other races , and 4.3% from two or more races. 34.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 9.1% were of German , 8.5% English and 6.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000 . 26.6% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home. There were 136,622 households, out of which 32.4% had children under

3300-478: The county was divided into two congressional districts, which reflected the north and south divide – the hallmark of the county's politics. Lois Capps represented the coastal areas, while Elton Gallegly , a Republican, represented the northern part of the county. In the California State Senate , Santa Barbara is in the 19th Senate District , represented by Democrat Monique Limón . In

3375-446: The county's economy include engineering, resource extraction (particularly petroleum extraction and diatomaceous earth mining), winemaking, agriculture, and education. The software development and tourism industries are important employers in the southern part of the county. Southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes considered the cultural boundary of Southern California / Northern California . The Santa Barbara County area, including

3450-484: The county, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that the Sheriff's Office provides police services for include Buellton , Carpinteria , Goleta and Solvang . In total the 640 full-time employees of the Sheriff's Office are responsible for 2,745 square miles (7,110 km ) of the county. Founded in 1850, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office is the oldest law enforcement agency in

3525-469: The county, unlike much of southern California, is generally good because of the prevailing winds off of the Pacific Ocean. The county is in attainment of federal standards for ozone and particulate matter . In July 2020 the county was designated as attainment for the state ozone standard, but it still does not attain the state PM10 standard. the county's location plus the cities near it establishes

3600-462: The day of the feast of Santa Barbara . Spanish ships associated with the Manila Galleon trade probably made emergency stops along the coast during the next 167 years, but no permanent settlements were established. The first land expedition to explore California, led by Gaspar de Portolà explored the coastal area in 1769, on its way to Monterey Bay . The party traveled the same route on

3675-514: The election, the remaining four council members resigned. The town council never returned to the area. In June 2020 a new town council was organizing with the intention of uniting the community and saving many local businesses and community development programs. A community roads district is one of the goals. Making Main Street Frazier Park an arts and entertainment district is another. The El Tejon Unified School District serves

3750-545: The entire mountain community: Lockwood Valley is part of the district even though it is within Ventura County, and Gorman students are accepted into the high school by special permit. Frazier Park Elementary School educates children in kindergarten through third grade. El Tejon Middle School in Lebec takes district students from the fourth through the eighth grade. Frazier Mountain High School , also in Lebec,

3825-555: The establishment of the holiday. On November 4, 2008, Santa Barbara County voted 53.5% against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. It was the only county in Southern California to vote against the proposition. In 1978, some residents of the northern area initiated an effort to create a "Los Padres County" out of the northern area of the county; in

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3900-410: The fact that 62 percent of the 1,737 Pine Mountain Club houses (1,069) were vacant in March 2000 when the census was taken. In Lake of the Woods, the vacancies were 27 percent (or 129 of 475 housing units); Frazier Park, with 23 percent (or 281 of 1,203 units) and in Lebec, there were only 60 vacancies of 516 units, or 12 percent. All those figures in these mountainous communities were higher than that for

3975-427: The formation of the new county, with more than 80% voting no. 46.8% of Santa Barbara County voters state their political party preference is Democratic, compared to 24.9% who prefer Republicans, and 21.6% who have No Party Preference. As of 2021, each of the 8 cities have more Democrats than any other political party. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of

4050-427: The later city and county – a common practice which has preserved the names of many of the 21 California Missions . Other missions in Santa Barbara County are located in Santa Ynez and Lompoc. European contacts had devastating effects on the Chumash people, including a series of disease epidemics that drastically reduced Chumash population. The Chumash survived, however, and thousands of Chumash descendants still live in

4125-407: The local newspaper, The Mountain Enterprise , it "received a chilly response." Rose said that Watson rejected a proposal to establish an elected municipal advisory council as allowed by state law. During the 2004-2009 period, the council held a number of forums, which attracted more than a thousand people considering subjects ranging from wildfire evacuations to land-development proposals. In 2007,

4200-457: The occupied residences, Pine Mountain Club, which is a private community , had the highest ratio of owner-occupied units — 84 percent, followed by Frazier Park and Lebec, each with 70 percent, and Lake of the Woods, 69 percent. The rest were occupied by renters. Notes: "Native Americans" includes Alaska natives. "Family income" is median family income in 1999 dollars. "Med. home value" is the median value of single-family houses. The "vacancy rate"

4275-589: The pleasure of the Board, to operate the County governmental organization. The County government includes 4296 employees and a budget of $ 757 million. The County provides various services ranging from health services to law enforcement. All of Santa Barbara County is located within California's 24th congressional district , represented by Democrat Salud Carbajal . Prior to the 2012 redistricting in California,

4350-426: The population was of Mexican heritage, 0.4% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, and 0.3% Puerto Rican descent. As of the census of 2000, there were 399,347 people, 136,622 households, and 89,487 families residing in the county. The population density was 146 people per square mile (56 people/km ). There were 142,901 housing units at an average density of 52 units per square mile (20 units/km ). The ethnic makeup of

4425-441: The recent established AVA in 2020. The Foxen Canyon Wine Trail features many wineries including Andrew Murray Vineyards , Fess Parker Winery and Firestone Vineyard . The Cambria Estate Winery , was featured in the 3rd episode of The Bachelor , an American reality television series, Season 15, on January 17, 2011. Private community A private community is a residential community that can be an association or

4500-537: The return to San Diego in January 1770. That same year, a second expedition to Monterey again passed through the area. The DeAnza expeditions of 1774-76 followed Portola's trail. The Presidio of Santa Barbara was established in 1782 (4th of 5 in California), followed by Mission Santa Barbara in 1786 – both in what is now the city of Santa Barbara . The presidio and mission kept Vizcaino's denomination, as did

4575-659: The rolling hills, ancient oak trees, oil fields, cattle ranches, and natural areas in the central part of the county. The county has more than 115 wineries cultivating 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) with the vast majority of the vineyards in the Central Coast American Viticultural Areas : Santa Maria Valley AVA , Santa Ynez Valley AVA , Sta. Rita Hills AVA , Happy Canyon AVA , Los Olivos District AVA and Ballard Canyon AVA . The county continues to gain AVA recognition with Alisos Canyon AVA being

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4650-437: The south county, while areas in the north county have continued to grow at a faster rate. The county is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors. The Board's three-vote majority has shifted over the years between the north and south. The Board now includes two members from South County, two members from North County, and one member from Mid-County. The Board of Supervisors appoints a County Executive Officer, who serves at

4725-799: The state, far above the national average of 2 to 4 percent, Holly Van Houten [a home-school parent of the area] . . . said. Estimates range between 8 and 30 percent—somewhere between 100 and 400 children, she reports. Frazier Park hosted a branch of the Charter Oaks Community Charter School , headquartered in Bakersfield. The charter school was designed to "provide opportunities, support, and accountability for parents in their homeschooling endeavors." Geographical features Historic events Nature Newspaper Recreation Transportation Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County , officially

4800-516: The state. In its early days, the department battled outlaws Salomon Pico and Jack Powers . Initially having a single Sheriff, aided only by a jailer and guard in charge of the chain gang, the department now has over 600 full-time employees. The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense. Oil production began in 1886 with drilling in Summerland. Enormous oil fields such as

4875-432: The voters the measure would ban "high-intensity petroleum operations" in the county. The city of Santa Barbara and other coastal communities support a significant tourism economy. White-collar jobs, previously with an emphasis in aerospace but more recently in software and other high-tech pursuits are encouraged by proximity to the University of California, Santa Barbara . Vandenberg Space Force Base has traditionally had

4950-460: The winter months. The area experiences nearly all of its rainfall during the winter months, and rarely sees any rain at all during the summer months. The area's dry, warm summers often lead to high wildfire danger in the fall. An example of this is the massive Thomas Fire , which started in Ventura County and rapidly spread into southern Santa Barbara County in December 2017. At the time, the fire

5025-462: Was George H. W. Bush in 1988 . There remains a distinction between the more conservative northern areas of the county, which continue to largely support Republicans, and the more liberal southern areas, which are strongly Democratic. Santa Barbara County has long been divided between competing political interests. North of the Santa Ynez Mountains , agricultural activities and oil development have long provided jobs. The northern portion also contains

5100-568: Was removed from a list of controlled substances along with other provisions of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 . These provisions were included in the 2018 Farm Bill which made hemp legal for agricultural uses. Cannabis and hemp plants have a similar look and smell making it hard to tell the difference. The first wine grapes in Santa Barbara county were planted by the missionaries associated with Mission Santa Barbara late in

5175-411: Was $ 163,600 for 104 houses in Lebec, $ 144,500 for 453 houses in Pine Mountain Club, $ 96,800 for 636 such houses in Frazier Park, and $ 89,700 for 187 in Lake of the Woods. The median is the point at which half the homes were valued for more and half for less. These figures are not the same as actual real-estate sales. Neither do they reflect the value of second or vacation homes, or houses rented out. Of

5250-410: Was 184 for Sanchez. Electioneering was frustrating for council members because Kern County officials denied their request to allow a vote at the same time residents balloted in county elections. The council also tried putting a mail-in ballot in the local newspaper. As a result, a proposal was made in 2006 to the local county supervisor, Raymond A. Watson , to strengthen the council, but, according to

5325-684: Was Lucas Place, created in 1851 in St. Louis, Missouri , the first of about 50 such private places unique to the city. Today, there are "60 million people who now live in roughly 300,000 private communities" in the United States. A noteworthy Canadian example, Arbutus Ridge Seaside Community for Active Adults in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island was the first comprehensive retirement community built in Canada. It subsequently became

5400-430: Was founded in 1995 for ninth- through 12th-graders. Gorman children and others from outside the district are educated in the small Gorman Elementary School from kindergarten through eighth grade. Home-schooling is important in the Mountain Communities, according to a March 2008 report in the Mountain Enterprise, which added: Per capita, the Mountain Communities may have one of the highest rates of homeschooling in

5475-399: Was one of the 27 original counties of California, formed in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county's territory was later divided to create Ventura County in 1873. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 3,789 square miles (9,810 km ), of which 2,735 square miles (7,080 km ) is land and 1,054 square miles (2,730 km ) (27.8%) is water. Four of

5550-527: Was the "youngest" town. Eight percent of its residents were under age 5, compared to six percent in Frazier Park and five percent in Pine Mountain Club and Lake of the Woods. The Mountain Communities were overwhelmingly white — 91 percent in Pine Mountain Club, 88 percent in Frazier Park, 87 percent in Lake of the Woods, and 79 percent in Lebec. Latinos or Hispanics of any race amounted to 20 percent in Lebec, 12 percent in Frazier Park, 11 percent in Lake of

5625-518: Was the largest wildfire ever to burn in California in terms of geographical size, but was topped only eight months later in the Mendocino Complex Fire in northern California. Heavy rainfall occurred the following January, causing massive mudslides and debris flows from the steep, fire-denuded hillsides. The community of Montecito was especially hard-hit. As of February 3, 2018, 21 are known dead and 2 are still missing. Air quality in

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