On an overgrown lot on the western edge of Goleta, a large white sign stands guard, announcing the “future home” of Santa Barbara County Fire Station 10.

For years, local residents have been driving by every day and many have expressed their surprise and comment on the project’s lack of progress.

Station 10 is designed to improve fire protection and related emergency services in the west part of the city – primarily in the Ellwood and El Encanto Heights neighborhoods – as well as much of the Gaviota Coast outside the city.

Statistics show that the county fire department, which provides fire protection and related emergency services for the city, at times fails to meet required response times to emergency calls in the area.

Expected development and growth – including potentially a massive residential project at Glen Annie Golf Club – are likely to exacerbate the situation.

The project was formalized in 2016

The fire station project was formalized in 2016 when Goleta and the Santa Barbara County Fire Protection District signed a memorandum of understanding (or MOU in bureaucratic jargon).

Under the terms of the 10-year contract, the city would bear the majority of the cost of the project, then estimated at $7.5 million, with the fire department operating and staffing the fire station.

The funds would come from development fees levied by the city and county specifically for the construction of a new station, as well as possibly grants.

Eight years later, the white sign is the only indication that a fire station will be built at the site on the north side of Hollister Avenue, across from Sandpiper Golf Course and east of Cathedral Oaks Road.

And the letter of intent expires in just two years.

But that could now change.

Ad hoc committee has taken up the project

Representatives of the city and the fire department met in the so-called ad hoc committee for the development of the fire station to discuss the future of the project.

And they generally told Noozhawk that they believe the facility is a priority that needs to be made a reality.

“This project has been a dream for a long time,” said Councilwoman Luz Reyes-Martín, a committee member. “And it’s time to make it a reality so that the residents of Goleta can benefit from it.”

She added: “One of the reasons I expressed interest in serving on the committee is because this is a high priority for the city and for me.”

Most of the key figures from the group that negotiated the original MOU, including the county fire chief and the city manager, have changed positions.

Mark Hartwig took over as chief of the county fire department in February 2019, while Robert Nisbet became Goleta’s city manager in September 2022.

Study shows need for new fire station

Before Hartwig took office, a consultant – Citygate Associates – conducted a study on the fire department’s facility needs.

“When I arrived here, the agreement was three to four years old,” Hartwig said. “There were doubts about the ongoing value of the project.”

He commissioned an update to the study that recommended additional firefighting resources and facilities in three areas – Orcutt, San Marcos Pass and Fire Station 10.

According to the consultant, the first responders should be on site within 7.5 minutes in urban areas when an emergency call is received, and additional responders should be on site within 11.5 minutes.

“The operational readiness of the fire departments (in the fire protection district) and the travel times of the fire department units are significantly longer than the recommended best practices,” the consultant’s report states.

“The resulting total response time in urban areas from answering the 9-1-1 call to the arrival of the first unit is 9:52 minutes, significantly longer than the best practices-based and Citygate-recommended target of 7:30 minutes.”

The fire stations closest to the proposed location of the new facility are Station 11, just off Storke Road near Girsh Park, and Station 14 on Los Carneros Road near Stow House.

Both miss the 7½ minute target: Station 11 is at 9:01 and Station 14 is at 9:17.

The new station is expected to help improve these results for this and other stations in the Goleta Valley by distributing the call load.

The original proposal is almost ready for shovel

Nisbet noted that design work on the station’s original concept is largely complete and approvals from the California Coastal Commission have been obtained.

“We have a project that is essentially shovel-ready and a collaboration between our two agencies,” Nisbet said. “We need to decide if the current MOU is the right way to implement it.”

These plans call for a one-story building with three bays for firefighting equipment, a large training/community room, an emergency generator to power the station in the event of a power outage, and an above-ground fueling facility.

Over the years, the original price of $7.5 million is no longer valid.

Hartwig estimates that building the station would cost about $15 to $20 million today.

Smaller project could save millions

He concluded that the original design went beyond what was necessary and that scaling down the project could reduce costs by millions of dollars.

“We coordinated with city staff on the size of the station,” Hartwig said. “Taking into account some of our recent projects … we simply oversized it. It would be much more affordable and more likely to be implemented if it were scaled down.”

This raises the question of who will be staffing the new station.

Hartwig estimates that staffing an additional engine to operate 24 hours a day would cost $1.8 million to $2.1 million annually.

The original plan called for moving a locomotive or truck and crew from Station 11, but Hartwig said he did not support that approach.

Rather, the department needs to “reset priorities in the fire district and perhaps reduce the number of station crews from four to three firefighters,” he said.

Officials say it’s time to make a decision

Regardless of the final size of the station, City Councilman Stuart Kasdin told Noozhawk that he believes it is high time to make a decision regarding Station 10.

“I just want to see something happen,” Kasdin said. “I drive by it almost every day. If we want to build it, let’s build it. If not, let’s move on.”

Kasdin added that the details regarding the size and equipment of a new station should be left to firefighters.

“Normally, the fire department decides the type of fire protection services it will provide,” he said.

“Everyone seems to agree that we can actually achieve something,” he added. “We can actually achieve something. That would be very gratifying, and we’re doing it the right way.”

Ad hoc committee meets again this autumn

The ad hoc committee is scheduled to meet again in the fall, and comments from stakeholders suggest that a new memorandum of understanding will likely be drafted with the goal of moving Station 10 forward.

If the project is scaled down and redesigned, Hartwig estimates it would take about three years to build and start operating, assuming the necessary funding is available within that time frame.

Meanwhile, the sign is still there and passing motorists continue to wonder if and when a new petrol station will be built at this location.