Anonymous
By the Isla Vista Community Services District
Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) has fully adopted the Isla Vista Beautiful program, a previous partnership with United Way. The District hired Jenna Norton, Isla Vista Beautiful Program Manager, to oversee a crew of workers who identify and respond to beautification issues in the Isla Vista Community. Jenna collaborates with local stakeholders to reduce waste, increase sustainability, and beautify the community. The Isla Vista Beautiful program is in the process of hiring beautification crew members to respond to requests. Once the crew is hired, trained, and fully onboarded they will begin responding to community reports.
The Isla Vista Beautiful program utilizes SeeClickFix, an issue reporting app that allows people to detail neighborhood issues to local governmental bodies. This program works to enhance our community by allowing residents to report quality of life issues. This app is free for users to report graffiti, vandalism, dim or absent street lighting, obstructions to the right of way, and public garbage. Since the program began in 2019, Isla Vista Beautiful has completed 2,928 service requests and counting.
Jenna shared, “Isla Vista is a naturally beautiful place. However, we often forget the difference that proper care and upkeep of this community can make. As the new manager of Isla Vista Beautiful, I am so excited to help bring awareness to the value and importance of beautification in Isla Vista. Please reach out if you have any ideas or want to collaborate on these efforts.”
Another important goal is to facilitate a more sustainable and less disruptive move-out process at the end of each school year. Historically, this has posed a major issue with waste management. Every year, “Move Out” generates several hundred thousand pounds of waste. Pre-pandemic this was typically 1.2 million pounds, and the past two years have been around 700,000 pounds.
IVCSD recently partnered with Cox Communications to remove the shoes hung on communication lines throughout Isla Vista. Cox Communications responded quickly to this request and removed 341 pairs of shoes. The District coordinated with local shelters including Good Samaritan and Hedges House of Hope in Isla Vista. Over 585 pounds of shoes were repurposed and given to local community members who need them most.
“Partnerships like this one are what make our community stronger. We are thrilled to work hand-in-hand with Isla Vista Beautiful and shelters in the area to help those in need” said Kirsten McLaughlin, Market Vice President for Cox Communications in Santa Barbara.
The Isla Vista Community Services District is Isla Vista’s first broad based local government, achieving 47 years of community advocacy for self governance. The IVCSD is empowered to provide eight critical services including public safety, housing mediation, community facilities, parking, graffiti abatement, lighting and sidewalks, and both a municipal advisory council and area planning commission. The Board is composed of five publicly elected directors and two directors appointed by UC Santa Barbara and the County of Santa Barbara.
