Montecito mudslides damaged hundreds of homes. How many structures are considered safe now?

The Montecito Planning Commission recently reported that 54% of structures are fully repaired or hold no safety concern after the catastrophic debris flows roared down the mountains on Jan. 9, 2018, destroying or damaging hundreds of surrounding homes and buildings.

At the county Planning and Development meeting on July 16, 441 properties received a green safety tag, meaning that they were repaired fully or were demolished so there no longer were safety concerns on the property.

Only 221 were marked green upon the original damage inspection in 2018.

The monstrous debris flows occurred after the 2017 Thomas Fire that burned more than 280,000 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The burned-naked mountains were not equipped to handle the rains that came in the early hours of that January morning as the flow of mud and debris belted down the mountain, destroying everything in its path.

The Montecito mudslides killed 23 people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of dwellings and residential and commercial structures in the surrounding community.

Santa Barbara County Planning and Development continues to work toward repairing the community.

About 28% of properties received yellow tags, meaning that they were allowed restricted use, and 18 percent of properties were still deemed uninhabitable and received a red tag.

After the original inspection, 243 structures received a red tag, and 57 were completely destroyed. Now, 73 structures hold that red tag.

About 61.5% of affected properties need no further work, and 11.1% of properties are in the active rebuild process. In addition, 14.1% of properties are inactive and awaiting owner action to continue the rebuilding process.

The county has had no contact with the owners or representatives of 63 properties, or 12% of the affected properties, and 1.3% of properties are pending sale.

Out of the 77 planning permits that the county received as of July, 54 have been approved. That includes five coastal development permits, two land use permits and 47 exemption permits.

All of the 182 smaller building permits submitted to date have been approved. Out of the 112 larger building permits submitted, 102 have been approved.

Planning and Development established a digital means for property owners to continue with planning efforts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although city offices are closed to the public, owners can upload rebuilding plans digitally.

Rebuilding efforts won’t be completed until early 2029, according to a report released in January by economic consulting company Robert D. Niehaus Inc.