It's been a busy year in the Santa Maria Valley, as local officials continued plans to revitalize downtown, worked with the federal government to upgrade the Santa Maria River Levee and made a new connection between the Central Coast and the southwest.

Many of the projects started in 2007 will continue through this year, and a few will extend further as current leaders plan for future of the Santa Maria Valley.

Just this week, a years-long effort to build a shopping center at Santa Maria Way and Bradley Road, next to Highway 101, overcame its major obstacle when annexation to Santa Maria was approved for the so-called Orcutt Plaza property.

The project was approved years ago by Santa Barbara County, but development was blocked by lack of a water source. Santa Maria city officials refused to sell water to serve the property, owned by the local Adam family, but said they would provide water if the property was made part of Santa Maria.

The past year also was a launching pad for a major makeover of Marian Medical Center and for a large commercial development at the south end of the Santa Maria Public Airport.

Another major effort in 2007 featured county, Santa Maria and Guadalupe officials teaming up to lobby the federal government for funds to study the deteriorating Santa Maria River Levee.

The 26-mile levee, which was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was decertified by the same agency earlier this year - which means that

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federal officials do not believe the structure could withstand a 100-year flood. The situation was made more dire over the summer when the massive Zaca Fire burned portions of the watershed above the Santa Maria River.

Officials worry that the damaged watershed could send more water at a faster rate into the river because the fire destroyed so much vegetation. On top of that, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reviewing the valley's flood maps, and most residents may be required to buy flood insurance.

After numerous trips to Capitol Hill and money spent on a professional lobbying firm, local officials got results in late December when President Bush signed a huge federal spending plan that included $280,000 for the corps to study the levee, which is the first step in determining the best way to bolster the structure.

The year also saw plans for the revitalization of downtown Santa Maria coming closer to a reality.

The Downtown Specific Plan, which officials see as a blueprint for downtown growth, continued through the environmental process so that an environmental impact report can be presented for city approval at the same time the specific plan is presented.

City staff say public hearings on the documents before both the Planning Commission and the City Council are expected in the coming year.

The plan focuses on 50 blocks radiating from the intersection of Main Street and Broadway and breaks downtown Santa Maria into five distinct districts, each with its own architectural and land-use guidelines.

In addition to the specific plan, the new 59,850-square-foot library began to take shape and city officials and volunteers continue to raise money to fully furnish the facility. The $33-million project, which includes the new library parking structure, is expected to be completed by the middle of this year.

Though the project remains on schedule, the city did see a major change when City Librarian Francisco Pinneli retired in November. Former librarian Jack Buchanan returned on an interim basis to help oversee the construction.

Local officials are not only looking to the core of Santa Maria for development but beyond current borders as well.

The first of what will be many public hearings was held in 2007 for the extensive Bradley Ranch East, which proposes to build a master planned community on 2,300 acres southeast of the city's current boundary, east of Highway 101.

The property would need to be annexed into the city and initial plans include up to 9,500 residential units, 356 acres of commercial uses, 83 acres of industrial uses and up to six new schools.

This year, city staff say the environmental review process, which could take between one and two years, is expected to get underway.

The project is east of Highway 101, west of Telephone Road, south of Betteravia Road and north of the future extension of Union Valley Parkway.

Another planning milestone reached in 2007 was approval for the expansion of Marian Medical Center.

The $210-million project will eventually build a new four-story patient tower next to the existing hospital. The expanded facility will then be able to accommodate 188 beds in mostly private rooms. The current hospital has 132 beds in semi-private rooms.

Construction has already begun with the consolidation of the hospital's power plant, and officials expect to begin some demolition work in the coming weeks on the old administrative wing to make room for a new ambulance entrance.

Work on the new patient tower is expected to start in the fall and last for 30 months.

A proposal heralded by many as the most important economic development project for the valley got the green light in 2007, but not until much debate and deal-making was done.

In December, the Santa Maria City Council approved five actions aimed at developing a business park and golf course on Santa Maria Public Airport District property, south of the airfield near Foster Road.

Included in the approval was an agreement between the city and the airport district on how to handle the closure and relocation of a 90-unit mobile home park that would be removed for the project. Work to create a conversion impact report and relocation plan for the park is expected to begin early this year.

With the specific plan area approved, the airport can begin marketing the project to potential developers. Also, officials say the airport will begin work to secure conservation easements based on the federal biological opinion regarding the California tiger salamander, an endangered species that is also found on the project site. The airport can also begin the process to release, for the purpose of leasing, the project's roughly 60 parcels from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Industrial development plans were not the only changes at the airport. Work to extend the runway from 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet got underway with the creation of the project development team and the start of the environmental process. Airport officials say the longer runway would allow for not only larger aircraft but would give corporate aircraft the ability to fly to more distant destinations.

Airport officials were dealt a blow this year, though, when Delta Airlines opted to start a route between San Luis Obispo and Salt Lake City, a service that Santa Maria officials had sought. But SMX did receive a new service from Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, connecting Santa Maria and Mesa, Ariz.

Allegiant's service goes to the Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, a suburb about 20 miles from Phoenix. Other nearby cities include Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert and Chandler.

The service offers two weekly flights to the Southwest in addition to three weekly flights that the low-cost carrier already offers to Las Vegas.

Malia Spencer can be reached at 739-2219 or mspencer@santamariatimes.com.

January 2, 2008