I’ve also tried to explain the unique situation of the SBTHP drawing from both public and private sources. Through an operating agreement with the California State Parks Department, for instance, SBTHP was allowed to keep rental income from El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park to operate and develop the park.
This public-private partnership also enabled SBTHP to receive funds from a special joint powers agreement with the City of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County set up by civic leader and conservation and preservation pioneer Pearl Chase. Although the county dropped out after the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, the city continued to earmark money for the presidio in its annual budget, not to mention grants that were to come from the city’s since disbanded Redevelopment Agency.
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It’s a coveted perk for state parks employees: For just a few hundred dollars a month, they can live in government-owned homes in some of California’s most scenic and sought-after locations beachfront cottages, historic houses in pricey neighborhoods and cabins surrounded by stretches of pristine wilderness.
The benefit was created so California Department of Parks and Recreation staff could live close to the natural treasures they protect or maintain. But the well-intentioned program has been poorly managed, with current and former employees alleging that state property is being used for the benefit of some favored staff members, according to a Times investigation.
At Crystal Cove State Park a state parks employee lives in a shorefront cottage for $232 a month. Next door, cottages are advertised as vacation rentals for up to $269 a night.