New Leaders For Santa Barbara County Association Of Governments’ 60th Anniversary

ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) - The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) is marking its 60th year of collaboration on transportation planning for the region.

This milestone anniversary is accompanied by the election of new leadership.

Bob Nelson, Santa Barbara County Supervisor for the Fourth District, has been unanimously selected as SBCAG’s 2026 chairman.

The vice chair seat will be filled by Buellton’s mayor David Silva, and their first meeting of the year will be on January 15th in Santa Barbara.

For the 2026 year initiatives on the docket include transit modernization, peak-hour rail service, and a proposed 9-mile multipurpose hiking path at the Santa Ynez Valley River Trail.

Additionally, the fully funded U.S. 101 Multimodal Corridor will begin construction, and a safety study will commence for the State Route 135 corridor between Santa Maria and Orcutt.

The interchange for State Route 246 at the 101, and interchanges on Betteravia Road in Santa Maria at the 101 and 135 are voter-approved improvement projects that will also begin to advance.

One advantage seen in having both Nelson and Silva leading the 2026 SBCAG charge is that they both grew up in Orcutt.

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