The future of Deltopia, an annual unsanctioned street party that draws thousands of college students and is often marked by chaos and arrests, is uncertain after Santa Barbara County supervisors approved a 72-hour ban on amplified music that would coincide with the event.
During its Jan. 13 board meeting, the supervisors unanimously approved the ban, which would fall on the first weekend of UC Santa Barbara’s spring quarter, when thousands of college students flood Isla Vista for Deltopia.
The vote came after a presentation from local authorities, who cited the dangers of Deltopia over the years, including two deaths, a 2013 balcony collapse, a riot the following year that lasted several hours and multiple cases of people suffering alcohol overdoses.
The Santa Barbara Independent reported that the supervisors will vote on a second and final reading of the ordinance on January 27.
The party, made popular among UC Santa Barbara students who live in Isla Vista near the campus, was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in 2022, resulting in multiple arrests and citations during the weekend-long event.
Isla Vista Foot Patrol Lt. Joe Schmidt told the board that an estimated 30,000 people turned out for Deltopia last year. He said there were 485 citations issued, 84 arrests, one firearm seized from someone from out of town and 122 medical calls in the Isla Vista area to Emergency Medical Services.
Schmidt said a proposed alternative had been to allow Deltopia to continue but to seal off Isla Vista to prevent out of towners from entering by using roadblocks and checkpoints. He said based on the size of the community, “these measures are not logistically possible.”
“For 16 years, the county of Santa Barbara has been grappling with several challenges associated with this unsanctioned event. An event that’s been dangerous to our community, disastrous to the environment, and harmful to our neighbors,” Schmidt said. “A sanctioned event with permitted music and all safety measures in place is a solution to maintain the celebratory spirit, while reducing the history of harm.”
Schmidt said the 72-hour noise ordinance includes proposed language allowing permits for amplified music for events sponsored by state or local public agencies — essentially allowing for a sanctioned festival to move forward.
“If that’s the direction the students want to go in, I pledge as the supervisor to make sure that that permit gets processed as swiftly as possible and that that gets across the finish line,” Supervisor Laura Capps, whose district includes Isla Vista, said during the meeting.
During public comment, several students urged the board to vote no on the ordinance.
E.J. Raad, the external vice president for UCSB’s Associated Students, pointed out that the event began years ago as Floatopia, an unsanctioned beach festival that was later ended through an ordinance.
“And what was the result? Students created Deltopia,” Raad said. “It didn’t stop partying or make it safer. It pushed students and residents to do it in an underground fashion … ordinances don’t change behavior, they lead to increased tension in the community.”
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