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Proposed Incorporation · Santa Barbara County, California

City of La Purísima

North of the River · Burton Mesa · The La Purísima Corridor

The communities of Vandenberg Village, Mission Hills, Mesa Oaks, and Purisima Highlands occupy a mesa and hill country north of the Santa Ynez River that the federal government has continuously designated La Purísima since 1905. Home to the engineers and families of Vandenberg Space Force Base, the physicians and professionals of the Central Coast's most accomplished workforce, and the veterans who chose this particular stretch of mesa to put down roots — this community has governed itself, kept its districts solvent, and grown while the surrounding region has not. Now it is pursuing what was always the logical next step: full municipal incorporation as the City of La Purísima.

Proposed City Territory — La Purísima Corridor, Santa Barbara County
City Boundary
Civic
Education
Recreation
Historic

✦   By the Numbers   ✦

$111k
Median Household Income
13% above Santa Barbara County
~4%
Poverty Rate
County average is 14.7%
1,096
Veterans Among Residents
More than double the county rate
+147
School Enrollment Growth
North-of-river schools gaining while district declines
What Residents Want to Know

Three Questions. Straight Answers.

Question 01

Will this actually improve our community?

Yes — in specific, measurable ways. Our property tax revenue stays here instead of being pooled across the wider county. Land use decisions are made by a council answerable only to La Purísima residents, not a body balancing competing priorities across hundreds of thousands of constituents. Communities that govern their own growth consistently protect property values better than those that don't. Our schools are growing. Our income is above average. Our poverty rate is one-quarter of the county's. Incorporation gives those strengths a formal home and a permanent shield.

Question 02

How will the new city be structured?

The foundation already exists.

  • VVCSD — solvent, modern facility, de facto city hall candidate under state law
  • MHCSD — stable district, established governance, serving Mission Hills today
  • State law provides a direct CSD-to-city conversion path — lowest friction route available
  • Elected city council, professional city manager, local planning commission
  • No new bureaucracy built from scratch. We convert what already works.
Question 03

What actually changes day-to-day?

For most residents: less than you'd expect at first, more than you'd hope over time.

  • Water, sewer, utilities — no change. CSDs continue operating as they do today
  • Sheriff services — county contract maintained, same coverage
  • Planning and permits — handled locally, faster, by people who live here
  • Roads and parks — city budget, city priorities, city timeline
  • Your voice — a city council whose primary constituency is this community

Historical Foundation

A name 116 years older than this campaign

1787
Mission La Purísima Concepción founded — the name takes root
1905
USGS designates this territory "La Purísima" on federal maps
1941
Vandenberg Space Force Base established — north-of-river growth begins
2026
Incorporation campaign launched. The name was always ours.
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"A community that has kept its districts solvent, its schools growing, and its residents rooted does not need to be told how to govern itself. It needs only the authority to do so."

— City of La Purísima  ·  Proposed Incorporation  ·  Santa Barbara County

This community is ready.

See the full data behind the case — or add your name to the movement.

Community Data → Leave93436.org