Tom Modugno: Shoestring Annexation of Santa Barbara Airport Was All Tied Up in Money and Politics

Tom Modugno: Shoestring Annexation of Santa Barbara Airport Was All Tied Up in Money and Politics

Ever wonder why the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is smack dab in the middle of Goleta? It’s kind of an unusual situation. Look at a map and you’ll see the airport is surrounded by Goleta, but Santa Barbara is connected to the airport via a thin strip of ocean that goes out to sea, and then back to land in Santa Barbara proper. This is what’s called a Shoestring Annexation, a fancy maneuver that was only used a few times and has since been mad…