If you are planning a visit to our City, or, if you're planning on relocating your business to our City, we encourage you to visit our Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce Website to find out more about the many activities and events in store for you in beautiful Santa Maria. Many movies and commercials have been filmed in the Santa Maria Valley, home to wineries and close to beaches.
DEMOGRAPHICS
PHOTOGRAPHS
View a video
about Santa Maria
(low-bandwidth and
high-bandwidth available)
|
View our City parks
- all 27 of them!
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View our new
60,000-square-foot
Public Library
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Historic Santa Maria
City Hall, built in
1934
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The Santa Maria Geranium
(the City's official flower)
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LOCATION
Santa Maria is located along U.S. Highway 101 in the Santa Maria Valley, in northern Santa Barbara County, in the heart of one of the nation's premier wine regions. The City limits (see map) contain 23 square miles. Los Angeles is about three hours' drive (190 miles) south of Santa Maria and San Francisco is about four and half hours' drive (260 miles) north.
CITY PROFILE AND HISTORY
The City Profile includes demographics, a list of the largest employers, building activity, school information, statistics and the community's history. It is part of the biennial City Budget document.
GOVERNMENT
The City is governed by a five-member City Council consisting of four Council Members and a Mayor. Council Members are elected at-large for four-year, overlapping terms of office. The Mayor is also elected by popular vote, for a four-year term.
In 2000, Santa Maria became a Charter City. A Charter City differs from a General Law City in that it can adopt laws that are different than the general State laws to meet the specific needs of the City. The operation of a City under a charter is often referred to as "home rule."
SERVICES
Santa Maria is a full-service City with 10 operating departments: Police, Fire, Utilities, Public Works, Community Development, Library, Recreation and Parks, City Manager's Office, City Attorney's Office and Administrative Services. Each department's responsibilities, budget and goals are described in detail on this website.
The City maintains a Community Services Directory that lists commonly referred-to public and private agencies, organizations and service providers.
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