New Zip Code Proposal

Division 3 Zip Code Proposal

Residents of Vandenberg Village, Mission Hills, Mesa Oaks, and the surrounding unincorporated areas are currently grouped into the City of Lompoc’s ZIP Code (93436), even though these communities are not part of the City, do not vote in City elections, and do not receive City services. This outdated ZIP Code boundary has caused widespread and well-documented problems in taxation, emergency routing, representation, and public-agency data accuracy.

Santa Barbara County has long recognized these communities as a distinct region through the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District – Division 3. Division 3’s boundaries are already used for County elections, groundwater management, resource allocation, emergency service zones, and environmental compliance. State agencies—including SGMA groundwater authorities and CDTFA—also differentiate Division 3 from the City of Lompoc. USPS is now the only remaining system still treating these areas as if they were within Lompoc city limits.

In June 2025, Leave93436.org formally submitted a ZIP Code Boundary Review request to the USPS California 2 District Office. After receiving no reply, the matter has now been escalated to the office of Congressman Salud Carbajal with a complete evidence package requesting a Congressional inquiry into USPS Address Management. The goal is simple: align USPS records with boundaries the County and State already use.

Division 3 provides a coherent, government-recognized boundary already adopted in 2012 by resolution. Its western edge begins at Ocean Park between New Beach Road and Ocean Park Road, its eastern boundary ends at Vineyard View Lane, and its southern edge follows the Santa Ynez River before meeting Purisima Road and Highway 246. These are not arbitrary lines—they define communities that share infrastructure, groundwater basins, demographics, and service providers.

Multiple SGMA and County maps confirm the same reality: the communities of Vandenberg Village, Mission Hills, and Mesa Oaks form a distinct unincorporated region separate from the City of Lompoc. State environmental agencies place Division 3 within the Western Management Area (WMA) of the Santa Ynez River Valley Groundwater Basin, while the City of Lompoc sits primarily within the Lompoc Plain. These are formally adopted state boundaries, not community opinions.

Due to the USPS ZIP Code assigning all Division 3 communities to “Lompoc, CA 93436,” retailers automatically apply the 8.75% Lompoc city tax rate instead of the correct 7.75% unincorporated rate. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) explicitly lists Division 3 addresses as “UNINCORPORATED AREA – SANTA BARBARA,” yet ZIP-based tax engines override this and mis-tax residents.

The evidence submitted to Congressman Carbajal includes invoices from Univar Solutions, Core & Main, Famcon Pipe & Supply, and private citizen receipts (including Ubiquiti Store USA) showing repeated mis-taxation at the Lompoc city rate. The Vandenberg Village Community Services District—being a major purchaser of materials for infrastructure—has been incorrectly charged thousands of dollars in additional tax due solely to the ZIP Code mismatch.

Residents of Division 3 do not participate in Lompoc elections and do not fall under Lompoc’s municipal jurisdiction. Yet the ZIP Code frequently causes state agencies, commercial retailers, and automated systems to treat these communities as if they were part of the City of Lompoc. This affects planning, demographic reporting, school district interactions, public records, and emergency routing.

A corrected ZIP Code would not change delivery routes, would not require new USPS facilities, and would not alter county governance. It would simply bring USPS data into alignment with boundaries already used by Santa Barbara County, SYRWCD, SGMA, and CDTFA.

Leave93436.org continues to pursue this correction so that the communities of Division 3 receive accurate taxation, clear jurisdictional identification, and appropriate representation in public systems.