Daily Archives: November 1, 2019

Is Energy Storage Right For You?

During these times of scheduled power outages, are you wondering if battery backup might be right for your home or business? Come learn more at an upcoming workshop on November 13 at the Santa Barbara Public Library where local solar and energy storage companies, Southern California Edison, community leaders, and local government staff will be on hand to discuss how solar photovoltaic systems paired with batteries can keep your home or business online. Presentations will occur from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., with time available between 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. to meet energy storage providers and learn more about their products and services.

What: Energy Storage Workshop
When: Wednesday, November 13, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Where: Faulkner Gallery, Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu Street
RSVP: Please RSVP here.

View the event flyer here. For more information, please visit SCEEP.org

Construction Nears on Old Town Sidewalk Project

The City of Goleta’s Old Town Sidewalk Improvement Project is nearing the construction phase. The project will improve the way pedestrians get around parts of Old Town by providing a network of sidewalks on at least one side of neighborhood streets north of Hollister Avenue between South Fairview and Kinman Avenues as well as along Pine Avenue south of Hollister Avenue. The project also includes storm water drainage improvements and 39 angled parking spaces on the east side of Magnolia Avenue between Mandarin Drive and the railroad tracks.

The City held many community workshops and public meetings between 2017 and 2019; staff also walked the affected streets speaking with residents and handing out information. We are excited to begin construction in the near future, below is the upcoming schedule:

  • Bids will be presented to City Council for award this winter
  • Construction to begin in February/March 2020 and extend through November 2020
  • Owners & residents shall be notified of schedule in advance of work on their block/street

For more information, please visit the project page or contact James Winslow, Sr. Project Engineer at 805-961-7577 or jwinslow@cityofgoleta.org.

City Embarks on Homelessness Strategic Plan and Seeks Community’s Input

The City of Goleta is preparing a Homelessness Strategic Plan to help guide and coordinate efforts to prevent and address homelessness within the City of Goleta. This Plan is one of many strategic efforts being undertaken by local cities and the County of Santa Barbara to support cooperative efforts to address the problem of homelessness on a regional basis.

Over the past year, the Goleta City Council has expressed a desire to adopt a comprehensive plan to help prioritize and guide City funding efforts in the area of homelessness. Neighborhood Services and Public Safety staff have been working to establish and strengthen relationships with regional service providers, jurisdictions, and community members. Staff are excited to enter the next phase of the strategic planning process, seeking input from service agencies, community members, and those who are experiencing or who have experienced homelessness themselves.

The City seeks your input on its first-ever Homelessness Strategic Plan. While the City of Goleta has a history of supporting organizations and regional efforts serving those at risk of homelessness and those experiencing homelessness, the City currently does not have a comprehensive plan analyzing the state of homelessness in our region and the most effective steps forward. City Council and staff believe having a strategic plan will provide important direction and clarity around needs, service gaps, and priorities in order to make effective and strategic funding decisions that serve both the existing homeless population, as well as those at risk of becoming homeless.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019, from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. service providers and other local jurisdictions will be meeting at Goleta City Hall to share input on the current state of homelessness in the region, service gaps, best practices, future goals and objectives, and service strategies. Then on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Goleta Valley Community Center, there will be an open house for the community to interact on a one-on-one basis with City staff and homelessness service providers, as well as provide ideas and input on homelessness in our community. During this time, staff will also release an online survey seeking personal input from residents, businesses, service providers, and those who are or who have experienced homelessness. A link will be shared in the next edition of the Monarch Press.

City staff will present an initial outline of the Draft Homelessness Strategic Plan in winter of 2020, with a goal of completing the Draft Plan and presenting it to City Council for review and comment next spring. Staff plan to present a final Homelessness Strategic Plan by summer of next year. The City seeks the community’s input throughout the strategic planning process.

City staff want to take this opportunity to thank the community in advance for their time and support of this major effort. For more information, please contact Dominique Samario (dsamario@cityofgoleta.org or 805-690-5126).

Piers 421

Community Town Hall: Platform Holly and Piers 421

The California State Lands Commission (CSLC) is holding a Town Hall on Thursday, November 7 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. in Goleta City Hall Council Chambers (130 Cremona Drive, Suite B). CSLC staff will update the community on the work being done to plug and abandon the oil and gas wells on Platform Holly and Piers 421, and provide information on the upcoming CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process to remove two shore zone piers. For more information, please visit the California State Lands Commission website at www.slc.ca.gov or view the flyer.

The Town Hall is family-friendly. Feel free to bring your kids to play in the Fun Zone. Refreshments will be provided. If you cannot make the meeting, it will be recorded and aired live on Channel 19 as well as rebroadcast Fridays at 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. You can also watch it live here, or view a recording at any time on the City’s website. 

Help Guide the Future of Goleta’s Creeks

The City of Goleta is fortunate to have a dozen creeks that run through our community. Not only are these creeks available for us to enjoy, but they also are home to a number of special-status species including frogs and fish. In addition, our creeks drain the Valley and the foothills into the Ocean and play an important role in addressing flooding.

Because our creeks are such an integral part of the Goleta landscape and provide important habitat and drainage functions, the City would like your input on how our creeks and watersheds should be cared for into the future.

Join the City for a public workshop on the Creek and Watershed Management Plan (CWMP) on Wednesday, November 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Goleta Valley Community Center auditorium (5679 Hollister Avenue). Come get an update on what we have learned so far, including the results of an initial field survey. The project team will also be asking attendees to provide feedback on the City’s creeks and watersheds to help guide the development of the Creeks and Watershed Management Plan. Learn more about the project at https://tinyurl.com/GoletaCWMP.

If you have not had time to take a short survey about our creeks, please do so. A direct link to the survey is available in English and Spanish.

Applications Now Open for LEAD Goleta Academy

The City of Goleta is excited to announce we are NOW accepting applications for our 2nd ever LEAD Goleta Community Academy.  LEAD stands for Learn, Empower, Advocate and Discuss. This free, interactive and eye-opening six week program is designed to help community members better understand the role that local government plays so that they can effectively participate, share that knowledge with others and possibly even consider a future role in city governance.

The upcoming LEAD Goleta Community Academy will run for six consecutive weeks every Wednesday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. starting on January 8 and ending on February 12, 2020, with a celebratory graduation ceremony.  Most classes will be held at City Hall Council Chambers located at 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, but some may be held out in the community.

Each class will be interactive and feature different key City departments giving a behind the scenes view of how City of Goleta is run.  Attendees will learn everything from how roads are maintained to what goes in to creating the City’s budget. Throughout the program, participants will be exposed to the role of local government.

The first LEAD Goleta was held earlier this year and of the 16 graduates, three now sit on Commissions.

LEAD Goleta is open to the first 25 people who submit a completed application. Priority will be given to Goleta residents, but the program is open to any resident of Santa Barbara County. The City believes that it is important to get young adults involved in the local government process and encourages teens and college students to fill out an application. Participants must be able to attend all six classes in order to be considered. Learn more and apply at https://tinyurl.com/LEADGoleta. Spots fill up quickly, so get your application in!

Goleta’s New Zoning Ordinance Approaches the Finish Line

After hundreds of hours of planning work and more than 20 public meetings and open houses in 2019 alone, the draft New Zoning Ordinance (NZO) will go before the Goleta City Council for discussion on November 5, 2019.  The City Council will be asked to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendations in the draft NZO.  The focus of the staff presentation will be on key issue areas, but any topic will be open for discussion.  Key topics will include:

  • City projects permitting requirements
  • Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) regulations pertaining to streamside protection areas, lagoon buffers, native oak woodlands and savannas buffers;
  • Inclusionary Housing requirements for rental units;
  • Residential care facilities in single-family and planned residential zones; and
  • Noticing of proposed development projects.

During the November 5 meeting, Council will have an opportunity to receive public input on the NZO, and give policy direction concerning any needed changes to the document. Continued discussion on the NZO and possible adoption will occur on December 3, 2019.

The NZO will revise citywide zoning regulations to implement the General Plan, update development and design standards and permitting procedures, and help realize the community’s vision for the future – a safe, beautiful, vibrant and livable community with a robust local economy and a sustainable relationship with the environment.  The NZO translates Goleta’s General Plan into specific regulations defining allowable land uses within the City, provides a basis for reviewing applications for new construction as well as alterations and additions to existing buildings and adds clarity and transparency to the development review process.

Mayor Paula Perotte wants Goleta residents to know what they are getting out of this process. She said, “The new code will clear up ambiguities and provide more useful detail than exists in the current code. The clarity and detail of the new code will promote consistency in how we deal with “like” situations, consistency in how residents and businesses are treated. We all want to be treated fairly and that starts with equal treatment in “like” situations.  The new code will increase opportunities for people to learn when a project is coming forward, increase the instances when decisions must be made in public and in every instance provide the opportunity to appeal in a public setting.”

City of Goleta Planning and Environmental Review Director Peter Imhof said, “Getting the draft New Zoning Ordinance to this point represents an extraordinary amount of work over an extended period time – by the Planning Commission, City staff and, not least, engaged City residents.  I look forward to public input and City Council feedback on the draft and before too long, we hope, to final adoption of the City’s own Zoning Ordinance.”     

Goleta’s current Zoning Ordinance was inherited from Santa Barbara County upon incorporation in 2002. As a result, it does not reflect the City’s land use vision as described in the General Plan which was adopted on October 6, 2006.  In 2013, the City Council authorized staff to prepare new zoning regulations and a zoning map that would be consistent with the General Plan.  A Public Review Draft was released on November 19, 2015.  Over the course of eight public workshops starting in January of 2016, several open houses, and line-by-line input based on public input received during the 2015-2016 outreach process, a Revised Draft NZO was released to the public in January 2019.  During the spring of this year, the City hosted an additional nine planning commission workshops, six open houses and one joint City Council/Planning meeting, before conducting three Planning Commission hearings earlier this fall to consider the revised draft.

To review the Staff Report and the New Zoning Ordinance Draft in its entirety click here.

The November 5, City Council meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Goleta Council Chambers located at 130 Cremona Street, Suite B.  If you are not able to attend in person, you can watch the meeting on Channel 19 or on our website at https://tinyurl.com/GoletaMeetings.  

City staff are available to meet with anyone who has any questions or wants more information on the NZO. Please call (805) 961-7557 and leave your contact information. City staff will contact you to schedule a meeting.

For more information go to www.goletazoning.com where you can also post and review public comments. 

If We Can’t Reach You, We Can’t Alert You

While we are lucky to live in such beautiful place, we also live where there is the potential for wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes and Public Safety Power Shutoffs. It’s important to remember an emergency can happen at any time. A perfect example of that was during the month of October when we had a brush fire burn in the El Capitan Canyon area in close proximity to Goleta.  We were also under consideration for a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). While both of these scenarios did not ultimately impact Goleta, emergencies can and will effect us. It’s imperative that you are signed up for emergency information from the City AND County alerts. Please go ahead and do so now if you are not already signed up. Make sure your friends and family are signed up as well.  You can also follow the City on Facebook (@CityofGoleta) and Twitter (@GoletaPIO) for information during emergencies as it becomes available.

Photo: El Capitan Canyon Fire by Mike Eliason