Daily Archives: February 1, 2022

One Climate, One County, One Future

County of Santa Barbara One Climate Initiative Launches New Planning Efforts Focused on Housing and Environmental Justice

The County is launching two new planning efforts under the One Climate Initiative, which was launched in 2020 to highlight interrelated efforts to address climate change.

The Environmental Justice Element is a new initiative to identify strategies to reduce pollution exposure, improve air quality, promote access to public facilities, healthy foods, safe and sanitary homes, and physical activity, promote civic engagement in the public decision-making process, and prioritize improvements and programs in environmental justice communities experiencing persistent environmental health disparities.

Secondly, the Housing Element will assess the County’s housing potential inventory of undeveloped or underdeveloped parcels, and update zoning policies and housing programs to ensure the County can meet future regional housing needs for all income levels.

“The One Climate Initiative highlights the broad range of important community issues the County is leading through a lens of climate change,” said Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “Community participation is vital as these plans will shape our region’s future to be more equitable, more resilient and environmentally conscious.”

Throughout 2021, the County engaged the community on the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, 2030 Climate Action Plan and Active Transportation Plan. Hundreds of community members participated in six workshops, 12 town halls, four listening sessions and 24 stakeholder meetings, and provided comments through the One Climate website.

In addition to conventional engagement activities, the County is also leveraging more creative approaches to involve the community, such as the three examples below.

  • In 2019, the County formed an Equity Advisory and Outreach Committee (EAOC) comprised of individuals representing environmental and social justice organizations and historically marginalized communities. The EAOC has provided guidance, input and feedback to various projects within the One Climate Initiative.
  • In 2021, the County announced an Environmental Justice Community Art Showcase in collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture to issue a call for art expressing what environmental justice means to people residing in Santa Barbara County. Artists of all skills were invited to share their perspectives on what environmental justice means to them. Entries are under review following the January 10 deadline to submit.
  • The County partnered with the City of Santa Barbara and the Tri-County Regional Energy Network to expand its engagement efforts with Spanish and Mixtec-speaking residents and businesses by working with the Santa Barbara County Promotores Network. This collaborative effort will train community-based outreach workers in sustainability and urban planning issues and deploy them throughout the County to increase community awareness and participation with local plans and programs.

Over the course of 2022, there will be a variety of opportunities to engage with these projects. The public is encouraged to learn more about the One Climate Initiative and the various projects by visiting countyofsb.org/oneclimate and by signing up for the One Climate Newsletter.

Increase in Catalytic Converter Thefts

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office urges residents to be aware and vigilant about increasing catalytic converter thefts throughout the county, occurring in densely populated neighborhoods as well as in rural areas. Unfortunately, this pattern aligns with a rising crime trend seen in other California counties. In 2021, 276 catalytic converter thefts have been reported in Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction alone. 

The community is advised to be alert and mindful of protecting their vehicles to avoid being victims of this increasing crime trend. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office-Criminal Investigation Bureau statistical data indicates the most targeted vehicles are Honda Accords, Toyota Prius, and Ford F250 – F350 series trucks.

The suspects quickly get underneath a vehicle and cut the exhaust metal pipes to and from the catalytic converter with an electric saw. Surveillance videos show the theft being completed in less than two minutes while an accomplice waits in a nearby getaway car. The catalytic converters are then sold and stripped for their valuable metals. 

To reduce the risk of falling a victim, the Sheriff’s Office has the following theft prevention tips:

  • Keeping your vehicle in a locked garage or a well-lit area close to your home. 
  • Setting up cameras to record the parking area can help as a deterrent and in the investigation.
  • Installing anti-theft devices to make a catalytic converter harder to remove.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Detectives review and monitor all reported thefts and suspect information. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office encourages county residents to report suspicious activity by calling the non-emergency dispatch phone number 805-683-2724 or calling 911 to report a crime in progress.

If you have information about an existing catalytic converter theft, please contact the Sheriff’s Detective Bureau at 805-681-4150.

Online Programming Going Strong at the Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries

Have you checked out the Goleta, Buellton and Solvang library branches great online programming? They offer something for all ages, from book clubs to craft workshops to investors’ roundtable discussions. February online programming includes:

  • Black History Month Spaceship Craft Celebrates Mae Jemison (Goleta)
  • Monday Morning Online Storytimes (Goleta)
  • Buellton Bookworms (Buellton)
  • Chinese New Year Craft Kit (Buellton)
  • Investors’ Roundtable (Solvang)
  • Online Book Club for Kids (Solvang)

Sign up here for the Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries monthly e-newsletter, The Reading Corner, to stay informed about all things happening at the library. For more information on programs and services at the Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries, visit www.GoletaValleyLibrary.org.

Book a Winter Getaway! Winter Reading Program Now through March 4th

Start the new year with a great read! The Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries are excited to be running their 10th annual Winter Reading Program. The program is open to all ages and will run through Friday, March 4th. This year’s theme – Book a Winter Getaway! – invites readers to discover a new adventure in the pages of a book.

How it works:

  • Stop by your library during Sidewalk Service Hours (Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) and fill out a ticket for each book you read during the program. Enter your ticket into the entry box for your age group: Youth (grades 6 and under), Teen (grades 7-12) and Adult (ages 18+).
  • Tickets will be entered into weekly prize drawings, plus a grand prize drawing at the end of the program for everyone who participated.

The Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries would like to thank the generous sponsors of the 2022 Winter Reading Program: Anna’s Bakery, Blenders in the Grass, Channel City Lumber, Cutting Edge Hair & Body Salon, Elegant Nails, Friends of the Goleta Valley Library, Friends of the Library of Santa Ynez Valley, Jersey Mike’s, Miner’s Ace Hardware, Step-N-Out Shoe Repair, Sprouts, The Timbers Roadhouse, Trader Joe’s, and Woodstock’s Pizza.

Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries Remain Black Gold Partners

What You Need to Know About Changes to Service and Exciting Future Plans

The Goleta and Santa Ynez libraries want to inform patrons about changes to service now that Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo libraries have announced that they are leaving the Black Gold Cooperative system effective July 1, 2022. This means that their catalogs will become separate, and materials will no longer be shipped outside of these two library systems to the Black Gold member libraries. However, Goleta remains firmly committed to being a member of Black Gold.

We know how our library users enjoy access to a myriad of resources and should rest assured that they still can expect the high level of service that they are accustomed to receiving.

Here is what you need to know about Black Gold Changes to service:

  • You can no longer place holds on items or renew items owned by the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Libraries.
  • Please return any items you have borrowed from the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo libraries by their due date.
  • Please make Goleta your pickup location for holds that are received from any non-Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo libraries. You are no longer able to pick them up at Santa Barbara. Santa Ynez Valley libraries can continue to pick up their items at either Buellton or Solvang.
  • After June 30, you will no longer be able to return Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo items to any of the Goleta branches. Anything you check out from Santa Barbara must be returned there yourself. 

The future is bright for Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries. We are working behind the scenes to transition the circulation system to an open-source software called Koha, provided by the same company that hosts the library’s new user-friendly online catalog which debuted last fall. This exciting change will take place on Monday, April 25th. Stay tuned for more details as the date approaches.

PLEASE CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD NOW:
The new circulation system will require you to use the last four numbers of your phone number as your password to get into your account to place holds or download items. It’s a good time to go into your record now before we make the transfer to Koha. Check that all your information is correct and change your password to the last four numbers of your phone number. That way you’ll be all set come April 25th. Thank you!

We are also excited to share that we will have an increased book budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1st to enrich and expand our collection for your use and enjoyment. We would love to hear which titles you’d like to see added to the library and encourage you to use the Suggest a Purchase form on our website to make a request.

Questions can be directed to goletavalleylibrary@cityofgoleta.org.

The Switch Is On Electrification Resource Program

The City of Goleta is excited to share that the Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN) recently partnered with The Switch Is On, a program to educate Californians on the importance of home electrification.

3C-REN is a partnership between the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura established to deliver energy-saving programs to households and industry trainings that help reduce energy use, strengthen local job markets, and support efforts to achieve climate goals.

3CREN’s new partnership with the Switch Is On helps connect residents to multiple resources intended to make home electrification easier. Here are three of the many valuable resources offered by The Switch Is On website:

  • Easy access to incentives and rebates: Simply type in your zip code, and The Switch Is On shows you all the rebates and incentives in your area. See if you qualify for some of the thousands of dollars worth of incentives by clicking the link above. 
  • Connects residents to free one-on-one advisors: Once you’ve taken advantage of some incentives or rebates, the site makes it easy to connect with a Clean Air verified contractor to install your new equipment. Search verified contractors and compare quotes. You can feel confident your electrified home improvements will be handled by an expert. 
  • A virtual assistant: Connect with an expert to answer your questions on electric water heaters, solar energy, and batteries. 

In addition to the above resources, there is also a page dedicated to making electrification more equitable through income qualifying programs. Check them out here. Take advantage of these new resources today and make your home more electric!

Our Water Our World: Keep Bed Bugs out of Your Home

Learn how to keep bed bugs out of your home with these tips from the City of Goleta Environmental Services Division.

Bed bugs are small, flat insects that hide in tight spaces like mattress seams and cracks in furniture. They are similar in color to an apple seed, but a bit smaller. Young bed bugs start off about the size of a poppy seed. They bite us while we are resting or sleeping.

Anyone can get bed bugs. Infestations are becoming more common, and once you have them, they can be hard to control. There are some things you can do yourself, but you may need to use a pest control professional to successfully control bed bugs. If you rent and have bed bugs, you will need to work with your landlord to make sure bugs are eliminated.

Did You Know?

  • Bed bugs do not transmit diseases.
  • Like mosquitoes, bed bugs feed on human blood. They may occasionally feed on pets and other animals.
  • Some people have no reaction to bed bug bites; others can suffer itchy welts.
  • Store bought “bug bombs” are ineffective and can push bed bugs into other rooms.
  • Don’t throw out infested items! Most can be treated.
  • Bed bugs move around by hitching rides on furniture, bedding, baggage, clothing, and other personal belongings.

How Can You Tell If You Have An Infestation?

Getting bug bites doesn’t necessarily mean you have bed bugs; you also need to look for:

  • Dark, rusty or reddish spotting or staining on sheets, mattresses, walls, and around small, dark spaces.
  • Live bugs, eggs, eggs shells, and shed skins.

What Can You Do?

Some sprays may be effective if you hit the bugs directly, but insecticides alone cannot eliminate a bed bug infestation. Over-the-counter ‘bug bombs’ are not effective and may scatter bed bugs into new rooms in your home or into neighbors’ apartments. Some sprays may be effective if you directly hit the bed bugs.

  • Tell your landlord immediately if you see bed bugs. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to control the bugs. In California, landlords must conduct inspections when they are notified of bed bug problems.
  • Before you move in, ask if the unit has been inspected for bed bugs. Landlords may not knowingly rent out homes with bed bugs.
  • Look for signs of bed bugs and know where they hide. They aren’t just on mattresses. Check bed frames, headboards, along baseboards, under and behind furniture, around electrical sockets, and any other dark hidden areas near beds. Use a bright flashlight.
  • Catch bugs with a sticky lint roller or packing tape. Caught bugs can be identified by pest control professionals.
  • Vacuum infested areas thoroughly. This can quickly remove many live bugs. Immediately after vacuuming, remove the vacuum bag or canister contents, seal in a plastic bag and dispose of right away. Vacuuming alone will not eliminate an infestation.
  • Use the clothes dryer to kill bed bugs. You can kill all stages of bed bugs on dry cloth items by tumble drying them for 15 minutes on “high.” If items are wet, dry them first, and then continue tumbling on “high” for at least an additional 15 minutes. Wash and dry your sheets at least every 2 weeks.
  • Consider desiccant dusts. These products kill bugs and their eggs by drying them out. Dusts can irritate your lungs, so they should only be used in wall voids, cracks, and other areas where they won’t be breathed in.
  • Protect your mattress and box spring with mattress encasements. These covers seal bugs inside and make bed inspection easier.
  • Consider pitfall traps for use under beds and furniture legs. These traps help detect bed bugs and may also help prevent bed bug bites. Be sure to pull beds, sofas and other furniture away from the wall, and keep bedding from touching the floor.
  • Remove as much clutter as possible, especially around your sleeping area. Clutter hides bed bugs and makes inspection and control difficult.

Remember, there is no magic formula that will guarantee bed bug elimination. These tips are not intended to replace a treatment program by knowledgeable professionals.

When You Travel

Check your hotel room. Travel with a flashlight and inspect the bed, bed skirt, nearby furnishings, baseboards, drapes, and if you can, behind the headboard and items hanging on the wall. If you find bed bugs or their signs, request to be moved. Inspect the new room, too.

For extra protection:

  • Keep your luggage in the bathtub or in a sealed plastic bag. Bed bugs are unlikely to be in the bathroom.
  • When you get home, open your luggage outside the house and put the contents into a plastic bag. Carefully inspect luggage with a light and magnifying glass before you bring it inside. Store luggage far from sleeping and resting places.
  • Wash and/or dry everything you can.

The City of Goleta along with the Cities of Buellton, Carpinteria, Solvang, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and the County of Santa Barbara have partnered with the OWOW organization to promote the use of less-toxic products in an effort to reduce pesticide pollution in our communities. By reducing pesticide use and the use of less-toxic products around the home, you can help reduce pesticides and other pollutants such as herbicides and fertilizers from being picked up while watering or when it rains and transported to the nearest storm drain inlet and into our waterways. The OWOW website is user-friendly and a great resource for finding less-toxic products to use around your home or garden.

San Jose Creek Channel Fish Passage Improvement Project

In 2014, the City of Goleta completed the reconstruction and widening of the existing San Jose Creek Channel that runs parallel to State Route 217. Included with the improvements was a fish passage facility located along the eastside of the channel. The purpose of the fish passage facility, consisting of a low flow channel and a series of concrete and wooden weirs, was to promote migration of the endangered steelhead trout from the Goleta Slough to the natural creek upstream. Unfortunately, the performance of the completed facility has not met expectations from a fish passage standpoint and has also resulted in excessive sediment entrapment between the weirs. As a result, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is requiring that the City implement a fish passage project to modify the existing facility.

The City Council approved the establishment of a new Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project, the San Jose Creek Channel Fish Passage Modification Project on January 18, 2022. The scope of the new project will be to develop weir modification alternatives, evaluate the alternatives through computerized and physical modeling protocols, select an optimum alternative, develop a final design for the selected alternative, secure environmental approval and permits and construct the approved modification. Following construction, the City will monitor the modified fish passage facility for three years to ensure it is functioning as envisioned in the design.  

Pictured (above): San Jose Creek Channel – Trapped sediment with vegetation in between weirs, 2019 and (below): San Jose Creek Channel – Wooden weirs with trapped debris, 2019



Train Depot Reaches Next Stop

The Goleta City Council reached a major milestone towards the completion of the much-anticipated Goleta Train Depot Project. The Council, in a unanimous 5-0 vote on January 18, 2022, certified the Goleta Train Depot Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approved the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Goleta Train Depot Project Located at 27 South La Patera Lane and approved the Project. View the staff report and presentation here.

The proposed Goleta Train Depot structure will be approximately 9,000 square feet in size and will provide a permanent, enclosed, and safe structure for Amtrak passengers to use as they wait to board or after they disembark from trains. The building will be located in the northern portion of the project site, adjacent to the railroad right-of-way, with the parking lot and driveways located in the southern portion of the project site.

The Council also received an update on the most current design of the Goleta Train Depot. The architecture of the structure will be a traditional depot design with modern elements. The structure will have large windows and columns to support a roof overhang to create protected outdoor areas around the building. An additional turnaround area will be located at the entry of the site and is designed to allow buses and shuttles to provide easy drop-off and pick-up for passengers. Electric vehicle charging stations are proposed for the site, and approximately half of the roof would contain solar panels to capture solar energy.

The proposed Depot will be designed and constructed consistent with City Resolution No. 12-65 which requires City owned buildings of 2,000 square feet or greater of conditioned space to achieve United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

Overall, the FEIR concludes that the project will not result in any significant, unmitigable impacts to the environment. All environmental impacts of the project are less than significant with the incorporation of mitigation measures. The project would result in a significant benefit to the public by creating a regional multi-modal transportation hub. In addition to the benefits of increased multi-modal transportation for the public, especially rail service, other benefits of the project include a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from alternative transportation, greatly increased site landscaping and tree plantings, improved stormwater runoff treatment, and significantly enhanced architectural and site aesthetics.

Given these benefits, City Council also approved minor deviations to the setbacks and height restriction requested for the project because they facilitate enhanced parking and circulation, the aesthetics and functionality of the building, and the enjoyment of the site by the public by way of covered bus shelters, and kiosks that provide opportunities to display information and public art.

More information on the Train Depot project is available at https://tinyurl.com/goletatraindepot.

Pictured: Rendering of Goleta Train Depot

School Crosswalks Project on Cathedral Oaks Nearing Completion

The City of Goleta is making major strides in increasing pedestrian crossing safety on major roads, especially near local schools. Goleta is in the process of installing enhanced crosswalks near schools at the intersections of Cathedral Oaks Road and Brandon Drive, Evergreen Drive, and Carlo Drive. Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) being added to these intersections are traffic control devices that trigger flashing lights to alert motorists when pedestrians are crossing the road.

Mayor Paula Perotte said, “This project is another way of fulfilling Goleta’s commitment to our number one priority, ensuring the safety and well-being of our children. It is also another way that we encourage people of all ages to travel on foot, both for beneficial exercise and to reduce impacts from motor vehicle travel.”

Charlie Ebeling, City of Goleta Director of Public Works said, “It’s important people feel safe crossing the street. The City is pleased to have secured a grant allowing us to improve crosswalks children use to help them get to school. Pedestrian and bicycle safety are a top priority for the City, and we continue to make improvements throughout Goleta.”

Construction began in early November 2021 and is expected to wrap up at the end of January, after experiencing some delays to due to rain. The installation of the beacons themselves will take place in February. The City wants to thank the public for its patience and cooperation during this time.

Currently, there already are four RRFB crosswalk locations in the City of Goleta. They are located at Cathedral Oaks Road and Santa Marguerita Drive and Hollister Avenue at Orange Avenue, Chapel Street and South Patterson Avenue.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Project Manager Michael Winnewisser at (805) 690-5120 or mwinnewisser@cityofgoleta.org.

Pictured: Crosswalk at Cathedral Oaks Road and Brandon Drive intersection – Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon coming soon