Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Thank You Goleta Public Works!

During National Public Works Week in May, the City of Goleta publicly recognized its hard-working and dedicated Goleta Public Works Team. Their department has a staff of 21 employees who are responsible for so many aspects of our daily life, including the City’s infrastructure, parks and open spaces, street maintenance, storm water management, solid waste and environmental services, and engineering. Learn more about each division here.

City Manager Michelle Greene said, “I am so proud of our Public Works team. From engineering to capital projects, and from streets maintenance to parks and open space maintenance, they continue to do an amazing job no matter the circumstances.”

Director of Public Works Charlie Ebeling said, “Public Works Staff has worked very hard this last year to deliver projects and services to the residents of the City of Goleta. This includes being available 24/7 to respond to emergencies and working to deliver projects including the largest in the City’s history, while simultaneously being remarkably responsive to all types of requests. I am honored and proud to work with such an accomplished group of people.”

Over the past year, our Public Works Department has had many achievements, including completing the following projects:

  • Old Town Sidewalk Improvements Project increased pedestrian safety, added parking and improved drainage
  • Fairview Avenue Sidewalk Infill Project increased pedestrian and bicycle safety
  • San Jose Creek Emergency Channel Repairs in advance of the winter storms
  • Installed enhanced pedestrian crosswalks at Calle Real and Kingston Avenue and at Hollister Avenue and Chapel Street to ensure pedestrian and bicyclist safety and safe routes to school

Public Works projects on the horizon include:

  • LED Street Lighting Project will replace more than 1,300 old streetlights with new energy efficient LED lights making it better for the environment, providing clearer lighting, and saving the City money
  • Hollister Avenue Interim Striping Project will improve pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety in the corridor, and increase outdoor business and dining space
  • Hollister Avenue Bridge Project will replace the existing bridge and complete the channel widening south of the bridge thereby allowing greater flood water conveyance capacity
  • Ekwill and Fowler Road Extensions Project will construct major improvements which will greatly enhance circulation in Old Town for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians
  • Four-million-dollar paving project for various citywide roadways including segments of Cathedral Oaks Road
  • New signalized crosswalk on Calle Real near Encina Lane
  • Three enhanced pedestrian crossings on Cathedral Oaks Road
  • Design for the 20-million-dollar San Jose Creek Bike Path Project

Thank you, Goleta Public Works, for your hard work and dedication and for your ability to adjust to continue serving the community safely during the pandemic.

Pictured: Anthony Lopez, Public Works Maintenance Worker, out in the field installing a new stop sign in Old Town and street striping “STOP” on the ground.

Make Goleta Count Video Takes Home Gold Telly

The City of Goleta is pleased to have learned that the Make Goleta Count census video won a prestigious Gold Telly Award. The gold trophy was given to TV Santa Barbara, the region’s community media access center that operates channels 17 and 71, for the production of the video. The City of Goleta had a 76% Census completion rate, the highest completion percentage in Santa Barbara County. Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards are the premier award honoring outstanding content for television and cable, digital and streaming, and non-broadcast distribution. The Make Goleta Count! video can be watched online here.

“It’s a great honor for TV Santa Barbara to be recognized for excellence in video, especially during a year where video storytelling was more important than ever and we had to navigate around so many production challenges,” said Erik Davis, Executive Director of TVSB. “We are thrilled with all the awards, but the Gold award is especially meaningful because of importance of the 2020 Census and the incredible results achieved by the City of Goleta.”

City of Goleta Community Relations Manager Kelly Hoover said, “We were so pleased with how the Make Goleta Count commercial turned out and are not surprised it took home the Gold Telly Award. TV Santa Barbara really captured the heart and soul of our community in this video and we are so proud of it.”

Learn more about TV Santa Barbara at www.tvsb.tv.

Images below from the City’s “Make Goleta Count” video

NZO Wins Hard Won Victory Award

The City of Goleta is pleased to announce that it received the “Hard Won Victory” award from the American Planning Association’s Central Coast Section for our New Zoning Ordinance (NZO) which was adopted by City Council on February 18, 2020.

The prestigious Hard Won Victory award recognizes the positive effect of hard won victories by professional planners, citizen planners, or both working together under difficult, challenging, or adverse conditions. The NZO received this award because the City established its own rules for development that the public has long sought.

Anne Wells, Advance Planning Manager, said, “Adopting the New Zoning Ordinance was a milestone for the City. It was a culmination of years of hard work and community input, and we are honored to have received the ‘Hard Won Victory’ award.”          

The City’s New Zoning Ordinance (NZO) replaced the City’s existing zoning regulations, which were inherited from the County at the time of incorporation, and did not reflect the City’s General Plan, which governs land use and physical development within the City and establishes policy direction for the City’s growth. The NZO revised citywide zoning regulations to implement the General Plan, updates development and design standards and permitting procedures, and helps 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.

Key personnel involved from the City of Goleta included Peter Imhof, Anne Wells, Andy Newkirk and J. Ritterbeck.


Photo of City Council and City staff celebrating the adoption of the NZO at the February 18, 2020, City Council meeting.

Sustainable Alternatives

Every day we make individual choices that collectively impact the Earth on a much larger scale. By being a conscious consumer, we can make purchasing decisions in our community that have a positive social, economic and environmental impact. As Margaret Mead once said, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The switch to sustainable living can be as easy as incorporating some of the following habits into your daily routine.

  1. Instead of buying from stores that sell fast fashion, try purchasing secondhand clothing at one of the great thrift stores in Old Town Goleta. You can find cool and unique pieces, decrease the market for cheaply made clothing, and support local businesses. You can find a list of Green Businesses in Goleta here.
  2. Instead of using plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner or body wash, try using shampoo, conditioner and soap bars or refilling empty bottles at a refill shop, like the Isla Vista Food Cooperative. Every single piece of plastic ever made still exists! By making the switch from common plastic household items to the sustainable alternative, you can reduce the amount of plastic waste on our planet.
  3. Instead of driving on short trips, try biking, skating, or walking this summer. Transportation accounts for over 50% of carbon emissions in California. By choosing active transportation, you can enjoy the beautiful Goleta weather, see more of the town, get exercise and reduce your carbon footprint!
  4. Instead of buying packaged produce, try grocery shopping at the Farmers’ Market in Goleta every Sunday 10am-2pm at Camino Real Marketplace. By shopping local you are getting fresh ingredients, supporting local farmers and producers, and reducing your “food miles”. Food miles are the number of miles it takes your food to get from where it was grown to your plate, some nearly 1500 miles at an average grocery store. By cutting down on these miles it reduces fuel consumption, air pollution, and packaging – and don’t forget to bring a reusable bag!
  5. Instead of using single use items, try using reusable straws, water bottles, utensils, mugs, bags, and towels. Single use items are convenient and seem harmless when they’re taken individually, but our landfills are filled with plastics that only get used once before they’re thrown away. Fortunately, there are now awesome alternatives that you can use again and again. You can keep a bag in your car or backpack with a lot of these items so you can ditch the single use versions for good!

If you can’t do all of these things at once, don’t worry! Sustainable living doesn’t have to mean changing up everything about your life. Just adopting one of these habits that makes sense to you will make a positive difference.

Local Road Safety Plan Survey Available

Your Comments are Important to Us! Please Complete Brief Online Survey

The City of Goleta Public Works Department is asking community members and stakeholders to complete a brief online survey for the Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP). The plan provides an analysis of 5-year collision data and trends. The goal is to use this information to coordinate the efforts of a wide range of organizations to reduce traffic accident fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.

The survey can be found on the project website at https://tinyurl.com/GoletaTrafficSafetyStudy. The survey is designed for the community to provide feedback and add comments on the City’s local roads and an interactive City map to add comments to a location. The Survey will remain open through June 30, 2021.

To learn more about the LRSP, to go the project page on the City’s website where you can find the draft document and potential counter-measure options.  On the project page you will also find a recording of a recent virtual meeting where community members and staff discussed the safety of our local roads.  Thank to those who participated. If you missed it, here is a link to the recording. 

City of Goleta Public Works Department, Sr. Project Engineer James Winslow is encouraging community members to take time out and complete the survey.  He said, “We are excited to be able to incorporate community input into this local road process, which is typically only data-driven. The online survey and interactive map allow more community members to provide input on our local roads and raise awareness on the various potential options and seek input and feedback on what works in Goleta.”

The City of Goleta was awarded a Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) grant in the amount of $53,000. The LRSP grant program is part of the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) program and is designed to provide funding to local agencies to develop a LRSP. The LRSP addresses the 4E’s of traffic safety: Engineering, Enforcement, Education, and Emergency Services.

If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact James Winslow, Sr. Project Engineer at jwinslow@cityofgoleta.org or 805.961.7577.

The GOOD Outweighs Concerns for COVID-19 Vaccination

By Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health

1) Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 will keep you from getting sick. The available vaccines are very effective in preventing infection and illness from COVID-19. In very rare cases where one does catch the virus, the vaccine will prevent you from becoming seriously ill or needing to be hospitalized.

2) Those who choose to be vaccinated can enjoy more activities. According to the CDPH, can:

  • Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
  • Visit with unvaccinated people (including children) from a single other household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
  • Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel
  • Refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international travel (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States
  • Refrain from testing following a known exposure, if asymptomatic, with some exceptions for specific settings
  • Refrain from quarantine following a known exposure if asymptomatic
  • Refrain from routine screening testing if asymptomatic and feasible

3) Getting vaccinated helps our entire community. Returning to a more fully opened lifestyle will require herd immunity, which most experts estimate will happen when between 75%-85% of the United States population is vaccinated. We all need to do our part to achieve herd immunity by getting vaccinated.

4) Protecting yourself by getting vaccinated also protects those around you, including those at increased risk of severe illness from the virus, or those who can’t get vaccinated such as infants or people with weakened immune systems from things such as chemotherapy for cancer.

5) COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. The effectiveness of our available vaccines in preventing infection, severe illness and death from COVID-19 is remarkably high. The safety of the vaccines are a top priority and we have procedures in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use.

For more information about the COVID-19 guidance and the local response, please visit https://publichealthsbc.org. For those that need assistance in making vaccination appointments, please call 2-1-1 option 4 in Santa Barbara County.

Mobile Vaccine Clinic in Old Town Goleta Administers 100 Doses

The City of Goleta, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, hosted a successful walk-up vaccine clinic on Sunday, May 9, at the Goleta Valley Community Center. Over 100 people came to the event and received either their first or second dose of the vaccine. A top priority of this clinic was to reach the residents in Old Town.

Michael Baris, Emergency Services Coordinator for the City of Goleta, helped organize the event and attended on Sunday. He said, “We opted to host a walk-up clinic because we understand that requiring an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine can be a barrier for some people. We are very pleased with the turnout we had on Sunday.”

The City is very appreciative of the help we received from our wonderful Goleta CERT volunteers. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has been an integral part of our outreach efforts to help businesses reopen safely, and now, to assist with a vaccine clinic.

The vaccine clinic at the Goleta Valley Community Center is one of many walk-in clinics now being offered by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, visit https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/ for more information. In Santa Barbara County, everyone ages 12 or older is eligible to be vaccinated. Minors are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Those 18 and over have two other vaccine options: Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.

The City of Goleta wants to remind everyone about the importance of getting vaccinated. We recently released our #VaccinateGoleta video message featuring the Mayor and City Council providing personal messages about getting vaccinated. If you haven’t already, please watch it now in English (https://youtu.be/ymjR0MsLhMc) or Spanish (https://youtu.be/igvQzGx0_IM).

Vaccine appointments are available through My Turn California, mobile vaccination clinics, and local pharmacies. To find availability and make an appointment, please go to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department website at https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/. Those registered for an appointment should bring documentation with your name on it and proof of Santa Barbara County residency. For more information, and Frequently Asked Questions, click here, or call 2-1-1 and select option 4.


Vaccine clinic at Goleta Valley Community Center

It’s Normal to Feel Anxious Easing Back into Life After COVID-19

by Suzanne Grimmesey,MFT, Santa Barbara County, Behavioral Wellness Department

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on our lives, and right now, some are experiencing anxiety over the reopening of our community. As we start to resume some of our previous activities in a safe way, it is natural that this may also create some anxious feelings that need to be worked through.

First and foremost, it is important to understand that some people may be ready to socialize and transition back to previous ways of life more quickly than others.

There may be pressure from friends and family to get out again and to step outside of our comfort zone before some of us are ready to do so.

Here are a few tips to help you safely ease back into life after COVID-19:

  1. Set your own pace and comfort level for resuming activities and seeing friends and family. There is no need to rush back to the way things were and it can be very helpful to take small steps.
  2. It is normal to feel nervous. It may help to talk yourself through these feelings or seek out a professional to process these feelings with you.
  3. Practice getting out in public in way that feels safe for you. Choose activities that do not involve crowds of people; make plans with a friend you feel comfortable setting parameters with ahead of time.
  4. Even though some masking guidelines have been relaxed, you may choose to ask people you are with to wear a mask, stay in an outdoor setting or position your chairs six feet apart. If these actions help you feel safe, you should kindly ask those you are making plans with to adhere to them.
  5. Consider practicing deep breathing or other relaxation techniques so that you are prepared in case you find yourself in a public setting, feeling anxious.  Prepare with these techniques to calm yourself down and prepare a plan to excuse yourself from the situation if needed. Sometimes just planning ahead for a way out of a situation can help us feel more at ease in social situations.

Over the last several months, we have had to learn to live with uncertainty and returning to our activities is another step in this process. Be kind to yourself and know that you will get through this!

Weekly Covid in Review to Replace Daily COVID Numbers

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the City has been sharing the daily COVID-19 numbers sent to us by Santa Barbara County Public Health on all of our city outreach platforms. We hope you have appreciated getting this information. The County is now sending a COVID Week in Review on Fridays that we will be sharing instead of the Daily COVID Numbers. For those who still want to see the daily numbers, we will still share them on our Facebook (@CityofGoleta) and Twitter (@CityofGoleta) pages. You can subscribe here to receive COVID Week in Review emails directly from Santa Barbara County Public Health.

Group Picnic Reservations Now Open in Goleta

The City of Goleta is pleased to announce that we are now accepting reservations for our group BBQ areas. These areas have been closed to public access for more than a year. We are so excited to not only restore the reservation program at Stow Grove Park, but to have also added reservation opportunities at our newest park, Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park. 

Effective immediately, the two covered areas at Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park can be reserved for gatherings. The other four group areas near the field will remain available on a first-come, first-served basis. Stow Grove Park and Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park are the only City parks that take reservations. (Girsh Park is a private park and Goleta Beach Park is run by Santa Barbara County.) There are also a number of parks within the city with picnic tables available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Parks and Recreation Manager JoAnne Plummer said, “As soon as Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park opened, we received numerous requests to reserve the space for family gatherings and birthday parties. The Parks and Recreation Commission supported a recommendation, and we are pleased to provide these two covered areas as reservable options for the community leaving four other picnic areas open as first-come, first-served.” 

To reserve a group picnic area, please visit our webpage (www.CityofGoleta.org/GroupPicnic) or contact City Hall at (805) 961-7500. You will need to download the 2021 Group Picnic Area Reservation Application and return the completed form via email to parkreservations@cityofgoleta.org or mail it with payment to: City of Goleta, Group Picnic Area Reservations, 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, CA 93117. Reservations are for the entire day. We have updated our Group Picnic Area Reservations webpage so that you can see the current availability; the schedule is updated every Friday. Also on the webpage are photos of the group picnic areas that can be reserved, Frequently Asked Questions, park rules, and more. If an area is not rented ahead of time, it is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park is located in the heart of Old Town Goleta at 170 S. Kellogg Avenue. There are two picnic areas available to reserve, both with a maximum capacity of 30 persons. The park includes a multi-purpose field, basketball court, handball court, concrete ping-pong table, bocce ball court, pickleball court, perimeter walking path, fitness nodes with exercise equipment, picnic areas, and skateboard plaza.

Stow Grove Park, located on La Patera Lane is one of the City’s most historically rich parks. There are three picnic areas available to reserve, with the maximum capacity ranging from 50 – 100 persons. Stow Grove Park offers something for everyone. It is a beautiful park with stunning redwood groves, native plants, and sycamore, oak, and eucalyptus trees. Park amenities include a softball field, two volleyball courts, horseshoes, open lawn and playground, restrooms, BBQ grills, benches, and picnic tables. If you are looking for a park to hold a family or company picnic, this is it.

For more information, please go to www.CityofGoleta.org/GroupPicnic. We hope you have fun and enjoy your visit!


Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park Area A


Stow Grove Park Area 1