Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Join Us for a Volunteer Recognition Reception

Join us on Thursday, November 2, at the Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue) for a Celebration of the City’s volunteers, recognizing their hard work and accomplishments over the last 15 years. Help us celebrate those who have served on any of our Boards and Commissions, been a Butterfly Docent, or are our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers. The Volunteer Reception is from 5:00 – 5:30 p.m. Immediately following the reception, the City will host its Project Open House.

We hope to see you there!

Save the Date!

You are invited to the City of Goleta’s Project Open House on Thursday, November 2 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue). This informal event lets you browse various stations to learn about the topics that interest you. Get the latest on the Hollister / Kellogg Park & Community Garden, Historic Preservation project, emergency preparedness programs, Goleta Library updates, pedestrian & bicycle projects, the new Zoning Ordinance and more. This is your chance to speak with City of Goleta staff and consultants to learn more about the projects and programs taking place.  Spanish translation will be available.

Celebrate Local Artists

Meet local artists and have the opportunity to see and buy their newest work at the Goleta Valley Art Association’s 13th Annual Stow House Art Festival. Taking place Saturday, September 23rd from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at 304 N. Los Carneros Road, this event is free, fun and for the whole family. There will be live music from Shepherd’s Pie and The Summerland Trio with Tom Henderson, delicious food catered by the Ranch Guys and a live painting demonstration by John Williams who will be creating classic landscapes. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy live music, good food, and great art in a beautiful, historic setting. Learn more about the Goleta Valley Art Association at www.tgvaa.org.

Jurassic Plant Tour

Travel back in time at the Goleta Sanitary District’s Jurassic Park-themed Open House on Saturday, September 23 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at 1 William Moffett Place, Goleta (across from the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport). This event is free, educational, and fun for the entire family.

The water we drink and use in our everyday lives is the same water that has been on earth since the time of the dinosaurs (and long before). Learn how water has been purified for millions of years and how the Goleta Sanitary District (GSD) replicates the earth’s natural processes to treat your wastewater. At the Open House one can also jump on the adventure driving tour, take an educational walking tour of the water resource recovery facility, see dino-riffic displays and collect stamps in an adventure passport for a chance to win prizes. Food available while supplies last.

For more information visit www.GoletaSanitary.org or call 805-967-4519. Click here to view the flyer.

25+ Years of Lemon Fun

For the past 25 years, the Lemon Festival has been the biggest celebration in the Goleta area and it keeps getting better each year. Be sure to join the fun on September 16th & 17th from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Girsh Park (7050 Phelps Road) for the 26th Annual California Lemon Festival in Goleta.

You’ll find wonderful food, a fantastic family atmosphere, and a variety of entertainment and activities that have made this the most anticipated event in the Goleta Valley. The weekend festival also includes the Goleta Fall Classic Car and Street Rod Show and the ever-popular ‘Safety Street.’ Don’t miss the pie-eating contests and arts and crafts vendors as well. For the safety of all Lemon Festival guests, pets are not allowed on festival grounds. Click here for more information.

Don’t Miss the Bus

The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) has launched a state-of-the-art system for real-time bus tracking called SBMTD BusTracker. The free smartphone app is available for iPhone and Android devices. It features a trip planner, the ability to locate nearby bus stops and routes, track current bus locations on a map, set up notifications, and bookmark favorite bus stops. These features are also available via any computer’s internet browser by visiting bustracker.sbmtd.gov. Individuals can also receive information on bus arrival times via SMS text. To use this feature, users send a text with SBMTD and their stop number (found in the MTD Schedule Guide) to 41411, and they will receive a text back with times for the next buses arriving at that bus stop.

Hollister / Kellogg Park Design Received Thumbs Up from City Council

On Tuesday, July 18th, 2017, the Goleta City Council unanimously approved the final design for Hollister/Kellogg Park at Hollister and South Kellogg Avenues in Old Town. The revised final design of the four-acre park includes a larger play area, four unisex restrooms, larger storage for playground equipment, a reconfigured bike path and splash pad. Design plans have evolved since the city first purchased the lot at 170 South Kellogg Avenue for a new park. Among the planned features are picnic areas; a multipurpose field; two multi-use courts for basketball, tennis and pickleball; a handball court; concrete ping-pong tables; a bocce ball court; a perimeter walking path; and fitness nodes with exercise equipment.

Although the Goleta Water District (GWD) currently imposes a State III Water restriction that would prohibit the use of outdoor water features, such as fountains, splash pad, etc., City Council voted to retain the feature in the proposed design. The planned splash pad would use well below the yearly amount of water the GWD allocates for the park property, but the structure itself is off limits for use at this time.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has approved the final design as part of the grant requirements for the $910,000 that was awarded to the City of Goleta for construction of this park. The next steps are for the landscape architect to work on completing the construction documents required for this park, which are currently under way! The project will go out for bid once construction documents are complete and the City has acquired title to the property. The site was formerly owned by the City’s Redevelopment Agency so the City needs approval from the State Department of Finance before it can acquire title to the park property.

Read the full Staff Report and view the presentation here.  Learn more about this project at http://cityofgoleta.org/projects-programs/parks-open-space/old-town-park and sign up to receive Old Town Park updates from the City here.

Old Town Sidewalks

New Sidewalks Being Planned for Old Town

For the second Old Town sidewalk project, the City of Goleta has begun the initial phases to make and determine the much needed sidewalk improvements in Old Town. Over the last two months, the City and consultant have received a number of constructive comments that are helping to shape the safety improvements. After analyzing this feedback and studying a variety of options, the key project elements are:

  • 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
  • Potential construction of 42 angled parking spaces on the east side of Magnolia Avenue between the train tracks and Mandarin Drive (a potential increase of 17 parking spaces)
  • Underground storm water retention areas

In addition to the initial design work, the environmental study is underway. The draft is available on the City website at http://cityofgoleta.org/city-hall/planning-and-environmental-review/ceqa-review/old-town-sidewalk-improvement-project. More information on the project can be found here.  

Watch Your Step on Magnolia Avenue

In the first of two Old Town sidewalk projects, the City is taking steps to improve pedestrian travel in the area by adding or replacing sidewalks where needed. At the August 15th City Council meeting, the construction contract was approved for the Magnolia Sidewalk Infill Project. Construction will begin in early September to fix and replace deteriorated or missing sidewalk on the east and west sides of Magnolia Avenue from Hollister Avenue south to Gaviota Street. The project will take about six weeks to complete and make improvements to walking paths, sight distance at the intersections for drivers, drainage along Magnolia Avenue, and driveway access. For more information please visit the project page here.

Like What You See?

The Design Review Board (DRB) is looking for a few good people. If you have opinions on the visual aesthetics of this town, then this is the board for you. The seven-member body is responsible for encouraging development exemplifying the best professional design practices in order to enhance the visual quality of the environment and prevent poor quality of design. There are currently three vacancies on the DRB: one professionally licensed architect, one licensed Landscape Architect or Landscape Contractor, and one At-Large Member (must reside within City limits). Members of the DRB are appointed to a three-year term. The DRB meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 3:00 p.m., and the position is compensated $50 per meeting. If you are interested, please complete the application by 5:00 p.m. on September 11, 2017. Applications must be returned to Deborah Lopez, City Clerk, before the deadline for consideration.