For the safety of Goleta Valley Junior High students as well as pedestrians, the City is encouraging vehicles to not make a U-Turn at Cathedral Oaks Road and Santa Marguerita Drive. Council will consider an action to restrict U-Turns at this intersection at the 6:00 p.m. City Council meeting on April 4. For more information please read the staff report, found under item E.2 in the City Council agenda: http://ow.ly/I0W130arERX.
You can be a part of Goleta’s pickleball pilot program! Considered America’s fastest-growing sport, pickleball is played by two to four players and combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong. It can be played indoors or outdoors on a badminton sized court with a modified (lower) tennis net. Participants use a hard paddle/racket and a perforated plastic ball.
Goleta pickleball enthusiasts who were traveling outside of City limits to play urged the Parks & Recreation Commission to consider a pilot program in Goleta to track local interest and attract new local players. At their request, a pilot program on a newly resurfaced tennis court at Evergreen Park began in late March. The pilot program will determine if Goleta residents are as crazy about pickleball as the rest of America, and if a permanent court should be installed.
In order to track usage, it is important that the City knows how often the pickleball court is being used along with geographic information of the players. Every time you use the court, please let our Parks & Recreation Manager Joanne Plummer know. You can email her at jplummer@cityofgoleta.org or goletapickleball@gmail.com, send her a note in the mail to City Hall, 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, or call her at (805) 562-5505. Please include the following information: your name, street you live on, the date and timeframe you were using the court, and how many people were playing with you. This information will allow us to determine the need, as well as location, of a permanent court in the future.
Everyone who lives, works or plays in Old Town is encouraged to provide feedback on the Hollister Avenue Complete Streets project by attending our workshops and/or taking our survey (available in English and Spanish).
Please join us to discuss how to improve the quality of life in Old Town by making Hollister Avenue appealing to walk, cycle, drive, shop and dine. The first community workshop on the Hollister Avenue Complete Streets project will be April 13, 2017, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue). The project is aimed at developing a plan that will:
As part of CycleMAYnia, please join us on May 6 for a WalkBikeGOleta Tour in Old Town. Participants can join either a walking group or biking group for a tour of Old Town where they will be able to give input on areas of concern for walking / cycling and share their vision for the future of Old Town. More details to come.
To receive updates on this project via email or text sign up at http://tinyurl.com/goletasubscriptions. To learn more about this project go to www.goletacompletestreets.com.
As a reminder, dogs are required to be on a leash and under their owners control at all times while in a public space unless otherwise posted. Off-leash dogs can easily become lost or get attacked by a wild coyote or bobcat. They can also cause harm to people, other animals and property.
For those that want a space for their dogs to be off-leash, please visit these nearby dog parks and follow the posted rules: Patterson Open Space Off-Leash Dog Area (500 block Cathedral Oaks to 500 block Ribera Drive to 5100 block University Drive to 500 block Calle Aparejo), Tabano Hollow Neighborhood Open Space (5100 block University Drive to 5100 block Tabano Way), or Kiwanis Meadow at Tucker’s Grove Park (entrance at intersection of Turnpike and Cathedral Oaks Roads). For a complete list of off-leash dog parks in Santa Barbara County visit https://www.countyofsb.org/parks/dog.sbc.
Last September the City initiated its community clean-up program which launched in Old Town. This program, called Beautify Goleta, is designed to make it easy for residents to clean up their homes and yards. The City encourages this by providing roll-off boxes for disposal of unwanted items for a designated time period on specific Saturday mornings for small sections of the City. After the clean-up events, the City has additional street sweeping completed in the identified neighborhoods.
The first Beautify Goleta event was Saturday, September 17, 2016, for the area north of Hollister Avenue between Cardinal and Kellogg Avenues. Over 6.90 tons of material was collected! The second Beautify Goleta event was Saturday, November 5, and focused on residences on Alondra Drive and Mallard Avenue. With the help of community volunteers, over ten tons of material was collected!
Given the success of the program, the City Council has authorized additional clean-up events in the coming months.
If you have large items that you want to dispose of and do not want to wait for Beautify Goleta to come to your neighborhood, please contact Marborg at (805) 963-1852 to schedule your free bulky item pick-up (up to two per year per household). To dispose of household hazardous waste please call (805) 882-3602 and for electronic waste call (805) 963-1852.
Are you a business looking to be more energy efficient and cut costs? Then Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Direct Install Program is something to consider. SCE will send an energy efficiency expert to your facility and evaluate it free of charge to identify energy-saving opportunities. If you agree with the recommendation and costs, your older, less efficient equipment will be replaced with the program’s more modern energy-efficient equipment. Some of the new replacement products include LED lights and signs, refrigeration, occupancy sensors and smart power strips. This is a win-win, as your business will use less energy, reduce its carbon footprint and lower your electricity costs. For more information, click here.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, UCSB Police Department and the City of Goleta are pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the second Citizen’s Academy for Isla Vista residents and college students in Santa Barbara County. The eight-week interactive course begins on April 5 and runs through May 17 with classes from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every Wednesday night at various locations throughout Santa Barbara County. The class ends with a graduation ceremony and celebratory BBQ on Saturday, May 20, 2017.
While the Sheriff’s Office puts on a yearly Citizen’s Academy open to the general public, this Citizen’s Academy is geared toward Isla Vista residents and college students residing in Santa Barbara County. The course includes classes on active shooter training, use of force, search and seizure law, building searches, arrest and control, firearms and K-9 operations, just to name a few.
To participate in Citizen’s Academy, please complete an application, scan and email it to Senior Deputy Dave Valadez at dmv4120@sbsheriff.org. Applications are due by March 20, 2017. For additional information, please call Senior Deputy Dave Valadez at 805-319-9773.
Thank you to the 1,599 people who completed our Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP) survey! That is an incredible number of responses and we appreciate everyone who took the time to provide his/her thoughts. The survey results will be posted on our website shortly. The BPMP will promote public health, reduce automobile usage and fuel consumption, and promote transportation equity. For an update on the project please visit http://tinyurl.com/GoletaBPMP. To stay up to date on this topic, sign up to receive emails at http://tinyurl.com/goletasubscriptions or text GOLETA BIKEWALK to 468311.
The City is aware of the deterioration of the roads, especially after the recent rainstorms, and has plans to repave. We count on you, our residents, to be our eyes and ears and report road problems you discover. Please use our online tool, City Assist, to let us know of problems you encounter.
The City is dedicated to fixing the roads and expects to spend $3.6 million this year in pavement repair. This is expected to begin after the rainy season in late April / early May. On March 7th the City Council will vote on an item to put the overlay project out to bid. Additionally, as part of the Hollister Class I Bike Path Project which will be constructed this summer, a section of Hollister Avenue from Pacific Oaks to Ellwood Elementary School will be paved. Finally, the City is working on a slurry seal project that is expected to go out to bid the first week of July.
The City is excited about the addition of a new fire station in Western Goleta to serve our residents. Please join us for a community meeting on Fire Station 10 on Thursday, March 16 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Ellwood School Multipurpose Room (7686 Hollister Avenue). At the previous community meeting on November 17, 2016, the City received feedback from residents on the proposed Fire Station 10 project. We took the feedback we heard and made updates which addressed some of the concerns expressed by neighbors. The revised plan will be shared at the upcoming March 16 meeting.
More information can be found here: www.cityofgoleta.org/projects-programs/building-development/fire-station-in-western-goleta. To sign up for project updates via email or text, visit http://tinyurl.com/goletasubscriptions.
