spring 2004 cvaction newsletter ~ carpinteria valley association

8/8/2019 Spring 2004 CVAction Newsletter ~ Carpinteria Valley Association

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our heritage. Steve Dowty, architect,owner of a bungalow, and president of the Santa Barbara Bungalow Associa-tion, will be our speaker. He will ex-plain how, when and why they werebuilt. We then will have a walkingtour of the core of this district. Invita-

tions and details will be offered to ourmembership. The event will take placeon Saturday, June 12. If you are notalready a member, join CVA now(using the form on the back page of this newsletter) and watch for yourinvitation. !

The Toro Canyon area, consistingof 5,750 acres, is nestled in the foot-hills between Summerland andCarpinteria, and is a special placewhere the desire of most of the peoplewho live here and the surrounding ar-eas is to preserve its natural beauty.

It’s a beautiful area that has many po-tential problems from being overde-veloped. Because of the contours of the land and unstable slopes, there arevery few roads. This lack of accesscauses safety concerns. The potentialfor many people being trapped due toa fire and/or flooding is quite highbecause of the limited roadways. Theplan currently in place for makingland use decisions is more than twentyyears old. Other development issuesconcern water availability, septic sys-tems, and protection of unique bio-logical resources. The southern por-tion of the Toro Canyon area, consist-ing of 2,150 acres, is within theCoastal Zone and therefore the Cali-fornia Coastal Commission needs toapprove any changes.

After working for 4 years, a newToro Canyon plan was adopted by theCounty Board of Supervisors in earlyFebruary 2002 as a proposed amend-ment to the certified Local CoastalProgram (LCP). The Coastal Commis-sion staff accepted it for processing inAugust 2002, and in November 2002the commission extended a statutorydeadline for one year. But in Novem-

ber 2003 the Coastal Commission re- jected the plan as submitted due to itsweak protection of the environment.At that time the Coastal Commissionproposed 47 modifications. Thecounty was allowed up to six months(to early May 2004) to respond to the

Commission’s actions. The Coastal

Commission’s primary concerns haveto do with lack of consistency be-tween the Toro Canyon Plan and theCoastal Act. The areas of concern in-clude protection of environmentallysensitive habitats, landform alterationon slopes greater than 30%, coastalaccess at Santa Claus and PadaroLanes, visitor-serving commercialuses at Santa Claus Lane, visual re-sources, shoreline development, waterquality, and agricultural resources.

First District Supervisor Schwartzand County Planning and Develop-ment staff hosted a community meet-ing on Dec. 3, 2003 to receive publicinput about the California CoastalCommission’s rejection of the plan at

their November 2003 meeting. Mostof those present supported resistanceto the Coastal Commission’s action,although some supported acceptanceof the Commission’s proposedchanges. The Board held a hearing onthis matter on Jan. 27, 2004 and di-

rected staff and Supervisor Schwartzto have additional discussions withCommission staff in preparing a de-tailed response to the Coastal Com-mission.

At the March 23rd Board of Su-pervisors meeting, Planning and De-velopment staff recommended accep-tance of 24 modifications, acceptancewith changes on 21 modifications, andrejection of 2 modifications. Three of the five supervisors accepted the rec-ommendations and directed staff toreturn to the Board of Supervisorsmeeting on April 27th with a final ver-sion of the modified plan.

CVA has been following this

process and feels very strongly thatthe California Coastal Commission’sconcerns are valid. CVA supportsboth the county’s revised LocalCoastal Plan and the Coastal Commis-sion. We hope that all concernedagree that our coastline needs consid-erable protection. It is good that theCoastal Commission is in place andcan help preserve the coastline notonly for those of us lucky enough tolive near it, but for all residents of California and the entire country. !

Volume 41, No. 1

Toro Canyon Plan Spring 2004

Did you know that…

• CVA was founded in 1964 – prior tothe incorporation of the City of Carpinteria.

• CVA was originally called theCarpinteria/Summerland Protectiveand Improvement Association.

• On June 6, 1989, CVA was recog-

nized in California Legislature Reso-lution No. 289 by Gary Hart (18th Senatorial District) and Jack O’Con-nell (35th Assembly District) forachievements in preserving and pro-tecting the beauty and natural re-sources of the area, its agriculturalviability, and its rural residentialcharacter.

• In 1976, CVA’s appeal to theCoastal Commission stopped a pro-posed high-density development onthe Carpinteria Bluffs.

• In 1998, CVA helped establish Citi-zens for the Carpinteria Bluffs.

• You can be a part of CVA…

See the form on page 4!

We Told You So! 2

The Ongoing 101 Dilemma

2

New Plans for Venoco 2

New 1st District Supervisor

2

What’s Happening with “Lagunitas”?

2

Coming to a Beach Near You... 3

Santa Barbara County and the Coastal Act

3

Your Turn 4

Inside t his issue:

C VAction T h e N e w s le t t e r o f th e C a r p i n t e r ia Va l le y A s s o c ia t io n

CVA’s 40t h AnniversaryThe Carpinteria Valley Associa-

tion will be 40 years old this June!

CVA plans to celebrate this occa-sion by looking into the heart of ourcommunity. In 1998 we highlightedthe rural valley. This year on our anni-versary, we would like to emphasizeour urban heritage. We plan to take alook at our Carpinteria and Summer-land bungalows, Joe Hendy houses,and few other houses of distinction.Their characteristics and their historyare important because they set thetone for the future of the Carpinteria

Valley. In 2000, the City of Carpinte-ria updated their general plan andstated that the goal of the communityis:

“To preserve the essential char-acter of our small beach town, its fam-

ily-oriented residential neighbor-

hoods, its unique visual and natural

resources and its open, rural sur-

roundings while enhancing recrea-

tional, cultural and economic oppor-

tunities for our citizens.”

Since this is also a goal of CVA,we think it is appropriate to emphasize

C VA

Toro Canyon is a beautiful

area that has many

potential problems from

being overdeveloped.



Venoco will appear before the Carpinteria Plan-ning Commission in May to receive approval to movethe Carpinteria Odorant facility near the roller rink tothe southwest corner of their property. Unfortunately,

that will place two odorant facilities adjacent to theCarpinteria Park neighborhood. The co-located facili-ties will be installed to odorize all gas coming intoCarpinteria, which may greatly increase if Venoco’snew "Paradon Project" is approved.

This project, which has been submitted to theState Lands Commission, consists of up to 35 wellsand a derrick up to 15 stories high. The derrick isplanned to slide on a track so that the one derrick willcover the space needed to drill all 35 wells. The wellswill be used to slant drill in multiple directions underCarpinteria and the Santa Barbara Channel. The cityhas contracted with the Energy Division of SantaBarbara County to help them with risk assessmentsand other problems related to new oil projects. Theodorant facility was scheduled to be heard at theMarch Planning Commission meeting, but Venoco

asked for a postponement to May because of dis-agreement over project conditions required by theCity.

CVA is concerned with the risks to our commu-nity, and with the unprecedented visual impact that ahuge derrick will impose on the entire CarpinteriaValley. Goleta has just experienced a leak or spillfrom an odorant facility during "routine mainte-nance". One person reported illness and a dozen com-plained to authorities. We question the decision tomove this facility closer to a residential neighbor-hood, and are very concerned about the implicationsrelated to the proposed Paradon Project. If you arealso concerned, watch for the Planning Commissionagenda in May and voice your opinion. The commu-nity of Carpinteria is much too important to take anychances. !

Just months after being annexed to the Carpinte-ria Valley Water District, Rancho Monte Allegre hasbeen sold to a group of Montecito-based investors.During the more than seven years that the ranch has

been on the market, lack of a reliable water supplyhas been a major obstacle to potential buyers. Now,with the guarantee of District water, the 3,125-acreranch is in escrow, due to close in May. The propertywas listed at $26 million by Kerry Morman and Asso-ciates.

We find all of this ironic, since CVA repeatedlypointed out that the Water District’s EIR failed toadequately address the growth-inducing potential of guaranteeing the ranch the lion’s share of district wa-ter resources. CVA filed a lawsuit against the WaterDistrict on this very basis, to no avail.

The ranch lies above Foothill Road at SantaMonica Road. The ranch area included in the annexa-tion has 39 legal parcels, comprising 2,150 acres. Theremaining 975 acres are inaccessible, in the northernwatershed of the ranch. Based on the activity of sur-vey parties in the area, we predict that the new own-ers will apply to the county for lot-line adjustments,to enlarge some of their smaller legal parcels in orderto accommodate the maximum number of dwellingsper parcel.

One glimmer of hope: perhaps the new ownerswill invest in restoring the historic buildings on theranch, most of which date from the 1880s, when theFithian family acquired the property. These buildingsare of great historic value, despite their neglect by themore recent group of owners. We look forward tolearning more of what is intended for this beautifulold Carpinteria ranch. !

We Told You So!

C VAction Volume 41, No. 1

Here is the contact info for you to make your views

known. See the articles in this newsletter for details

on the issues and where your input is needed most.

Then do your part by sending your views to the appropriate people at the addresses listed below:

City of CarpinteriaAttn: <name of Planner, or Council Member, etc.>5775 Carpinteria AvenueCarpinteria, CA 93013(805) 684-5405Fax: (805) 684-5304Web: http://www.carpinteria.ca.us/

Santa Barbara CountyAttn: <name of Planner, or County Supervisor, etc.>123 E. Anapamu St.Santa Barbara, CA 93101Web: http://www.countyofsb.org/

LAFCOAttn: Bob Braitman105 E. Anapamu St., Room 406Santa Barbara, CA 93101(805) 568-3391Fax: (805) 647-7647Email: [email protected]: http://www.sblafco.org/

California Coastal CommissionSouth Central Coast District Office89 South California Street, Suite 200Ventura, CA 93001(805) 585-1800Fax: (805) 641-1732Web: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/

Contact Info:

The city has now bypassed the project engineers inSan Luis Obispo and is asking a northern Caltransoffice to help them. They are asking for more time torevise the PSR (Project Status Report). The mainchange the city wants is to revise the need and pur-pose of the project. One would think that no matterwhat office does the work, the roundabout leg is stillgoing to be too short. So the community waits longerfor the outcome of this mammoth project.

This project started in 1997. It has now beenseven years and nothing has been decided. Watch forfurther information on how the community can helpreduce the impacts of this development. It is our re-sponsibility to try to reduce traffic, not increase it.!

You may be wondering why you have heardnothing about the “Lagunitas” project recently. Actu-ally, the project has been in limbo since last Augustwhen the city approved the first reading of the myste-rious “development agreement”, pending approvalfrom Caltrans scheduled for October 2003. Caltransdid not approve the traffic mitigation roundabout.

Obviously, Caltrans is having trouble with thisproject. Not only does this project add almost 2,500car trips to Carpinteria daily, but it also remodels the150 and 101 highway intersection, which is one of the few intersections in this area that is runningsmoothly at this time. On top of these problems, Cal-trans says that the roundabout does not meet its stan-dards with one off-ramp/on-ramp being too short.

W hat ’s Happening wit h “ Lagunitas” ?

New Plansfor Venoco

CVA looks forward to continuing to work withSalud Carbajal in the 1st District County Supervisor’soffice. For the last decade, Salud has been the right-hand person for Supervisor Naomi Schwartz, and hasbeen an important resource for CVA. But startingJan. 1, 2005, Salud will take office as our new Super-visor after winning the March election by a decisivemargin.

We expect a lot from Salud, as we did from

Naomi. He may get a little tired of hearing from us,but we plan to make sure he is always aware of theissues and challenges facing the Carpinteria Valley.The City of Carpinteria only covers part of the valley,so land use decisions in the remainder of the valleyare the responsibility of the County Board of Supervi-sors.

Given that the overall makeup of the Board of Supervisors will be shifting next January, Salud willlikely face many challenges in representing the inter-ests of our 1st District. We have confidence that he(with our urging) will be up to the task! !

New 1st DistrictSupervisor

The traffic on Highway 101 at peak times of theday is a problem that impacts all of us on the CentralCoast. This one problem, however, cannot be solvedwith one answer. It would be easy, for instance, to

just say that we should make the freeway wider. Butfrom the practical experience of driving on the widerL.A. freeway arteries, we know that wider freewaysalone are not the solution.

What is neededis an entire packageof solutions. Solu-tions that effec-tively move morepeople with fewercars. 101inmotion.com is an organiza-tion that is dedi-cated to solving thisproblem using thepackage of solu-tions approach.

They need and wantpublic input andsupport. Some of the solutions thatthey are examininginclude:

• Adding lanes to the freeway

• Enhancing alternative modes of transportation(rail, buses, bikes, ferries, etc.)

• Staggered work schedules and ridesharing

• Ramp metering

• Improvements to parallel routes

• Examination of local land use policies.

If congestion on 101 is a concern of yours, getinvolved, and give your input to 101inmotion.com. !

The Ongoing101 Dilemma

“Oh that! I hardly notice it any more. In fact,last month, we only had to evacuate 3 times!”

Ranch Sold t o Investment Group



Did you ever wonder where the sand on the beach comes from? You probablyhaven’t given this much thought, but this simple question exposes important andcomplex issues.

Living on the coast we are part and parcel of an ongoing situation that hasbeen “developing” over the years. Natural sediment flow from the mountains to theocean is being blocked and prevented from replenishing our beaches. As construc-

tion of dams, homes and roadwayshas occurred, various problemshave arisen. Creeks were treated asif they were just water only andwere encroached upon to makeroom for houses and bridges. Whenflooding did occur with rocks andtrees, the narrowed creeks gotplugged up and wreaked havoc withthe upsurge of water over the creek banks. As a solution, debris basinswere built to catch the potentiallarge debris that would get caught,thus somewhat successfully pre-venting the plugging of the narrowwater pathways.

Another concern in the big pic-

ture is the policies that allowedhomes to be built directly on theseashore, then when it was later re-alized that those same homes werein danger of being washed away bythe rising ocean, lawsuits allowedthe building of seawalls to protectthose same homes. Unfortunately, it has been found that the protective quality of the seawall has a huge downside. The reflected wave action pulls the beach sandback out to sea, eventually eroding both the beach at the base of the seawall as wellas the un-walled beaches at the end of the seawall.

Overall, construction of dams, building of roads and houses too close to creeksand too close to the seashore have given rise to piecemeal approaches to fixing thedamage done by poor planning. The net result now, is that our beaches are disap-pearing.

This fact is one of the main reasons the local agency known as BEACON wasformed. BEACON stands for Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans andNourishment. It is a cooperative effort between the cities and counties of SantaBarbara and Ventura to address the disappearing beaches and related issues.

BEACON is overseeing the planning and implementation of replenishing thesand to our beaches via various methods. The main solution is physically truckingin hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of sand from the places where the sand/ sediment gets stuck directly to the seashore. The City of Carpinteria approved aplan in Sept. 2003 to allow up to 4 round-trip semi-truck loads of sand per hour, 8hours a day, 5 days a week for up to 8 months out of the year down Ash Avenue toCarpinteria Beach potentially beginning as early as this October through nextApril. The recent test of trucking sand to Goleta Beach was deemed “wildly suc-cessful” at the last BEACON meeting.

Trucking is not the most ideal method, but for now it would seem the mostpractical one to address the immediate situation until other long-term approachescan be implemented. One example of a long-term method is “managed retreat”.This is much as it sounds: the offending construction is removed, and watershedsand shorelines are restored to a more natural condition. Obviously, this is often not

a viable option.The City of Carpinteria took steps to include into their BEACON plan, resto-

ration of the Carpinteria Dunes and Snowy Plover nesting habitat. They also in-

Santa Barbara Count y and t he Coastal Act

Com ing t o a Beach N ear You...

The California Coastal Act begins as follows:

30001. The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

(a) That the California coastal Zone is a distinct and valuablenatural resource of vital and enduring interest to all of the peopleand exists as a delicately balanced ecosystem.

(b) That the permanent protection of the state’s natural and scenicresources is a paramount concern to present and future residentsof the state and nation.

First it should be realized that only a very small portion of the citizens in SantaBarbara County live in the Coastal Zone and have their privileges restricted by theCoastal Act. The results of these restrictions are a gain to everyone else, not only inthe county but "the state and nation".

Perhaps the most contentious issue is coastal access, but this requirementcomes not only from the Coastal Act, but directly from the state constitution:

CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 10 WATER (inapplicable language deleted as indi-cated)

SEC. 4. No individual… possessing the frontage or tidal landsof… navigable water in this State, shall be permitted to excludethe right of way to such water...; and the Legislature shall enactsuch laws as will give the most liberal construction to this provi-sion, so that access to the navigable waters of this State shall bealways attainable for the people thereof.

C VAction Vo lume 41, No. 1

It can easily be argued, from examples of access blockage, that the Coastal Actand the Coastal Commission have not been effective enough in carrying out thisprovision.

Other important parts of the Coastal Act relate to the preservation of agricul-tural land, open space, scenic views, and environmentally sensitive habitat. Addi-tionally, protection of tidal lands is also part of the California Constitution. Thismeans that those who oppose protection of these lands would need to amend theConstitution to achieve their shortsighted objectives.

Unfortunately, the United States Census did not consider the Coastal Zone as aseparate geographic entity, so there are no accurate population figures. However inSanta Barbara County, Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, and Isla Vista are theonly areas with appreciable population within the Coastal Zone. In the city of SantaBarbara, the Coastal Zone comprises only land oceanward of 101 and Cliff Drive.Almost all of the city of Goleta is excluded and the border then jogs north aroundthe airport and the University.

Except for the first & third supervisory districts, it is easy to see that the super-visors have few if any constituents residing in the Coastal Zone. Therefore, it is dif-ficult to see why county government is not more supportive of the Coastal Commis-sion in enforcing the Coastal Act.

Development can be moved a few blocks inland and everyone in the state andthe nation gains. Let’s all make sure that our governmental representatives keep thislarger perspective in mind as they consider coastal development proposals. !

cluded having UCSB researchers help monitor and restore the greatly diminishedkelp and eel grass beds that are so vital to the health of the coastline.

In addition to the brute force method of hauling sand, BEACON is also work-ing with the Army Corp of Engineers and ASR (an environmental firm from NewZealand) on building a prototype underwater reef at Oil Piers to study its potentialfor using reduced wave action to capture sand on our local beaches, as well as pro-

viding some great surf opportuni-ties and a potential haven for kelpto grow. If successful, the City of Carpinteria may look into usingsimilar underwater structures topotentially reduce the amount of sand needing to be trucked directlyto the beach.

In recent news, the CaliforniaCoastal Sediment ManagementMaster Plan Project has been newlyformed. It is a collaborative effortlet by the U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers South Pacific Division andthe California Resources Agency.Its goal is to develop an implemen-tation strategy for regional sedi-

ment management in California. Itis an agency to coordinate effortsby agencies such as BEACON thatare addressing similar issues up anddown the California coastline. Theyare actively seeking input from thepublic and organizations that have

an interest in preserving the heritage of our beautiful coastal lands.

In the past, empirical scientific data has often been ignored in the planningprocess. It is up to us, the public aided by the scientific community, to help in theoverall planning process and give feedback on what is important to us to agenciessuch as BEACON and this new California Coastal Sediment Management MasterPlan Project.

Your participation is especially important if you think that alternatives musteventually be found to perpetual construction grade traffic dumping sand 8 monthsout of the year. !



Each year, there are families that come to Carpinteria for their vacations. We’ve begun to seethese families this spring, and many more will come visit over the summer. Some of these arefamilies where the parents came here as children, and now they continue the tradition into the nextgeneration. When you see these visitors, one thought that sometimes comes to mind is: “We get tolive here all year!”

What is it about our small town that is so attractive? It is obviously a combination of manythings: our weather, our unique location nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pa-

cific Ocean, close proximity to Santa Barbara, the ability to get to Los Angeles in a relativelyshort time while feeling a million miles away from it! But on top of these things, there is more.The City of Carpinteria general plan (see article “CVA’s 40th Anniversary” on page 1 of thisnewsletter) states the goal of the community is:

“To preserve the essential character of our small beach town, its family-oriented resi-dential neighborhoods, its unique visual and natural resources and its open, rural sur-

roundings while enhancing recreational, cultural and economic opportunities for our

citizens.”

These are not just a bunch of nice words in some documenton a shelf, but an attitude that the people of the Carpinteria Val-ley have held for a long time. Whether it is solely for our ownbenefit, or for the benefit of all residents and visitors, we havethe responsibility to preserve what makes Carpinteria such aspecial place.

CVA was founded 40 years ago by members of our com-munity who took this responsibility very seriously. We are

proud of our accomplishments over the past decades, and wecontinue today with the same commitment and enthusiasm!

We hope you see value in the work of CVA. Although weare an all-volunteer organization, we do have expenses. Pleasefill out the form below, and return it with your check for $5 to

join CVA. Your membership allows us to continue our work. Besure to include your email address if you have one. Email is avery timely (and cheap) way for us to update you on importantissues. We promise a low volume of messages and no spam!

In addition to money, it takes many volunteers to help CVAaccomplish its work. We need volunteer help in many areas,some skilled, some not. Use the form to let us know how youmight be able to help out.

You’ll see on the form that CVA has an educational armcalled Carpinteria Valley Foundation (CVF). CVF focuses onpublic education on issues and on the public process. Our belief

is that if the public is fully informed about important issues, andknows how and when to make their voices heard, then our pub-lic officials will know what the community wants and needs. If we don’t tell them, then we get what they think we need! Pleaseconsider making an additional donation to CVF to help fund oureducational efforts.

You can see that there are a multitude of ways for you totake action. It is up to you to help determine the future of ourcommunity. !

Carpinteria Valley AssociationP.O. Box 27, Carpinteria, CA 93014

Email: [email protected]: http://www.silcom.com/~cva/

The Carpinteria Valley Association (CVA) was

founded in 1964, and continues its mission of providing education and advocacy on issuesrelated to land use planning, development, andthe environment in the Carpinteria Valley and thesurrounding South Coast region.

I want to join CVA! ! I want to join CVA! I am enclosing $5 for my annual membership

(Our annual renewal date is June 1, so it’s time to renew!)

Note: Contributions to Carpinteria Valley Association are not deductible as a charitable donation for tax purposes.

Additionally, I want to support the public education efforts of the Carpinteria Valley Foundation.Enclosed is my donation: ! $20 Individual ! $25 Family ! $50 Supporter ! $100 Benefactor ! Other: $ ________

Note: Contributions to Carpinteria Valley Foundation are deductible as charitable donations for tax purposes.

I am interested in the following issues: ! Santa Barbara County planning issues! Carpinteria City planning issues! City of Carpinteria General Plan! Venoco’s facility / general oil development &

monitoring! Use of lands owned by the Carpinteria

School District! Greenhouses! Specific development proposal: _______________________________________________________

I want to help! I will help on: ! Technical analysis of environmental documents! Attending public meetings! Telephoning and/or mailing! Database maintenance! Website development and maintenance

Name: __________________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________

Email: ______________________________ Phone: _____________________________

Mail this form to us at: Carpinteria Valley AssociationP.O. Box 27Carpinteria, CA 93014

Your Turn

! Open field agriculture issues! Water issues! Affordable housing issues! Zoning enforcement! Environmental impacts of development (e.g.,

traffic, parking, air quality, biological issues,etc.)

T h a n k s !

On our website, you can find a

full-color version of this news-letter, as well as past editions!

Board of Directors:Susan Allen

Vera Bensen

Anna Carrillo

Al Clark

Samantha Green

Bob HansenDave Hill

Roxie Lapidus

Brian Marcontell

Jay Parker

Katie Roberts

Royce Stauffer

Mike Wondolowski

Advisory Board:David Anderson

Lyn Anderson

Christie Boyd

Gary CampopianoGeri Campopiano

Mary Holzhauer

Linda Krop

Bunny Lesh

Kathleen Lord

Dave Morris

Trina Morris

Donnie Nair

Gary Neilsen

Ted Rhodes

Katie Roberts

Jan Robotham

Carl StuckyArturo Tello

Brian Trautwein

W e ’ r e

o n t h e

w e b !

w w w . s

i l c o m . c

o m / ~ c

v a /

C VAction Volume 41, No. 1

Other annual visitors to Carpinteria are these harbor seals who visit every winter!

spring 2004 cvaction newsletter ~ carpinteria valley association

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