The City of Goleta is asking for your input on Goleta’s first-ever Historic and Cultural Resource Preservation Ordinance. Having Historic Preservation standards and process has been a goal of the City since the General Plan adoption in 2006. The purpose of this Ordinance is for the recognition and preservation of resources that reflect the cultural, historical, and architectural heritage of Goleta. Adoption of the Ordinance will provide the City with a process by which to designate historic resources, have regulations regarding changes to such resources, and have tools to encourage preservation.
The first of several hearings regarding the proposed provisions will occur at tonight’s December 14 Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will start discussing the Historic Resource provisions and the proposed Historic Inventory List and will continue the hearing to January 25, 2021 to discuss Cultural Resource provisions.
Public participation is important to know if what is drafted is an appropriate reflection of what the community wants. The Ordinance is available to review here: https://tinyurl.com/yxuag7vq. Please send your feedback or questions to Current Planning Manager Lisa Prasse at lprasse@cityofgoleta.org. Sign up for updates on this topic here and learn more about the City’s Historic Preservation Program at www.cityofgoleta.org/projects-programs/historic-preservation.
What does the Ordinance mean for you?
The general public most likely will not be impacted as there are only a handful of sites (approximately 60 out of 11,000 + in the City) that have been identified as being eligible for designation as a historic resource.
As proposed in the draft regulations, properties that are already listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources or were previously designated by the County of Santa Barbara as a historic landmark would automatically be designated as a Goleta historic landmark. All other individual properties that are identified as potentially eligible for designation would be placed on an inventory list and would have to undergo the designation process to be formally designated.
The Ordinance also proposes the establishment of a Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). The HPC would be an advisory body to the City Council regarding designation of historic properties and Mills Act contracts. The HPC would also be an advisory body to the Design Review Board regarding proposed exterior modifications to designated Historic Structures through the normal design review process.
Pictured: Stow House (1885)