Daily Archives: March 1, 2024

Plant a Tree for Arbor Week

Here in Goleta we love our trees! The City Council will recognize March 7 – 14 as City of Goleta Arbor Week at its upcoming March 5 Council meeting with a proclamation. Trees are good for the environment, bring beauty to our community and are a source of joy and spiritual renewal. The City maintains over 20,000 trees in Goleta. All residents are urged to celebrate Arbor Week by planting and maintaining trees to promote their importance for current and future generations. View the proclamation here: http://tinyurl.com/7v3vvcjj.

Start Your Spring Cleaning with Beautify Goleta on March 16

First Self-Guided Cleanup Month Wraps Up with 650 Pounds of Trash Collected

Start your spring cleaning with Beautify Goleta on Saturday, March 16 with a community wide clean-up and bulky item drop off event. Join us for a morning of picking up trash city-wide from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. with the spotlight on the Old Town Goleta neighborhood area south of the US 101 between Fairview Avenue and the 217 Freeway. Two long-time Captains are leading this event, Community West Bank and the Goleta Rotary Club. To participate, meet at the Community West Bank Parking Lot (5827 Hollister Avenue). Volunteers and Team Captains needed, sign up at www.CityofGoleta.org/BeautifyGoleta.

Declutter your home, garage and/or yard with Beautify Goleta’s free Bulky Item Drop-Off event from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the Goleta Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue). It is open to Goleta residents only.  You are encouraged to arrive early as the event will close if capacity is reached before 1:00 p.m. As a reminder, electronics, medicine, and hazardous waste will NOT be accepted.

The bulky item drop-off is in partnership with Caltrans and the Clean CA program. These statewide Dump Day events are made possible through Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative, a sweeping $1.1 billion, multiyear clean-up effort led by Caltrans to keep roads and waterways free of litter, create thousands of jobs and transform state and local public spaces through beautification efforts. For more information on the Clean CA program, please visit Clean CA program online. 

We also want to take this opportunity to share the results of the City’s first-ever self-guided cleanup month in February. For 29 days, individuals and organizations picked up litter at a time and a place most convenient to them. All participants submitted reports to the City on what they collected. Thank you to the 14 participants who covered 29 cleanup locations and picked up 654 pounds of trash!

Check out more results on the new dashboard. All participants who provided their email addresses are eligible to win a prize drawing. Winners will be emailed the week of March 4th to schedule a time to pick up their prize from City Hall (130 Cremona Drive). Look out for future social media posts on the City’s accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to see who won! Our prize drawing categories are listed below: 

  1. Grand Prize Drawing with all participants (3 Winners) 
  2. Prize for picking up the most trash by weight (1 Winner) 
  3. Prize for the most number of cleanups throughout the month (1 Winner) 

Learn more about the City’s Beautify Goleta program at www.CityofGoleta.org/BeautifyGoleta. We hope to see you on March 16th!


Girls Inc. students participating in Beautify Goleta’s self-guided cleanup month


Dan Rothschild participating in Beautify Goleta’s self-guided cleanup month

 

 

 

 

Ellwood Mesa Reopens

Major Winter Storms Caused Severe Damage to Eucalyptus Forest and Infrastructure

The City of Goleta is happy to announce the reopening of Ellwood Mesa to the public, effective March 1, 2024. The Ellwood Mesa was temporarily closed following severe winter storms that caused several landslides, downed dozens of large trees, and damaged a critical authorized vehicle access road. The City completed major tree work to reduce risks to trail users and protect monarch butterfly habitat. Additional work is planned in the coming month to restore the authorized vehicle access road.

Public safety and the protection of sensitive wildlife habitat remains the City’s top priorities at Ellwood Mesa. Please take note of the following important points:

  1. Potential Tree Hazards: Trees and large branches within the grove may pose a risk of falling. Visitors are urged to exercise caution and be aware of their surroundings. Enter at your own risk.
  2. Eroded Bluffs and Trails: The natural beauty of Ellwood Mesa includes its rugged bluffs and scenic trails. However, erosion has affected some areas. Trail users are advised to stay on trails and avoid the bluff edge.
  3. Stay Off Closed Trails and Out of Work Zones: For your safety and the safety of our maintenance crews and first responders, please avoid using any closed trails. Closed trails are clearly marked with onsite signage. Closure locations may change depending on site conditions and work crew schedules. The decision to temporarily close specific trails is based on careful consideration of public safety. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in respecting these temporary closures. Beach access remains open, but some trails down to the beach may have detour signage or exclusion fencing to avoid eroded areas.

The parking lot is now reopened to the public at Ellwood Mesa Open Space & Sperling Preserve parking area, located at 7729 Hollister Avenue (across from Ellwood Elementary School).

For additional information or inquiries, please contact George Thomson, Parks and Open Space Manager, at 805-961-7578 or gthomson@cityofgoleta.org.

Apply for the City’s Design Review Board

Applications due by March 15

Those with an eye for design are encouraged to apply for the City of Goleta’s Design Review Board (DRB). The City is looking to fill two vacancies:

  • 1 Licensed Architect
  • 1 At-Large Member (must be a City Resident)

This seven-member body encourages development that uses the best professional design practices to enhance the visual aesthetics of the community and prevent poor quality of design. The DRB advises the City Council, Planning Commission, and staff. Members are appointed to a three-year term.

The Design Review Board meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 3:00 p.m. Members are compensated $75 per meeting.

Put your skills to good use and apply for the Design Review Board. Applications are available at www.CityofGoleta.org/BoardsCommissions and must be submitted by Friday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m.

For additional information, please email cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org.

New #TeamGoleta Job Opportunities

Have you considered a career in local government? The City of Goleta is always looking for passionate people to join our team and we have some exciting new positions coming soon!

Current job openings include:

  • Goleta Community Center Event Monitor / Building Attendant
  • Coming soon! Management Analyst (Public Works)
  • Coming soon! Management Analyst (General Services)
  • Coming soon! Public Works Supervisor

For more information on City jobs, please visit www.CityofGoleta.org/Jobs.

Electric Vehicle Reach Code Lunch & Learn

Watch the Lunch & Learn Webinar Recording Now

Lunch is a great time to squeeze in some learning. That’s why the City of Goleta’s Sustainability Team used the time to host a Lunch and Learn on February 28th. Participants learned about the Electric Vehicle (EV) reach codes and provided feedback on EV charging regulations for the City.

The Lunch and Learn presentation updated participants in the transition to electric vehicles and provided them with an opportunity to provide direct feedback on how they could support the transition and also improve charging access in new construction.

The presentation wrapped up with an engaging Q&A discussion where attendees got to bring up additional concerns, comments, and suggestions.

If you missed the Lunch and Learn but are interested in learning more about EV reach codes and infrastructure development, you can watch a recording of the zoom program on the City’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/MjHM9_qnEzs.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the EV reach code project, please email sustainability@cityofgoleta.org.

Goleta Beach Sewage Spill Update

The Goleta Beach closure for water activities that began on February 22, 2024, remains in place due to a massive sewage spill. The spill was determined to be approximately one million gallons. Santa Barbara County Public Health officials advised the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors at its February 27, 2024, meeting that the beach will remain closed until water testing confirms it is safe for the public. The meeting can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=595zkTFISvg.

Goleta Beach from 1 mile to the east and ½ mile to the west of the Goleta Slough outfall is part of this closure. Avoid recreational water use at Goleta Beach. Contact with sewage-contaminated water increases the risk of illness.

For questions related to the sewage spill please contact Goleta West Sanitary District at bmccarthy@goletawest.org or 805-968-2617.

For questions related to the beach closure and water testing, please contact Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services at phdehsweb@sbcphd.org or 805-681-4900.

If you were in the water prior to the public being made aware of the sewage spill, and have any symptoms, contact your healthcare provider.


The source of the spill at Goleta West Sanitary District (courtesy Laura Capps)