Author Archives: Valerie Kushnerov

Marborg Truck

Don’t Dump Your Junk: Free Marborg Pick Up

Goleta residents are entitled to two free bulky item pick-ups every calendar year provided by Marborg. You may call in when it is convenient for you to have your items removed. Marborg will pick up all bulky waste on WEDNESDAYS and all electronic waste on THURSDAYS.

Annual Clean-up Program Guidelines:

  • All items must be brought to the curbside by 6 a.m.
  • All items must be generated from the address from which it is being collected.
  • Loose items must be bagged, boxed or bundled.
  • Green waste needs to be bundled. No waste from professional tree trimming.
  • Notify Marborg of any items that exceed 5 feet in length or are over 60 pounds so they can send the correct vehicle. (There is no size or weight limits on items.)
  • Construction and remodel material is generally not acceptable. (They will pick up doors, windows, lumber and toilets.)
  • No hazardous waste (Tires are acceptable.)
  • Appliances and electronics are free.
  • Bulky clean up is available for apartments and condos but must be scheduled through the apartment manager or account holder.

For more information please visit Marborg’s website at http://www.marborg.com.  If you see items that have been dumped in the public right of way, please report them through City Assist.

El Nino Preparedness Community Meeting with SCE

The City of Goleta invites you to a community meeting with Southern California Edison on El Nino Preparedness and their long- and short-term plans to enhance reliability in our community.  Hear from Director Jeff Billingsley on how SCE has prepared for the winter storms and their local projects.  After the presentation, subject matter experts will answer your specific questions on outages, customer service concerns, energy efficiency and business concerns.

Wednesday, February 10

6-7:30 p.m.

Goleta City Hall

130 Cremona Drive, Suite B

Goleta, CA 93117

We hope you can join us!

 

Goleta’s Zoning Ordinance is Being Updated and You’re Invited to Comment

The City of Goleta has released a Draft Zoning Ordinance, draft Zoning and Overlay District maps, and supporting materials for public review and consideration. Outreach activities on the draft are underway and the public is invited to attend any or all of the workshops and open houses to provide feedback.

A Zoning Ordinance consists of written regulations and laws that define how property in specific geographic zones can be used. These ordinances specify whether zones can be used for residential or commercial purposes, and may also regulate lot size, placement, bulk (or density) and the height of structures. Zoning ordinances are lengthy documents describing not only the acceptable use for specified areas of land, but also the procedures for handling infractions (including any penalties), granting variances and hearing appeals.

When the City of Goleta was incorporated in 2002 it adopted the County of Santa Barbara’s Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map. In 2006 the City adopted the General Plan (GP)/Coastal Land Use Plan (GLUP). The new Zoning Ordinance is being prepared in order to reflect the new standards of and implement the GP/CLUP and provide continuity (where appropriate) with the present zoning code.

Upcoming Planning Commission Workshops:

Monday, February 8, 2016, 6:00 pm

Monday, February 22, 2016, 6:00 pm

Monday, March 14, 2016, 6:00 pm

Monday, March 21, 2016, 6:00 pm

Monday, April 11, 2016, 6:00 pm

Upcoming Open Houses:

Saturday, February 27, 2016, 9:00 am-4:00 pm

Thursday, April 7, 2016, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

All meetings will be held in City Council Chambers at 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, CA 93117.

Land use in the City of Goleta is governed by the General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan as well as the Zoning Ordinance. While the GP/CLUP sets the long-range policy for the City, the Zoning Ordinance implements the General Plan through the Zoning Map and regulations that define specific allowable uses, permit requirements, and development standards. California State law requires zoning to be consistent with the General Plan.

The proposed Zoning Ordinance includes regulations and development standards for each parcel of land in the City, and a Zoning Map. The Zoning Ordinance consists of six parts:

  • Part I: General Provisions (Chapters 17.01 to 17.06): This portion contains introductory provisions, rules for the construction of language, rules of interpretation, and rules of measurement.
  • Part II: Base Zoning Districts (Chapters 17.07 to 17.16): This portion specifies land use and development regulations for residential, commercial, office, industrial, public and quasi-public, open space and agricultural, and planned development districts.
  • Part III: Overlay Districts (Chapters 17.17 to 17.24): This portion describes the airport environs, affordable housing, hospital, master plan, and old town heritage overlay districts.
  • Part IV: Regulations Applying to Multiple Districts (Chapters 17.25 to 17.51): This portion contains regulations that apply to multiple districts, which are: general site regulations; coastal access; coastal zone visual resource preservation; density bonuses and other incentives; inclusionary housing program; demolition and relocation; environmentally sensitive habitat areas; floodplain management; hazards; historic resource preservation; landscaping; lighting; nonconforming uses, structures, and signs; oil and gas facilities; parking and loading; performance standards; signs; standards for specific uses and activities; telecommunications facilities; tree protection; and wind energy conversion systems.
  • Part V: Administration and Permits (Chapters 17.52 to 17.69): This portion specifies planning authorities, common procedures, zoning clearance, use permits, design review, variances, coastal development permits, modifications, reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities, and development agreements. It also describes the process of amendments, including amendments to zoning regulations and the Zoning Map, amendments to the General Plan, and amendments to the Local Coastal Program.
  • Part VI: General Terms (Chapters 17.70 to 17.71):   This portion contains use classifications and a list of terms and definitions.

For questions or comments, please contact Anne Wells, Advance Planning Manager  at awells@cityofgoleta.org or 961-7500, or visit www.GoletaZoning.com for more information and to access project documents.

 

Aware & Prepare

Be Aware & Be Prepared

The County of Santa Barbara recently implemented a new notification system through Aware and Prepare.  This system will allow you to get up-to-the-minute information about severe weather, road closures, and much more!

Your safety is our top concern – that’s why our Santa Barbara County Aware & Prepare Initiative wants to make sure you know about emergencies and incidents as they happen.

Santa Barbara County Initiative uses Aware & Prepare emergency notification system to make sure you know about issues that may affect your safety. This system allows Santa Barbara communities to contact thousands of residents in seconds so you can find out about an emergency right away.

Receive important messages from Santa Barbara County via email, phone, and much more!

How Does It Work?
The process begins when Santa Barbara communities’ issues a message about a potential safety hazard or concern. Next, Aware & Prepare sends a message through your primary contact path. If you don’t confirm receipt of the message, the system will try to reach your second contact path and continues trying to reach you until you confirm receipt.

The success of this service relies on YOU. Having your latest contact information is the only way to ensure that we can contact you in an emergency. Please sign up on the Aware & Prepare website: www.awareandprepare.org – it only takes about a minute to enroll!

Please note: The Aware and Prepare system is for notifications from Santa Barbara County.  Learn how to stay connected with the City of Goleta here.

GoGoleta

Record Breaking Year for Goleta Tourism

The numbers are in and Goleta continues to shine as a visitor destination. The figures released at Visit Santa Barbara’s annual Travel Outlook event are very positive with year-to-date data showing continued growth in number of visitors to our area, amount they spend and overall lodging industry revenue.  

An update on the City of Goleta revealed continued growth and even some record-breaking numbers in the tourism market.  Goleta’s occupancy, which is the rate used by hoteliers to measure how many of their available rooms are filled, was an average 82.4% in 2015, up from 77.2% in 2014. Goleta’s Average Daily Rate (ADR) was $173, up 8.5% for this year.

One of the largest and record-breaking figures was Goleta’s RevPAR, which measures total revenue available per room, was up 15.6% in 2015.

Overall, Goleta had some of the largest gains in Santa Barbara County and showed growth across the board. In 2014, visitor spending in Goleta topped 238 million.

The City contracts with the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce (GVCoC) which represents GoGoleta.com and plays a leading role in the success of the tourism industry by attracting travelers and helping them explore Goleta.

This data was provided by STR, www.str.com and Visit Santa Barbara’s 2014 Annual Report. STR is a global provider of metrics and research to the hotel industry.

Local Student Artwork Displayed at City Hall

The City of Goleta invites you to a reception on Tuesday, December 15 at 5:40 p.m. to view the art created by Goleta Valley Junior High students for the National Reflections program.  The exhibit will be displayed in City Council Chambers at 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, in Goleta, for the next several months.

Artwork from the Visual Arts and Photography categories from the following students will be displayed: Emmanuel Golban, Damien Mata, Maclane Diehl, Nayon Kim, Virginia “Ginny” Braun, Shashank Thattai, Mikayla Butler, Elana Erskine, Emma Harting, Stephanie Esparza, Sloane Dickens, Thomas Radujko, and Eliana Bohn.

Students that will also be honored from the Film, Literature and 3D Artwork Categories include:  Javin Abad, Logan Beckstrand, Miranda Jackson-Gain, Natasha Franco, and Nanzani Cassidy.

Reflections is a national program created by the Parent Teacher Association of America.  This year’s theme was “Let Your Imagination Fly.”  Students submitted pieces and the winning artwork was juried by professional artists from our community.

The City thanks the students for sharing their pieces and talents with us.

Goleta Library

Goleta Valley Branch Library Facing Service Cuts in 2017

Over the last several years, library funding has been a challenge.

The Library’s escalating operating costs have outpaced its revenue stream resulting in the use of reserve funds to support operations.  Long-term funding is needed to sustain, expand and modernize services and move the library into a new era of community service. As a community gathering place for all, revenue is needed to sustain child literacy programs, homework assistance and other enrichment programs for children, adults, and seniors.

Without additional funding, you can expect:

  • Reduction of library hours
  • Fewer programs and limited story time for children
  • Fewer staff member to help patrons
  • Limited number of new books and magazines
  • Smaller ebook/digital collection

Download the complete fact sheet here: Library Fact Sheet 12.8.15.

Bird release

Restoration of Our Community After the Oil Spill – Your Input Needed!

On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All America Pipeline, Inc. ruptured near Refugio State Beach sending oil into the ocean. In response, state and federal natural resource trustee agencies are conducting a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) to assess exposure to spilled oil and the injuries to the environment and its public uses. The NRDA process identifies how to restore and compensate for the harm, and the damages that should be paid by the responsible party to fund restoration projects. A newsletter was released by the trustee agencies. Download the newsletter here.

The Refugio Beach Oil Spill trustee agencies will host a public meeting on Wednesday, January 20, 7:00-8:30 p.m., at the Santa Barbara Public Library, Faulkner Gallery (40 E. Anapamu St). The purpose of this meeting is to answer questions about the oil spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process, provide preliminary results of the assessment studies, and to seek suggestions for restoration projects that will compensate for the injuries caused by the spill. The public is encouraged to attend this important meeting.

zoning

Draft Zoning Ordinance Now Available for Your Review

Following a year-long process of public meetings, the City’s Draft Zoning Ordinance is available via download for review and comment. City staff hosted dozens of public meetings to gather input from stakeholders, City departments, Design Review Board, Planning Commission, and the City Council throughout the process. The ordinance reflects input received during the public review process and is the first comprehensive zoning ordinance prepared since City incorporation.

The purpose of zoning is to achieve a community’s overall vision for its physical look and feel, and the shape of its future development. The new draft ordinance allows for a more user-friendly and efficient process that will be consistent with the City’s adopted General Plan / Coastal Land Use Plan. It determines what uses are allowed on your property, how high a building can be, or how far away it should be from the street.

“The City’s first zoning ordinance offers us an unprecedented opportunity to align our development standards and permitting procedures process with the General Plan.” said Councilmember Paula Perotte.
If you are a community or neighborhood group and want to meet with staff to discuss the Draft Zoning Ordinance, call 805-961-7548 to request an appointment. Upcoming formal public workshop dates will be announced in January 2016.

Visit www.GoletaZoning.com to download the Draft Zoning Ordinance with a companion User Guide. Other information such as existing versus proposed development standards, existing/proposed zoning and land use data by parcel and address are also available online. Use this website to sign up for future meeting notices.