Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Electric Vehicle Rebates and Incentives

With new technology, infrastructure, rebates, and incentives, purchasing or leasing an electric vehicle (EV) is more affordable and easier than ever before.  EVs are a great solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment! The transportation sector currently accounts for about 40% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in Santa Barbara County and 50% of GHG emissions in California. In an effort to combat this issue Governor Newsom has adopted an executive order stating that by 2035 all new vehicles sold in California must be Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). As we continue to combat climate change and transition from fossil fuels, one way residents can get involved is by switching to an EV. 

Why Get an Electric Vehicle?

Cost savings – The average American spends about $2,000 on gas each year, while the average fuel savings of an EV owner is approximately $1,500 each year. EVs also have lower maintenance costs, as they don’t require oil and filter changes.

Technology development – As consumer demand increases, automakers have begun to offer more models and options resulting in lower EV costs. There are now over 40 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the market in California and over 95,000 public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) ports in the United States, with numbers continuing to rapidly grow as technology develops.

Environment – Fossil fuel cars create smog and pollute the air we breathe. Driving an EV is a great way to lower your carbon footprint, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and keep our air clean.

Can I Afford It?

Many California organizations have partnered to offer incentives with the goal of making clean vehicles accessible and affordable to all California residents. Record-low lease pricing, rebates and incentives can be combined to get new or used EVs for low or no cost, depending on the income of the driver.

California Clean Vehicle Assistance Program – California Climate Investments provides grants and affordable financing to help income-qualified Californians purchase or lease a new or used hybrid or electric vehicle.

California Clean Vehicle Rebate Program – California residents can get up to $7,000 for the purchase or lease of a new, eligible zero-emission or plug-in hybrid vehicle.

California Clean Fuel Reward – The California Air Resources Board, in partnership with Southern California Edison (SCE), offers up to $1,500 off the purchase or lease of an eligible new battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle.

Federal Tax Credit – U.S. taxpayers can qualify for up to $7,500 as a credit on next year’s taxes with the purchase of an eligible battery electric vehicle.

Consumer Assistance Program – The Bureau of Automotive Repair offers eligible consumers vehicle retirement options of either $1,500 or $1,000 to retire or replace an older, high-polluting vehicle to help improve air quality.

Old Car Buyback Program – The Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District offers a similar incentive designed to take older vehicles off the road. The District will pay $1,000 for your older vehicle if it meets the program requirements.

SCE Nissan Leaf Deal – Nissan is offering SCE customers up to $6,000 cash back on a 2020 Nissan Leaf or Leaf Plus and up to $3,000 on 2021 models.

For more information on qualifying for these incentives please read here or watch videos here.

City’s New Streamlined Permit Portal to Launch March 16

The City of Goleta is launching a new public portal for the community to apply for and track permits and licenses. ­­Peter Imhof, Planning and Environmental Review Director said, “Goleta’s new Permit Tracking System Public Portal will make our permit process easier, more efficient and more accessible for everyone. Goleta residents, property owners and businesses will now be able to apply directly online for all permit types and business licenses. Through the Public Portal, anyone can also check permit status and access permit records by parcel. We are excited to make the new capabilities of the Public Portal available.”     

The Magnet Permit Tracking System Public Portal launches March 16, 2021, and will allow the community to:

  • Apply for a Planning Permit
  • Apply for a Building & Safety Permit
  • Apply for a Public Work Permit
  • Apply for a Business License
  • Renew Your Business License
  • Case Status
  • Inspection Requests
  • Mapping
  • Report an Issue
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Brian Hiefield, Associate Planner, said, “Having worked on this project for the better part of my career at the City of Goleta, I am so happy to finally see all the hard work come to fruition. I look forward to using this system every day for many years to come. I want to extend many thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this happen, most especially Ahmad Zahedi and the entire CSI Magnet consultant team. They really got to know us and our processes very well over the years and as a result we have a great system for everyone to use.”

Lisa Prasse, Current Planning Manager said, “I am very happy that the City has reached this milestone and that we are able to share this useful tool with the community. I want to thank and acknowledge the work of Associate Planner Brian Hiefield and the CSI Magnet team for the incredible effort that has transpired to accomplish this monumental task. Having a publicly accessible permit tracking system is beneficial to aid in improving service and providing information.”

Stay tuned for more information.

Meet Our New Motors Sgt. Rivas and Thanks to Lt. Maxwell

The City of Goleta is pleased to welcome veteran law enforcement professional Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Sergeant Noel Rivas to the Goleta Motors Unit. Sgt. Rivas’ first day with the City was on Monday, February 22nd.  He took over for Sgt. John Maxwell who was just promoted to Lieutenant and has moved on to a new assignment. 

Sgt. Rivas, a life-long resident of Santa Barbara County, is bilingual and comes to the City with 40 years of law enforcement experience.

City Manager Michelle Greene said, “We are excited to have Sergeant Rivas join the Goleta Motors Unit. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the position and will be an asset in increasing traffic safety in Goleta.”

Sgt. Rivas said, “I am truly excited to become the new City of Goleta Traffic Unit Motor Sergeant. I had my first interaction with a motor officer when I was in second grade and I knew I wanted to ride a motorcycle. In my 29 years with the Santa Barbara Police Department I worked on/off on a motorcycle for 23 of those years.  I feel like I’ve come full circle and I am honored to serve the Goleta community.”

Sgt. Rivas moved to Santa Barbara when he was four years old. He attended local schools including Harding Elementary, La Colina Junior High, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara City College, and UCSB. He began his career as a Corrections Officer/Reserve Deputy with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office four days shy of his 19th birthday. He was then hired at the Santa Barbara Police Department retiring after 29 years. During his time with the SBPD, Sgt. Rivas held several different positions, including Field Training Officer, Gang Enforcement, School Resource Officer, Beat Coordinator, Motor Officer, Patrol Supervisor, Detective Supervisor, Traffic/Motors Supervisor and Motor Sergeant.  During his past eight years with the Sheriff’s Office, he has been assigned to every station in South County and worked as bailiff for the Santa Barbara Superior Court.

In addition to welcoming Sgt. Rivas to Goleta, we want to take this opportunity to thank Lt. Maxwell for his two and a half years of service to the City. Lt. Maxwell has spent the majority of his 19 years at the Sheriff’s Office working in and around the Goleta Valley.

Lt. Maxwell said, “I can honestly say that the opportunity to work so closely with the City of Goleta over the past few years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I will miss working with City staff, and the community, to help keep Goleta the amazing place to live and work that it is.”

Best of luck in your future endeavors Lt. Maxwell and welcome Sgt. Rivas, we wish you a great chapter ahead in your new assignment.


Sergeant Noel Rivas


Lieutenant John Maxwell

City Tile Presented to Vyto Adomaitis and Interim NSPS Director Announced

Goodbyes are never easy and this one was especially difficult for the City. After almost 19 years of service to our Goleta community, Director of Neighborhood Services and Public Safety, Vyto Adomaitis, announced he would be leaving the City. The Goleta City Council honored Vyto with a City Tile at its February 2, 2021, City Council meeting. Vyto had been with the City since its incorporation in 2002 and spent the last 15 years as Director of Neighborhood Services and Public Safety. He is now working as the Community Development Director for the City of Oxnard.

We wish Vyto well in his new endeavors and are pleased to announce that Jaime Valdez is serving as Interim Neighborhood Services & Public Safety Director. Jaime was most recently Principal Project Manager in the Neighborhood Services & Public Safety Department and has been with the City of Goleta for nearly 14 years.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the City of Goleta in this new capacity as Interim Director of the Neighborhood Services & Public Safety Department. It is my hope that my experience and history with the department will help ensure continuity until a permanent director is announced.”


Vyto Adomaitis with his City Tile


Jaime Valdez

Next Steps for Goleta’s Strategic Plan

Thank you to everyone who provided input on the City’s 2021-2023 Strategic Plan. Goleta City Council conducted a workshop to update the plan to reflect completed work tasks, updated priorities and current issues, and new direction from the City Council. View the staff report here from the Council Workshop.

A strategic plan identifies the priorities and goals of an organization in order to create a roadmap, guiding future decision making. Goleta’s Strategic Plan is driven by its mission statement which describes the community, key attributes, and values. 

Mission statement: “Goleta is a beautiful, safe, and diverse community of residents with family-friendly neighborhoods that values the environment, agriculture, and open space while encouraging housing, recreation, and business opportunities.”

The City’s first Strategic Plan was adopted in 2007. The Strategic Plan was last updated in 2019 and covers a two-year period that runs concurrent with the City’s Two-Year Budget Plan, and receives regular updates to keep current with the City’s priorities and to ensure the living document continues to be dynamic and reflective of the goals of City Council and the Goleta community. View the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan here.

The Plan will be adopted by City Council at a future Council meeting. We will keep you updated.

Provide Input on Santa Barbara County’s Recreation Master Plan

Santa Barbara County is seeking your feedback on parks, trails, open spaces, and recreational facilities through the Countywide Recreation Master Plan. To create a Recreation Master Plan that suits the needs of the entire community, the County is calling on its residents to fill out a brief survey. The survey takes minutes to complete and offers an opportunity for the public to address access to neighborhood parks and recreational facilities. There is also a kids’ survey meant to capture the needs of the County’s youngest residents.

While many cities and communities have created recreation master plans in the past, a Countywide plan will address needs in often-overlooked small or low-income communities. The Master Plan will include coordination and cooperation between the County, cities, agencies, and non-profit and private recreation service providers in Santa Barbara County.

The survey is just the first of many opportunities to get involved in the Recreation Master Plan. Check out the Recreation Master Plan website for project updates and upcoming public outreach events. Take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/sbcrecplan. [Link has now expired.]

Parking Restrictions Planned for Deltopia

The City of Goleta is continuing with its parking permit program for Deltopia, Isla Vista’s unsanctioned street party, which is expected to take place over the weekend of Friday, April 2 through Sunday, April 4, 2021. While most of UCSB’s classes are online, there are still approximately 10,000 plus students living in Isla Vista and attending certain in-person classes. Over the past several years, a temporary permit-only on-street parking program for residents near Isla Vista was implemented and deemed successful in dissuading partygoers from parking in the Goleta neighborhoods closest to Isla Vista and easing the impacts felt by residents.

Parking permits are issued for the Goleta neighborhoods closest to Isla Vista: University 1 and University 2 neighborhoods, including the Cannon Green Condominium complex. The boundaries are: Cannon Green Drive to the west, Hollister Avenue to the north, Storke Road to the east and Whittier Drive to the south.

Each household will receive two passes in their mailbox by March 26. The parking permits are required to be taped to the inside of the vehicle’s driver’s side window during the restricted hours (see below). Signage will be posted on the streets in advance to remind drivers, and electronic message boards will be at several entrances to the University 1 and 2 neighborhoods. Vehicles not displaying the appropriate permit will be subject to ticketing and/or towing. Parking restrictions are for Friday and Saturday nights, when most party-goers are expected to be in the area:

  • 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 2, 2021, to 7:00 a.m. Saturday, April 3, 2021; and
  • 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 3, 2021, to 7:00 a.m. Sunday, April 4, 2021

Should Deltopia move to the following weekend, the restrictions will be in place from 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 9 to 7:00 a.m. Saturday, April 10 and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 to 7:00 a.m. Sunday, April 11.

The overnight parking restrictions will not affect those visiting Girsh Park. If you live in the area designated to receive a parking permit, and do not receive yours by March 26, please contact the City of Goleta Neighborhood Services Department at 805-961-7554 or sdawson@cityofgoleta.org to make arrangements for a replacement.

A map and FAQs can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/goletatempparking.

2022 Electoral Districting Process Kicks Off – Community Input Needed

It’s an exciting time in our City as we begin the process of moving towards district elections. In fact, at the next general election, Goleta residents will vote for Councilmembers by district vs. the current at-large method. Community input will be a huge part of creating the district lines of four new Council districts within the City (the Mayor will continue to be elected “at-large” by all registered voters of the City).

The reason behind the switch to a district elections format is that the City Council adopted a resolution of intent to implement district elections by November 2022 as part of a Conditional Settlement Agreement entered into on May 16, 2017. To help facilitate the process, the City has entered into a contract with National Demographics Corporation (NDC) to provide the City with demographic analysis of census data, drawing of draft maps for proposed boundaries of districts, public outreach, professional advice, and interactive web tools related to the 2022 Electoral Districting Process. At the most recent Public Engagement Commission on February 17, 2021, the Commissioners received a presentation from City staff and NDC as a formal kickoff of the 2022 Electoral Districting Process. Read the full staff report and presentation at https://tinyurl.com/icbta061, and watch a video of the meeting here.

Please stay tuned for more information on this important process and how you can participate. This topic will be discussed again at the next Public Engagement Commission meeting on April 21, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Sign up here to receive meeting updates.

Cathedral Oaks Road Repairs Update

The Cathedral Oaks Road Pavement and Sidewalk Repair Project is underway. The project is taking place in the same area as the recently completed Cathedral Oaks Road Settlement Repair Project, on Cathedral Oaks Road between Glen Annie Road and Los Carneros Road about half a mile west of the Cathedral Oaks and Los Carneros intersection. The work consists of approximately 50 feet of sidewalk replacement, followed by approximately 200 feet of full width roadway pavement resurfacing. The project is expected to take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete.

City staff are working with the contractor to minimize impacts to the public; however, the project requires closure of half of the roadway at a time in order to complete the pavement work. Traffic control is in place and flaggers are directing two-way traffic for the one open lane. Delays are expected so please plan accordingly while construction is occurring in this area. Work takes place Monday – Friday, from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The City understands your concerns and frustrations with the condition of Cathedral Oaks Road. As with all public transportation infrastructure, Cathedral Oaks Road is an important part of our City. The roadway is critical to everything from serving as a route to schools, to providing health and recreational activities such as biking and walking.

Ultimately, the roadway is a significant part of the quality of life we all expect from living in Goleta. The City is faced with the challenge of addressing aging infrastructure citywide with limited funding and staff resources, but the City Council has prioritized improving sidewalks, roadway pavement condition, street tree health and our creeks, parks and open spaces. The City is working on several solutions for how to carefully deliver maintenance projects with available funding, while exploring alternative funding options so we can do more to improve our infrastructure.

The City of Goleta Department of Public Works augments the revenue it receives for pavement improvements by obtaining state and federal grants when possible and optimizes the use of project funds by using a computerized approach to prioritizing roadway pavement maintenance. In addition to this current repair, a citywide pavement project is in the works for this year that includes additional portions of Cathedral Oaks Road. While the segments of Cathedral Oaks Road that are included in the upcoming project are relatively small, the City’s Public Works Department is completing a larger plan for the roadway as revenue availability permits.

If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact City Construction Manager Debbie Talarico at dtalarico@cityofgoleta.org or at (609) 231-4179.

LED Street Lighting Project Update to Be Shared at Next Green Committee Meeting

Thank you to everyone who participated in the City’s LED Streetlights Pilot Study earlier this year. Staff has reviewed the numerous completed surveys and will be bringing the results to the City’s Green Committee on Wednesday, March 10, from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.

Information will be presented on the benefits of the project, design considerations and the project’s next steps, including staff recommendation for LED fixture design standards to be used for the LED Street Lighting Project that will replace more than 1,300 High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlight fixtures throughout Goleta with new energy efficient LED streetlights. The new lights will save the City money, require less maintenance, and provide clearer lighting.

Staff have put together a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) sheet to assist the public in understanding the project and respond to FAQs. It is located on the project webpage here:  https://www.cityofgoleta.org/city-hall/public-works/street-lights-led.

The Energy/Green Issues Standing Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council and consists of two members of the City Council. The current members are Mayor Paula Perotte and Councilmember Kyle Richards. The Committee may consider matters relating to energy policy and green issues, including, but not limited to matters related to energy efficiency, environmental policies, carbon reduction goals at City Hall and issues of sustainability.

To participate, please register in advance for the Energy / Green Issues Standing Committee Meeting:

An agenda will be available closer to the meeting date and can be found found here.

If you have any questions regarding the LED Street Lighting Project please contact the Project Manager, Michael Winnewisser, at (805) 690-5120, or via email at mwinnewisser@cityofgoleta.org.

Pictured: Photo of one of the LED Streetlights installed for the pilot study.