Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

GCC Strategic Plan Adopted

The City of Goleta now has a Strategic Plan for our historic Goleta Community Center (GCC). For many years, the beloved building, nearing 100 years old, has been an important gathering place for the community. The City of Goleta is in the process of restoring and preserving this important resource, and on April 18, 2023, adopted a strategic plan for the future of the GCC which includes input from community members and stakeholders on how to best utilize the facility and make it a more vibrant and inviting gathering place. Before adopting the plan, City staff led the Mayor and Council on a walking tour of the GCC during a site visit.

The plan establishes a vision for the GCC and its purpose and role in the community over the short- and long-term. The plan outlines specific steps that will be taken to reach identified goals to achieve that vision. It also sets the expectations for future management of the Community Center, defining operational strategies and tactics, aligned with established City policies and procedures.

In approving the GCC strategic plan, the City Council adopted a vision that “The Goleta Community Center is a welcoming, safe, inclusive, and accessible place where everyone can go to gather, learn and play,” and a mission that “The Goleta Community Center provides programs, services, activities, and a safe space for social, cultural, educational, and recreational offerings in an inclusive and welcoming way.”

Furthermore, the strategic plan identifies five overarching goals to achieve the vision and mission. The five goals have a total of 14 objectives, 25 strategies, and 98 tactics which guide specific actions that will be implemented over a three- to five-year period. Upon completion of all seismic and ADA construction and when the GCC is fully reopened, it is expected that the operator would then begin to carry out elements of the plan over the following three- to five-year period. To view the five goals and corresponding objectives, strategies and tactics, or to read the strategic plan in its entirety here.

Soon the City Council will discuss management options for the GCC and will provide direction on whether they would like to explore management of the GCC by a non-profit, or by City staff. In the meantime, the seismic retrofit construction activities are moving forward, and the main building at the GCC will soon be closed for several months. However, operations in the auxiliary buildings, including the CommUnify/Head Start programs, Rainbow School, Kevin Long Training and the Boys and Girls Club, will continue as usual.

Following the seismic retrofit, the building will undergo disability access improvements to sidewalks, paths of travel, the bathrooms and sewer lines in the main building required under the ADA. These projects are largely funded by federal grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and a federal Community Project Funding grant secured for the project through the efforts of Representative Salud Carbajal. The goal is to re-open the facility for community use by late 2023, at which time smaller construction projects will continue. Once all construction is complete, it is anticipated that the operator of the GCC will begin to implement elements of the strategic plan.

To stay up to date on happenings at the GCC, please visit the City’s website at www.CityofGoleta.org/GCC.

Pictured: Goleta City Council in front of the GCC (left-to-right): Councilmember Stuart Kasdin, District 1 Councilmember Luz Reyes-Martín, Mayor Paula Perotte, Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards, and District 2 Councilmember James Kyriaco

Provide Input on MTD Service Changes

Take Survey and Attend Public Meetings

Santa Barbara MTD is hosting a set of public outreach meetings this April, and is inviting the public to take a brief survey giving feedback on proposed service changes to local bus service. These meetings are held annually in the spring to receive input on the proposed changes that would go into effect on August 14, 2023.

Proposed changes include:

  • New peak hour Line 19x (Carpinteria/SBCC Express) serving Carpinteria, Santa Barbara’s Eastside, and SBCC
  • Restoration of Line 28 (UCSB Shuttle) service
  • Lines 23 (El Encanto Heights) & 25 (Ellwood/Winchester Canyon) endpoint connection
  • New microtransit service in Goleta and Isla Vista

MTD invites the public to learn more and to give feedback via an online survey that explains all the proposed changes at www.sbmtd.gov/servicechanges. The survey is available in English and Spanish.

Community meetings will be held at the following locations and times, and Spanish/English interpretation will be provided:

Tuesday, April 11th at 6pm
Downtown Library, Faulkner Gallery
40 E. Anapamu St, Santa Barbara

Wednesday, April 12th at 12pm
Virtual Meeting- Zoom Webinar
Click here to register.

Tuesday, April 18th at 6pm
Carpinteria Library
5141 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria

Wednesday, April 26th at 6pm
Goleta City Hall, Council Chambers
130 Cremona Dr, Goleta

In addition to the four meetings listed above, a presentation on the proposed changes will be given at the April 25th meeting of the Isla Vista Community Services District Board of Directors. The meeting begins at 6:00pm.

For questions on proposed service changes, the public may contact Santa Barbara MTD at 805-963-3364 or email info@sbmtd.gov.

County Submits Housing Element to State

After reviewing public comment and incorporating new sites

Santa Barbara County submitted its Draft Housing Element Update for 2023-2031 to the State on March 31, 2023.  A copy of it can be found here. Completion of the Housing Element comes after the County presented the draft to the public on January 30, 2023, kicking off a 30-day public comment period.  During that time more than 430 comment letters were received.  The County diligently worked through the comments and updated the County’s Housing Element.

The public comment process was beneficial and provided several changes to the County’s Housing Element. These include new programs and approximately 19 additional sites that the Board of Supervisor’s can consider for rezones/future housing, seven of these new additions are County owned sites. An interactive map showing all of the proposed sites can be found at https://sbcopad.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9375e0705e864eada0ff535c23ba99ac. 

“Our team combed through all of the public comments and we were encouraged to find several additional sites to add to the Housing Element.  Everything from employee housing opportunities in Montecito to affordable housing opportunities on County owned property was added during this review period.  The County has worked hard to find sites that meet the State’s guidelines to ensure that the County has identified viable sites that can be built during this 8-year cycle and add the much-needed housing the people working in this county so desperately need,” said Director of Planning and Development Lisa Plowman.

The Housing Element Update is one of the mandated components of a General Plan.  It directs local governments to plan for the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community.

For this cycle, the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (State HCD) requires that Santa Barbara County identify sites to accommodate 5,664 new housing units in unincorporated portions of Santa Barbara County between 2023 and 2031.  This is an 8-fold increase from the last cycle. That housing needs allocation, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), is further broken down to require 4,142 units in the South Coast region and 1,522 units in North County.

The State requires the County’s Housing Element to accommodate 2,818 very low, low and moderate income units.  The new public and private sites following the public comment period added nearly 1,200 units in these categories.  

Once the State finds the Housing Element to be generally in compliance, the updated Housing Element will be adopted.  The second step in the process includes refinement of the rezone sites and the preparation of a Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) assessing potential impacts associated with the proposed rezones needed to meet the County’s RHNA.  The next opportunities for public participation are 1) at the Board of Supervisors hearing on April 4, 2023 where Planning and Development will update the Board on the changes made to the Draft Housing Element and 2) during the public comment period on the Draft PEIR. The Department will hold two public comment hearings; one in north county and one in south county.   The rezones are required to be completed by February 15, 2024.

The Housing Element Update is anticipated to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors later in 2023.

We’re Hiring! Join #TeamGoleta

The City of Goleta is hiring! If you are looking for a rewarding job where you can use your talents, give back to the community and work with other great people, there are several unique opportunities. Learn more and apply today at www.CityofGoleta.org/Jobs.

Current job openings include (in alphabetical order):

  • Custodian – Part-time (Goleta Community Center)
  • Planning Commission Clerk
  • Senior Engineer

Learn more about our open positions here. Job availability subject to change.

General Plan Now Available to Download

The City’s General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan (General Plan) is now available as a single downloadable document for the first time.

The General Plan serves as a blueprint for the future, prescribing policy goals and objectives to shape and guide the physical development of the City. The General Plan contains the following seven, State-required elements and two optional elements as follows: Land Use Element, Open Space Element, Conservation Element, Safety Element, Visual and Historic Resources Element, Transportation Element, Public Facilities Element, Noise Element, and Housing Element.

Historically, the City has made the document available online in parts, with each element and figure downloadable separately. Now, in addition, the General Plan, including all Elements and Figures, is available as a single PDF on the City’s General Plan webpage here: https://www.cityofgoleta.org/your-city/planning-and-environmental-review/general-plan. The PDF has a bookmarks bar and the Table of Contents has clickable likes to all Elements, policies, figures, and tables. This single document now allows a user to search the entire General Plan for a word or phrase. All figures are also embedded in the PDF in the appropriate locations in the elements. The City will update this document (along with any single Element, Figure, etc.) on that webpage when any General Plan Amendments occur.

El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

In 1996 author Pat Mora became inspired by the Mexican holiday, Día de los niños, and thought to combine the holiday with literacy for children. A year later, Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros was born in the United States and Mora soon found support from across the country.

Día is now a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds. It is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures. The common goals of all Día programming are to:

  • Celebrate children and connect them to the world of learning through books, stories and libraries.
  • Nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture.
  • Introduce families to community resources that provide opportunities for learning through multiple literacies.
  • Recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities.

Make sure you visit the Goleta Valley Library to check out their great selection of diverse books so you can celebrate Día de los Libros year-round!

Goleta’s TV Production Specialist Retires

After 36 years of service to City TV production, Tony Ruggieri has announced his well-earned retirement.

Tony first came to Santa Barbara in 1984 to attend the Brooks Institute of Photography. It did not take long for him to fall in love with the community and decide to make it his permanent home. He would go on to marry his wife Julie, a Santa Barbara local, and raise two children here.

Tony has worked with Santa Barbara City TV for 36 years and has been providing consulting services to the City of Goleta since 2005. When Tony first began to work with the City, the Council meetings were held in two different locations. Tony’s team had to work quickly to keep up with the Goleta City Council’s unique needs.

“The afternoon session was held at the Goleta Valley Community Center and the evening session was held at the Goleta Union School District” said Tony. “After the first session, Council would take a quick dinner break so we would take the equipment down and move it over to the school district and set it up to finish the next meeting at the school district.” 

As the City TV Production Supervisor for the City of Santa Barbara, Tony was responsible for televising all meetings for the City on Cox Communications Channel 18 as well as manage all video production. “From information videos to PSA’s and documentaries, we were doing it all” says Tony.

Tony held a demanding and important job with the City of Goleta, in a position that required a unique skillset which few possess. The managing of the equipment and Control Room in the City Hall Chambers is imperative for the City in providing direct and easy to find access to all of the meetings, boards, and commissions that are televised. His hard work and expertise helped the City mitigate the challenges faced during the COVID-19 closures and remote meetings.

Tony’s last day was on March 24, 2023. He plans on take a few months off to simply enjoy life, and then return to volunteer and consulting work.

Congratulations Tony and thank you for your many years of dedicated service!


Tony Ruggieri in the control room at Goleta City Council Chambers


Tony in Council Chambers

New Narcan Distribution Program

Latest county overdose statistics shared

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is sharing its latest data on overdose death statistics in the county, which reveals that the situation continues to escalate. A total of 168 overdose deaths occurred in 2022, with 115 of them being related to fentanyl. This compares to 133 total overdose deaths in 2021, with 78 related to fentanyl. In 2020, there were 113 total overdoses with 37 related to fentanyl.

In light of these alarming statistics, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is taking action. The Sheriff’s Office and Project Opioid, a diverse coalition of community leaders from various disciplines, are committed to addressing the opioid crisis and saving lives. To this end, they are supporting the distribution of Narcan, a drug that reverses the often-lethal effects of an opioid overdose.

Sheriff Bill Brown said, “Narcan is a harmless, yet miraculous drug that reverses the often lethal effects of an opioid overdose. Simply put, it’s easy to use and it saves lives. Making more Narcan available to community members will help us lower the unacceptably high rate of overdose deaths we are seeing in our community and across the nation.”

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a FREE Narcan Distribution Program through the Department of Health Care Services, Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) at the following locations:

  • Sheriff’s Headquarters (4434 Calle Real, Santa Barbara)
  • Carpinteria substation (5775 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria) 
  • Santa Maria substation (812 W. Foster Road, Santa Maria)

This program aims to distribute Narcan to members of the public and increase awareness about the opioid crisis and the importance of Narcan in saving lives. Members of the public can come to the lobby of one of these three stations during business hours, obtain information about a short instructional video and receive Narcan. This program is free to the public and members of the public are not required to provide personal information to participate.

Tsunami Preparedness

Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. Out in the depths of the oceans, tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height. A tsunami gains its height as it travels closer to land and the depth of the water decreases. A majority of Goleta is safe from tsunamis as the city is high enough and far enough away from the ocean to not be severely affected. Where Goleta is vulnerable from tsunamis is at our beaches.

With approximately 110 miles of coastline, Santa Barbara County is susceptible to the impacts of tsunamis. The County of Santa Barbara recognized March 27 through March 31 as Tsunami Preparedness Week.

Being prepared before an emergency is critical and tsunamis are no exception. The County recommends community members take the following actions to prepare:

  • Know the tsunami hazard zones for areas you live and/or visit.
  • People living, visiting, or working in a tsunami hazard area must be aware of the warning signs that indicate potential tsunami activity including a strong earthquake, the ocean withdrawing or rising rapidly, or a loud, roaring sound coming from the sea.
  • Identify an evacuation location that is on high ground or inland, away from the water and accessible by foot. Evacuation sites should be accessible by walking and not dependent on a vehicle. Note: Some beach areas have tsunami evacuation route maps onsite.
  • Practice walking your evacuation routes to make evacuation quicker and easier.
  • Register for emergency alerts from local public safety officials: County of SB and City of Goleta

Although it can be tempting to want to observe tsunami activities or be in the water, it is important to stay out of the water and away from the tsunami hazard zone until public safety officials have deemed it safe to return. The first wave may not be the last or the largest and the danger may last for hours or days.

There are three levels of notifications that exist for tsunamis. People living, visiting, or working in a tsunami hazard area must be aware of the warning signs that indicate potential tsunami activity; there may not be time for public safety officials to send a notification before the effects of a tsunami are felt. Nevertheless, beachgoers should familiarize themselves with the following notifications and follow directions from public officials:

  • Tsunami Watch: A tsunami may later impact the area.
  • Tsunami Advisory: A tsunami with the potential to generate strong currents or waves is imminent, expected, or occurring.
  • Tsunami Warning: A tsunami with the potential to generate widespread inundation is imminent, expected, or occurring. Evacuations of identified tsunami inundation areas will be required.

To learn more about tsunami safety and steps you can take to prepare, visit  https://www.readysbc.org/597/Tsunami. You can also view a California tsunami map at https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/tsunami/maps.

Senior Programs at the GCC

Come check out the Senior Programs available at the Goleta Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue)! Open to anyone 55 and over, there are a number of activities and opportunities you can get involved with including dance, music, fitness, counseling, and food services. View the monthly calendar on the City website at www.CityofGoleta.org/GCC. 

The City of Goleta assumed interim management of the Goleta Community Center on January 1, 2023, in anticipation of the upcoming seismic construction. Due to the construction project, the Goleta Valley Community Center organization had placed senior program on a hiatus until further notice. This past January, the City of Goleta stepped in and coordinated a mini expo to share resources and program opportunities with the seniors of the Goleta Valley and had an amazing response.

If you would like more information, or would like to receive the calendar directly, please contact Kelsey Hamilton, Recreation Supervisor at khamilton@cityofgoleta.org or 805-967-1237.

Pictured: Tai Chi at the GVCC Senior Program in 2022