The City of Goleta is one step closer to having its first ever Historic Preservation Ordinance.  The City Council will continue discussing the proposed ordinance on February 15, 2022.  After a lengthy discussion at the December 7 Public Hearing, the Council directed staff to provide the following additional information:

1. Specific findings for each of the 29 properties proposed to be added to the Historic Resources Inventory and findings for the 6-7 properties that may be designated as Goleta Landmarks.
2. Make refinements to the exemptions from the Archaeological and/or Tribal Cultural provisions to be simpler and clearer to the public.
3. Provide cost estimates for different archaeological reports and provide an estimate how many of these could be required in the course of a year.

The goal of the Historic Preservation Ordinance is to preserve and protect resources that, once lost, cannot be replaced or replicated. Earlier this year (November 8), the Planning Commission reviewed the ordinance and recommended adoption. Generally, the proposed ordinance would:

• Create a Historic Preservation Commission.
• Create historic designation categories and establish a process to designate properties as a historic resource based on eligibility criteria.
• Establish regulations and processes regarding alterations to designated properties, recission of designations, demolition, maintenance requirements, and Mills Act incentives to maintain designated historic resources.
• Designate six (6) -seven (7) structures as Goleta Landmarks and place a total of 29 structures (including the 7 proposed to be Goleta Landmarks) on the inaugural Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). It is expected that the HRI will be expanded over time.
• Establish processes and criteria when any earth-disturbing activities in native soils (i.e., previous not graded or disturbed soils) are proposed. The purpose is to check for subsurface archaeological or tribal cultural resources in order to preserve and protect these resources. A list of project types and circumstances that would be exempt from the requirements is included.
• Establish development standards that would apply to earth-disturbing activities in case subsurface archaeological or tribal cultural resources are found during construction.
• Add thirty-four definitions related to Historic Preservation and Archaeological and Tribal Cultural Resources to the Goleta Municipal Code.
• Make other changes to various portions of the Goleta Municipal Code to reflect the requirements of Chapters 17.33 and 17.43 for consistency in City regulations.

The proposed Historic Preservation Ordinance includes regulations that may affect some property owners, especially property owners of designated Historic Resources. The regulations regarding Archaeological and/or Tribal Cultural Resources could potentially affect any property owners who are contemplating work involving earth-disturbing activities (i.e., trenching for utilities, digging for new foundations, etc.). The goal of the proposed regulations is to foster preservation while allowing development to occur.

In recommending adoption of the ordinance, the Planning Commission sought to balance the need to protect sensitive, buried archaeological and cultural resources with the burden on property owners. It considered this issue carefully with input from a range of stakeholders, including Goleta residents, archaeologists and historians, and Chumash Tribal representatives. 

Learn more about the project at www.HistoricGoleta.org.

Pictured: Hollister Arch

The holiday season has arrived! Please review the information below from Marborg on how to properly dispose of seasonal items.

• Place Christmas trees curbside on green waste collection day, or trash collection day if you do not have green waste service. If you live in an apartment complex, please place tree next to the trash bin. View guidelines here.
• Holiday lights can NOT be placed in your household containers as they are electronic waste. They can be dropped off at MarBorg’s Goleta or Downtown Recycling Centers, or the South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station.
• Wrapping paper without any glitter can be placed in your recycling container. If it is still in good condition, save it to be reused. Skipping the wrapping paper altogether is the best solution – try wrapping gifts with fabric or use old newspaper/magazines.
• Wrapping paper that has glitter or is iridescent should be placed in the trash if you cannot reuse it.

For more information on how to dispose of holiday items, please go to https://www.marborg.com/seasonal.

Cambridge Drive Church Community is Site of the New Project

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County (HTF) is thrilled to announce that it was awarded a $100,000 Michael Towbes Community Impact Dividend from Montecito Bank & Trust. The grant supports development of a prototype 3D printed affordable home that will demonstrate innovative robotics construction technology that reduces the cost of developing affordable housing and uses sustainable building materials.

HTF is collaborating with Cambridge Drive Community Church in Goleta to sponsor the project. Cambridge Drive Community Church has a strong history of supporting affordable housing and has agreed to allow development of the single-story 3D printed affordable home on the church property.

HTF will partner with Apis Cor, an engineering firm located in Melbourne, Florida, to plan and construct the home using their innovative robotics construction technology. Apis Cor won top awards in NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge for building 3D structures on Mars and recently completed the world’s largest 3D printed commercial building in Dubai. They also 3D printed the walls for a small 407 square foot demonstration home in 24 hours for only a cost of $10,000.

HTF’s 3D project will demonstrate new robotics construction technology that reduces the time and cost to construct affordable housing and encourages the use of sustainable, climate resilient and fire resistant building materials. The home will also have a solar photovoltaic system, drought tolerant landscaping and other sustainability features. HTF hopes to collaborate with the Bren School of Environmental Science and the Santa Barbara AIA to design the home and study the long-term energy and environmental impacts.

More information about HTF’s 3D printed affordable housing project can be found here: Housing Innovations Program.

Pictured: Apis Cor staff working with 3D printer

Water Wise English and Spanish video submissions are due March 4, 2022

The Santa Barbara County Water Agency is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the 23rd Annual WaterWise High School Video Contest. Every year, students compete to create entertaining and informational 30-second videos that convey the importance of water use efficiency in Santa Barbara County. The contest theme, “Be Water Wise in Your Garden,” was selected to highlight the ongoing importance of sustainable outdoor water use, especially in light of the drought in Santa Barbara County. 

The contest meets several California State Department of Education Content Standards, including implementing world languages. County Water Agency Manager Matt Young said, “We are pleased to continue this long-standing program and excited to see the amazing videos created by our local high school students.” Up to six videos, three English and three Spanish, may be submitted per school. The winning videos will receive prizes and may have their videos aired on local TV and movie theatres.

While the County Water Agency and water providers arrange for monetary prizes to the winning schools, local private sector sponsors provide awards for the students:

• First Place (English): $500 provided by Carollo Engineers.
• First Place (Spanish): $500 provided by La Buena 105.1 FM. 
• Second Place: $250 provided by Geosyntec.
• Third Place: $150 provided by Ewing Irrigation.
• People’s Choice Award (voted by the public on the WaterWiseSB YouTube Channel): $500 provided by Dudek. 

To be eligible to win prizes, student participants must submit their videos and complete the application packet online by 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 4, 2022. The student winners will be publicly announced in May 2022.

The County Water Agency and local water providers thank our community sponsors for their generous support and look forward to seeing the creative videos that students submit for the contest!

To learn more and to apply for the contest, visit WaterWiseSB.org/HSVC.

The County of Santa Barbara Planning and Development Department Long Range Planning Division, and the Community Services Department Sustainability Division, are pleased to announce a collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture to issue a call for art expressing what environmental justice means to people residing in Santa Barbara County.

Environmental justice is defined as the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures and incomes with respect to development, adoption, implementation and enforcement of land use and environmental laws, regulations and policies. The goal is to expand community understanding and awareness of environmental and climate issues, and create an opportunity for community members to share their perspectives and experiences living in the county. Themes may include air, water, transportation, utilities, housing, food access, and recreation as they relate to justice or injustice.

Submittals will be accepted from artists residing in the county. All mediums will be accepted and artists submitting work may have an opportunity to be showcased in County media, documents and policy platforms. Submissions must be submitted electronically by January 10, 2022, via the Arts & Culture website at www.sbac.ca.gov/environmental-justice. Three selected artists will receive a $500 honorarium, and two student artists will be awarded $250 scholarships as part of this initiative.

Selected art may be showcased in the Santa Barbara County Environmental Justice Element (SBCEJE), a state required element of the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan expresses the community’s development goals and embodies public policy relative to the distribution of future public and private land uses within the unincorporated areas. Because the SBCEJE is for the unincorporated county, art submissions should focus on environmental justice in the unincorporated areas only.

The SBCEJE will identify environmental justice communities where multiple factors, including environmental and socioeconomic stressors, may act cumulatively to affect health and the environment and contribute to persistent environmental health disparities.

The SBCEJE will include goals, policies, and objectives to:

• Reduce unique or compounded health risks in environmental justice communities by means that include the reduction of pollution exposure and improvement of air quality;
• Promote access to public facilities, healthy foods, safe and sanitary homes, and physical activity;
• Promote civic engagement in the public decision-making process; and
• Prioritize improvements and programs that address the needs of environmental justice communities.

For more information about the SBCEJE click here. For information about the Planning and Development Department, go to www.countyofsb.org/plndev. To learn about the Community Services Department, including the Sustainability Division, go to www.countyofsb.org/csd.

About the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture

The County of Santa Barbara Office of Arts & Culture is a division of the Community Services Department serving as the local governmental umbrella for arts and culture projects and programs within the county. The Office represents a longstanding partnership between the County and City of Santa Barbara. For more than 30 years, both government agencies have shared resources and staff to maximize support for Santa Barbara arts and culture institutions, programs, initiatives and projects. For information, visit www.sbac.ca.gov.