Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Habitat for Humanity Home Repair Program

Goleta Residents – Find Out if You Qualify!

The City of Goleta is proud to be a member of the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Consortium and support Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County’s (Habitat Santa Barbara) home repair programs for qualifying Goleta residents. These include the Critical Home Repairs program and A Brush with Kindness program.

The Home Repair program provides critical repairs, modifications, and maintenance specific to each homeowner’s lifestyle to preserve their home. Habitat Santa Barbara provides low-income homeowners with free interior and exterior home repairs. Repairs under this program address health, safety, and security issues including accessibility improvements and repairs that support aging in place.

A Brush With Kindness (ABWK) is an exterior home preservation service offered to low-income homeowners struggling to maintain their home. ABWK supports a homeowner’s evolving needs due to age, disability, or family circumstances; the program helps low-income homeowners reclaim pride and peace of mind. Volunteer teams assist with painting, landscaping, and minor exterior repairs, at no cost to the homeowner.

How to Qualify:

  • Own and occupy a home in Southern Santa Barbara County that is in need of home repairs
  • Meet the income guidelines
  • Possess, or be willing to acquire, Homeowners Insurance
  • Be willing to partner with Habitat Santa Barbara

Learn more and apply at sbhabitat.org.

Apply for the Public Engagement Commission

Deadline to Apply is March 17

Are you interested in helping the City of Goleta find ways to engage the community to participate in local government? If so, you should consider applying to be on the City’s Public Engagement Commission (PEC). The City is currently looking to fill one vacancy on the PEC.

The PEC advises the City Council on ways to improve public outreach and increase public engagement. It has provided recommendations to the City Council on moving to evening-only meetings, directly electing the Mayor, and district elections.

The seven-member commission meets every other month. Members are compensated at the rate of $50 per meeting. To be eligible to apply, candidates must reside within Goleta City limits. There is one vacancy, which would fill an unexpired portion of a term ending November 2023.

For more information and to apply, please visit https://www.cityofgoleta.org/BoardsCommissions. Additional information can be provided by emailing cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org. Applications must be submitted by Friday, March 17 at 5:00 p.m.

Goleta Launches Refreshed City and Library Websites

The City of Goleta is pleased to announce the launch of its refreshed City website (www.CityofGoleta.org) and Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries website (www.GoletaValleyLibrary.org) which are now mobile-friendly and more accessible. While enhancements will continue to be added over time, we hope you will find the websites easier to navigate to find what you need. City and Library Staff worked closely with Granicus, our long-time website vendor, to update the sites with the ultimate goal of providing website visitors with a better experience, whether you access the site on your computer, cell phone or tablet.

Some features to look for with the new City site include:

  • Fresh modernized look with an organized and streamlined layout
  • Service Finder and Popular Search features
  • Main Navigation categories to coordinate with the City’s “Live, Work, Play” philosophy
  • Enhanced language translation feature present on every page
  • Accessibility feature present on every page
  • Call to Action buttons prominently displayed on the homepage for cell phone viewing
  • Month At-A-Glance calendar on the homepage
  • Video section on the homepage
  • Spotlight section on the homepage highlighting upcoming City events, projects and general information
  • And more…

You will also notice the new look, feel and features on the new Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries website, which is now its own site as opposed to a subsite of the main City site. The website URLs remain the same as before for both (www.CityofGoleta.org and www.GoletaValleyLibrary.org). Website visitors can still access the Library website from the City website.

It’s important to note that pages on the sites will be in new locations. If you have bookmarked or favorited any webpages, you will need to do so again since URLs will have changed.

Typically, municipal websites need updating every five years due to changing technology and for “spring-cleaning”. The last time the City’s website was updated was seven years ago in May of 2015. The City took advantage of a website refresh credit from Granicus to help pay for the current upgrade, and took the opportunity to upgrade the library site, which was also due for a refresh.

For a show-and-tell of the upgraded City website, join us for the next Public Engagement Commission meeting on Wednesday, February 15th at 6:00 p.m. Staff will walk through the features of the site and answer any questions from Commissioners and community members. Join us in-person at City Council Chambers (130 Cremona Drive) or via Zoom. The meeting can also be watched at https://www.cityofgoleta.org/meetings-agendas or on Goleta TV Channel 19. The Zoom link will be available in the agenda, posted at least 72 hours in advance here.

We hope you enjoy the refreshed websites. If you have questions or comments, please contact Community Relations Manager Kelly Hoover at pio@cityofgoleta.org. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Pictured above: City of Goleta staff member viewing the City website on on her cell phone

Pictured below: City of Goleta staff member viewing the City and Library websites on dual monitors



Winter Storms

The storms last month reminded us how important it is to be prepared in advance for winter storms. This is a good reminder to sign up for information from both Santa Barbara County and the City of Goleta.  Register for County emergency alerts at ReadySBC.org. This is how you will be notified during an emergency.  If the emergency impacts Goleta, the City of Goleta will send emergency notifications through its email/text message notification system – sign up to receive our City emergency alerts here. 

We were fortunate that Goleta faired pretty well during the storms, but we did see some damage: flooding on streets, a small mudslide on Cathedral Oaks Road, downed trees, and a few small sinkholes that appeared.

“A huge thank you to our Goleta Public Works Team for its storm preparation, 24-hour service and quick work removing downed trees and clearing debris. I also want to thank the community for following safety orders and staying home and off the roads when asked”, said Mayor Perotte. 

We are so appreciative of the Goleta Public Works Team, Caltrans and our first responders for their hard work to keep our community safe before, during and after the storm.

Learn more about winter storm preparedness, including sandbag locations in Goleta, knowing your flood risk, and more, on the City website here.

Pictured: San Pedro Creek at Calle Real

E-Bike Safety Awareness

You see them everywhere, E-Bikes!

The Goleta City Council officially proclaimed January 19th as the first ever Electric Assisted Bike Safety Awareness Day at its January 17 meeting. View the proclamation here. Kent Epperson, Director of Traffic Solutions from the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), was on hand to accept the Proclamation from the City Council.

As in many California communities, Santa Barbara County has seen a noticeable increase in e-bike use by people of all ages over the last couple years. While there are many benefits to e-bikes, studies show that a rapid increase in less experienced, higher speed bicyclists can result in more collisions with pedestrians and other road users, leading to injury and sometimes even death.

To improve public safety, the State of California has passed e-bike safety laws that regulate who and where each of the three types of e-bikes can lawfully be ridden and that riders 17 years of age and under must always wear a helmet.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is developing statewide safety standards and training programs based on evidence-based practices for e-bike users which are scheduled to be launched next summer.

E-bikes can bring joy and a sense of freedom, but that no matter what type of bike you ride, some collisions can be avoided by practicing common sense safety including:

  1. Checking your battery, brakes, chain, and tire pressure before you ride;
  2. Wearing a helmet and visible clothing whether you are a rider or passenger;
  3. Watching your speed by riding slowly and respectfully on multi-use paths or where pedestrians are present;
  4. Riding predictably, using hand signals and keeping eye contact to communicate your movements with other vehicles;
  5. Avoiding texting, talking on the phone, or listening to loud music while riding; and
  6. Obeying traffic signs, signals, and roadway laws just as cars are required.

Information regarding E-Bike Awareness Day, the Safety Pledge and other e-bike safety information can be found on the Traffic Solutions website.   

Pictured: Kent Epperson receiving the proclamation from Mayor Paula Perotte

Passing of Long-Time City Consultant Linda Gregory

The City of Goleta is saddened by the loss of one of our long-time City consultants. Linda Gregory passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the end of 2022. Linda worked as a consultant for the City of Goleta for 19 years, beginning in 2003.

During her time at the City, she served as the Recording Clerk for the Planning Commission and the Design Review Board. Her services included clerking at the public hearings of the Goleta Planning Commission and the Design Review Board. She recorded the proceedings, as well as the production of the minutes. She later provided additional services associated with the Planning Department’s Document Imaging Program.

Planning and Environmental Review Director Peter Imhof said, “We will all miss Linda’s calm, quiet presence, her kindness, her dedication and her careful work in support of the City of Goleta.”

Read her full obituary in The Independent here.

Celebrate 50 Years at the Goleta Valley Library

This March we are celebrating a special milestone for the Goleta Valley Library, the 50th Anniversary of the building at 500 N. Fairview Avenue. Join us on Saturday, March 11 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. for an afternoon of sharing memories with library staff and community members. In preparation for this event, we are gathering photos of the library throughout the years. Please bring your photos of the library to the Goleta Valley Library from now through February 28th so that we may add copies of them to our archives and share them as part of this memorable occasion. All photos will be returned to their owners. Thank you for joining in this celebration with us!

This milestone would not have been possible without the support of you, our wonderful patrons, and our dedicated team of library staff.  

Foodbank Raises $20 Million to Purchase Sharehouse

Funds will be used on new cooler freezers, volunteers, and nutrition education spaces

Congratulations to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County for successfully completing a major fundraising campaign – Building Readiness: Campaign for a Hunger-free Tomorrow – to purchase and modify its new Sharehouse facility in Goleta.

Over the course of an 18-month-long private fundraising period and a four-month public campaign that concluded on December 31, 2022, the Foodbank raised $20 million. When it becomes operational – in fall 2023 – Sharehouse will allow the Foodbank to provide increased healthy food for community members countywide who face hunger and food insecurity, and will ensure that south county is adequately prepared for emergency food needs during future large-scale disasters. It will also make it possible for the Foodbank to train thousands of volunteers, and further develop nutrition education curriculum and partnerships.

Planned modifications include construction of freezer and cooler space – which will multiply the Foodbank’s current south county cold food storage space by ten times – along with a new Nutrition Promotion Center and Volunteer Center, and the Foodbank’s administrative offices.

The Sharehouse is located at 80 Coromar Drive in Goleta, just off Hollister between Storke and Los Carneros Roads. The Sharehouse name indicates it will serve as more than just a warehouse; it will be a comprehensive center where the community can “share food, education and hope.”

About Foodbank of Santa Barbara County

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County transforms hunger into health through good nutrition and food literacy. The Foodbank provides nourishment and education through a network of more than 200 partner agencies, nutrition education programs and food distributions operated by the Foodbank and its volunteers. For more information, visit FoodbankSBC.org

Green Room: Beautify Goleta 2023 in Focus

The first Beauty Goleta event of 2023 did not disappoint. On January 28, 2023, 27 Volunteers collected 672 lbs of trash! Additionally, the Bulky Item Collection event beat previous records and included 37 vehicle drop offs totaling 14,967 lbs of bulky items collected! (Previous record was 7,966 lbs collected.) If you missed it, don’t worry, get involved in the next one on March 25 or clean up anytime using our self-guided cleanup instructions. Stay safe and report your results to be entered into a prize drawing. You can do your own self-guided cleanup or coordinate a group as a site captain. Learn more about the Captain role online and please reach out if you’d like to Captain a location for any of the dates below. 

2023 Dates

We hope you will save-the-date for these upcoming Beautify Goleta events:

  • March 25, 9am – 1pm “Spring Into Action” with Caltrans
  • April 22, 9am – 1pm “Earth Day”
  • July 22, 9am – 1pm “Put A Smile on Your Place”
  • September 23, 9am – 1pm “Coastal Cleanup Day” with Explore Ecology

Dates listed above include both a bulky item collection event and citywide community cleanup, with the exception of September which is a countywide community cleanup.

2022 Recap 

Relaunching Beautify Goleta in 2022 after the program was put on pause in 2020 due to the pandemic was a big effort made possible by this amazing community. The City would like to give a special shoutout to all the volunteers and captains that made this program what it is today. Below is a quick summary of the tremendous effort of the community in 2022, and we hope to use this as a baseline to measure progress moving forward. 

Thank you to all of those who volunteered. We are also very thankful for our partners at MarBorg Industries and Big Green Cleaning for their ongoing support. We hope you will volunteer this year and help Beautify Goleta.

Learn more about the program at www.CityofGoleta.org/BeautifyGoleta or email environmentalservices@cityofgoleta.org.

Pictured above: Volunteers with Waypoint Church captain Jerry Lucera

Black History Month

Join the City of Goleta in recognizing Black History Month. This is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of Black Americans across U.S. history and society — from activists and civil rights pioneers to leaders in industry, politics, science and culture. 

To learn more about the rich history of social, political, and cultural contributions made, make sure you check out the Goleta Valley Library’s in-person and online catalog. Patrons who visit the Goleta Valley Library in-person at 500 N. Fairview Avenue can browse the adult and children’s displays that will feature titles and materials related to Black History Month.  

Community organizations across Santa Barbara County will be offering both in-person and virtual events. For the full calendar of events, please visit: www.JuneteenthSB.org.