Narrative/Scenario Preferences – Goleta Beach County Park

First and foremost, I am supportive of a solution that will “maximize public access to and along the coast and maximize public recreational opportunities in the coastal zone…” (Goal, Santa Barbara County Coastal Plan, p. 2). The coastline adjacent to the Goleta area affords little opportunity for development of future coastal access parks and recreation, hence the necessity to protect and enhance the quality of this resource. The Goleta Beach County Park Environmental Carrying Capacity Study has already determined that this resource is highly impacted by the volume of visitors. Any scenario that reduces accessibility (i.e., removal of parking) would be very shortsighted, both in the near future and for the long term as well. The Board of Supervisors’ recent “endorse-ment” of the State’s mandate regarding adding thousands of residential units to the Goleta area makes the need for beach access even that much more critical.

Therefore, I support a scenario that includes upgrading the existing revetments in order to “hold the line” against further loss of beach and park area. This, along with continued beach nourishment, should be the very minimum that is done. I would like to see these revetments engineered so that they would not impact the scenic coastal views currently available. The parking lots could be better designed; however, I would recommend caution when re-striping the spaces due to the size of vans, trucks and SUV’s one commonly sees at a beach park. Median planters should be revegetated with native plants rather than removing them altogether. This improvement, along with revegetation along park boundaries, would facilitate the desire for an improved visitor experience.

Along this line, I would like to see the Park Dept. follow up on the desire for an interpretive center by considering use of a ranger residence for this purpose. (Teri stated at a meeting that ranger-resident housing might be phased out as attrition occurs.) A volunteer program could be facilitated from this site, and it would provide a location for disseminating educational materials about protection of the resources at Goleta Beach County Park and the neighboring slough area.

For the longer term, I support phasing some additional solutions to hold the line and perhaps expand the sandy beach area (Ed de la Torre’s plan). This might include an extension of the western headland to create a pocket beach and consideration of an offshore “reef” to diminish detrimental wave action.

I have appreciated the opportunity to serve on this Working Group and being a part of developing a plan for this extraordinary place known as Goleta Beach County Park.

Judy Johnson