From: Mike Goldman <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2023 3:47 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: June 27th City Council Meeting: Item B.2 - Proposed Ordinance Amending the GMC Dear Council Members,
On behalf of the 80 households comprising the La Goleta I Home Owners Association, please find below our input on the proposed Ordinance. The La Goleta Condominiums are located in Old Town Goleta near Dearborn Place and Armitos Avenue. Our high density housing complex is adjacent to 200 additional Condominiums that form the La Goleta II/III HOA as well as 158 rental units from the nearby Dearborn Green apartments. All three properties share our northern property line with San Jose Creek. Our homes are just yards away from the creek and encampments in the creek.
Our residents have first‐hand experience observing the negative impacts that the encampments in San Jose Creek are having on our community and the creek itself. These have all been reported to the City, Sheriff, County Flood Control District, and Fire Department. Unfortunately, for the past 5 years, these encampments have only grown in size. Our residents are subjected to campfire smoke blowing into our residences on a daily basis, trespassing, thefts of personal property, and loud partying noises and shouting during all hours of the night. In addition to numerous small campfires (which lately the Fire Department seems reluctant to address), we have had two large fires started by the occupants of these encampments and we were very lucky in both instances that the embers from the burning pine and cottonwood trees did not spread to our homes. As we have previously told the City, it’s not a matter of if one of the encampment related fires destroys our homes, but when. We are seeking relief from this danger to our properties and for the protection of our health and safety. Unfortunately, in particular to the fire hazard, we do not see how this proposed Ordinance addresses our concerns.
We are pleased to see that the proposed Ordinance contains provisions that bar encampments in and near creeks such as San Jose Creek due to the environmental damage they cause. The Staff Report, however, states that this provision is open for debate and that at least one Council Member opposes it. We’d like to share our observations and thoughts to help the City Council in their debate on this question:
1. The environmental damage to San Jose Creek caused by these encampments is real and occurs 365 days a year.
2. The creek gets littered with trash, furniture, toxic chemicals, and human waste ‐ which eventually is washed out to the ocean, polluting it as well.
3. All this pollution to the creek is directly upstream of the newly created fish passage revetment that was installed by the City in 2015 (and recently repaired). The purpose of the revetment was to allow for the passage of migrating steelhead to reach suitable perennial spawning and rearing habitats in the upper reaches of the creek.
This would be upstream of our community.
4. Encampments in San Jose Creek and the severe environmental damage they cause negatively impacts the ability of the steelhead to reach their rearing habits as well as harming the fish directly from the pollution itself.
5. Allowing these encampments to remain in San Jose Creek (by removing the “City Creek Areas” provision from the Ordinance) directly conflicts with the City's established policy in protecting our creeks and the steelhead’s migratory path. Leaving the provision in the Ordinance reaffirms the City’s commitment to the health of our creeks and the steelhead.
1 Based on the above, the La Goleta I Ho
me Owners Association strongly recommends that the final adopted Ordinance retain the “City Creek Areas” provision.
Lastly, our Association would like to personally thank Mr. Chuck Flacks for the time and effort he took recently to visit our community and meet with 20 of our residents. He was able to see first hand the issues we are dealing with and was helpful in informing us of all
the positive programs the City has established to help our unhoused population.
Sincerely,
Michael Goldman
President
La Goleta I Home Owners Association
June 24, 2023
2 From: Sbmermaid1 <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2023 12:53 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Camping Ordinance - Please include Creek Areas City Council of Goleta,
I am writing to urge all of you to include
"Creek Areas" in the upcoming camping ordinance. There is a large campsite within the San Jose Creek by La Goleta on Dearborn Place. Since there have been at least two fires that I'm aware of from these unapproved campsites, I urge you to protect the homeowners living nearby creeks by making this illegal.
Thanks in advance!
Kelly Stanley
29 Dearborn Place #3
Goleta, CA 93117
3 From: Martina Capelletti <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2023 5:52 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Item #B-2 San Jose creek
As a tax paying ciƟzen I would like to request that San Jose creek be included in the high risk fire ordinance There is quite the vegetaƟon, and it runs by La Goleta apartments We have several homeless encampments which in the past few years have produced several fire incidents. thus I urge the city to include San Jose Creek as part of the high fire ordinance Thank you MarƟna Capelleƫ Sent from my iPhone
4 From: Jennifer Smith
To: Paula Perotte; Kyle Richards; Stuart Kasdin; Luz Reyes-Martin; James Kyriaco Cc: City Clerk Group
Subject: Item B2 - Camping in High Fire Risk Areas
Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 3:21:30 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
I am writing to you to urge the City to continue its humane approach to people experiencing homelessness and to limit new anti-camping rules to high-fire areas only. There should also be due process and a method for handling the personal belongings for individuals who may be displaced due to the ordinance.
The only real solution to homelessness is low-income, permanent housing. Displacing people simply shuffles people around to other parts of the city or to other communities and does not address the underlying crisis. I would suggest that the City monitor any impacts, both to the unsheltered people who may be displaced and to other residents, that may result if the high- fire ordinance is passed and then reevaluate options in a year. This has also been an area of extensive litigation in communities across the state (I"m aware that SLO has had litigation on these issues more broadly).
The City staff and area non-profits work hard to develop relationships with people experiencing homelessness, which is a best practice. This work helps individuals get "document ready," and the trust-building process helps individuals be open to other types of support. It would be harmful to undo this trust-building approach with a punitive, overbroad policy. Criminalizing and incarcerating people experiencing homelessness is not the solution.
I urge the City to focus on real solutions and to limit penalizing approaches.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Smith
7391 Chapman Place Apt B
Goleta CA 93117
--
Jennifer Smith
[email protected]
From: Albers, Kimberlee <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 5:03 PM
To: City Clerk Group <[email protected]>
Cc: Jaime Valdez <[email protected]>; Chuck Flacks <[email protected]> Subject: Item B-2 Illegal Camping Ordinance
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City of Goleta Councilmembers,
Ordinances that appear to target persons experiencing homelessness put the Continuum of Care, County of Santa Barbara and City of Goleta at risk of reduced future funding to address homelessness.
Applications often ask if jurisdictions are enforcing ordinances that target persons experiencing homelessness and request descriptions of how the CoC is educating policy leaders to prevent ordinances and focus on person-centered solutions. If the City Council adopts an illegal camping ordinance, risk to funding can be minimized if it is limited in scope to areas that present imminent risk to life and property, such as high-fire areas.
There are significant resources and interim housing projects to address encampments coming to the region. These resources will allow resolution without merely displacing campers to another area.
Thank you again for your partnership and consideration.
Best Regards,
Kimberlee Albers
Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care Collaborative Applicant Representative