906 Garden St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101
PHONE (805) 963-1622 FAX (805) 962-3152
www.EnvironmentalDefenseCenter.org
February 2, 2024
Mayor Perotte and Councilmembers
City of Goleta
130 Cremona Avenue, Suite B
Goleta, CA 93117
By Email: [email protected]
Re: Goleta Creek and Watershed Management Plan Implementation Recommendations
Dear Mayor Perotte and Councilmembers,
The undersigned organizations request that City Council fund fulltime Creek and Watershed Management Plan (“CWMP”) staff and allocate additional financial resources to CWMP implementation.
The City Council unanimously approved the CWMP in 2020 following the hard work of staff, consultants, and many community members, including members of our organizations.
Public surveys undertaken by the City demonstrate significant public support for protecting and
February 2, 2024
Goleta Creek and Watershed Management Plan Annual Hearing
restoring Goleta’s streams as vital habitats for fish and wildlife, sources of clean water for our aquifers and coast, areas for passive recreation, and quiet areas for people to enjoy and learn about nature.
However, Goleta’s watersheds are damaged, desiccated, and polluted. They have been diverted and pumped dry, entombed by concrete ditches, and cleared without permits. Invasive plants are replacing native plants, harming local wildlife. Pools, riffles, streambanks, and floodplains continue to be compromised. The state of Goleta’s creeks and watersheds continues to decline despite adoption of the CWMP and the good intentions of all parties.
The CWMP represents hope for our streams, but to reverse the ongoing decline the City needs full-time creeks program staff, like Santa Barbara City’s successful creeks program. The City’s staff is outstanding but with all the needs in parks, open spaces, and solid waste management, they are spread too thin to tackle the many problems our creeks face. Full-time staff could coordinate with partners, vet projects, apply for grants, manage consultants, and oversee restoration projects.
Accordingly, we respectfully request that the City allocate substantially more funding for creek projects. Measure B, which many of our groups publicly endorsed, received over 63% of the vote. Many people supported Measure B to protect and restore watersheds. Annual revenue of over ten million dollars began accruing in January.
Please hire full-time creeks program staff and significantly increase funding for the City’s visionary CWMP. The public expects and deserves healthy creeks and watersheds, and the City will benefit from the environmental and public health improvements of a robust creeks program.
Linda Krop, Chief Counsel
Environmental Defense Center
Dr. Katherine Emery, Executive Director
Santa Barbara Audubon
Ted Morten, Executive Director
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Conor McMahon, Executive Director
Goleta Coast Audubon
Jim Taylor, Santa Barbara Group Chair,
Political Committee Co-Chair
Sierra Club
Anne Burdette, President
Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council
Steve Windhager, Ph.D., Executive Director
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Doug Kern, Executive Director
Gaviota Coast Conservancy
Ken Owen, Executive Director
Channel Islands Restoration
J. Abraham Powell, CEO/Cofounder
Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade
Nancy Black, Executive Director
CLAWS
Russell Marlow, Senior Project Manager for
the South Coast Region
CalTrout
February 2, 2024
Goleta Creek and Watershed Management Plan Annual Hearing
Ed Seaman, Owner,
Restoration Oaks Ranch
Elizabeth Burns, Coordinator
Southern Steelhead Coalition
Jeff Kuyper, Executive Director
Los Padres ForestWatch
Michaela Sten, Acting Chair
UCSB Associated Students Coastal Fund
Ed Seaman, Operator
Santa Barbara Blueberries
Steven Adrian and Gina Giannetto,
El Gato Channel Foundation
Candice Meneghin, Executive Director
Coastal Ranches Conservancy
Nate Irwin, Founder and Director
Illuminate Conservation
Lindsay Johnson, Executive Director
Explore Ecology
Jeanne Sparks and Ken Hough,
Co-Executive Directors,
Santa Barbara County Action Network
Ed Seaman, Executive Director
Wild Farm Lands Foundation
Hillary Hauser, Executive Director
Heal the Ocean
Marianne Parra, Cultural Outreach
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Santa Barbara-Ventura Counties
From: Tanja Reutimann
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Letter: 2-6-24 Council Hearings Items C1 and C2 Date: Sunday, February 4, 2024 4:17:26 PM
Dear Mayor Perotte, and City Councilmembers,
As a lover of Goleta, and all things wild, I am relaying this message to convey my support of the City of Goleta's ongoing, concerted efforts and tireless dedication to our flora, fauna, and watershed.
However, there is more work to be done.
I would like to see that more funding is given to the preventive
and regular maintenance, and
ongoing restoration.
Our creeks and community deserve to be cared for, and protected.
Especially, in light of the escalation of risk to our infrastructure, homes, and businesses given the increasingly
volatile California climate.
With Appreciation for all you do already,
Goleta resident
Tanja Reutimann
February 6, 2024
Mayor Perotte and Councilmembers
City of Goleta
130 Cremona Avenue, Suite B
Goleta, CA 93117
By Email: [email protected]
Re: Implementation of the Goleta Creek and Watershed Management Plan
I thank Mayor Perotte and City Councilmembers for this opportunity to discuss the implementation of the Goleta Creek and Watershed Management Plan (CWMP). My name is Scott Cooper and I am a long‐ term resident of Goleta, a retired professor
of ecology from UCSB, and a member of the Technical
Advisory Committee (TAC) for the CWMP, serving on this TAC since its inception. I would first like to congratulate the City Council, City staff, City consultants, and many volunteers for developing and completing this thorough, comprehensive, and informative CWMP and I applaud current efforts to achieve its implementation. As Councilmember Kyriaco stated in a previous meeting, although Goleta has been productive in producing various plans, these plans often are not implemented or considered in subsequent policy and management decisions. The CWMP, however, represents an important opportunity to actually implement a plan that garnered considerable public input and participation, and holds considerable importance for Goleta’s citizens. Public polls have indicated that Goleta’s residents highly value the environmental and recreational amenities, and ecological services, provided by Goleta’s creeks, riparian zones, and watersheds.
Implementation of the CWMP, however, will require considerable human and financial resources, so it is essential for the City of Goleta to adequately support the CWMP implementation efforts. The implementation of the CWMP will require funding for a full‐time staff member who focuses on CWMP implementation, as well as funding for tasks, operations, and management activities, such as routine monitoring, that often fall outside the purview of granting agencies. Although current Public Works’ staff, such as those associated with Environmental Services and Open Space Management, and their consultants have started to implement the CWMP, these staff already have very heavy work loads and numerous projects, necessitating that additional staff resources be allocated for CWMP implementation.
A proposed staff person would focus on procuring grants from funding agencies to implement capital projects outlined in the CWMP; would coordinate with other jurisdictions and agencies on watershed projects; and would provide oversight for numerous additional tasks, such as protection, restoration, and outreach projects, as well as the research, analysis, and recommendation activities conducted by consultants needed to underpin these efforts. I believe a ready source of funds for City allocations to CWMP implementation is the Measure B revenue. Previous public and City Council discussions have dealt with the need to allocate substantial Measure B funds to CWMP implementation.
Given the importance of Goleta’s creeks, riparian zones, and watersheds to the quality of life of Goleta’s citizens, I strongly urge the City Council to allocate additional funding to CWMP implementation. The City has already expended considerable funds, time, and effort in creating and beginning to implement the
CWMP, so the next steps revolve around granting the resources needed to actually implement key features of the plan.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Scott Cooper
From: [email protected]
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Comment for 2/6 City Council Meeting Items C-1 and C-2 Date: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 5:03:45 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.
My name is Reed Ochalek. I am a representative of the Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council. We work to protect the health of our creeks throughout the region. We value our creeks for their water supply protection, valuable habitat, recreation and education opportunities, and aesthetics. We are happy to see the City’s commitment to their protection and support the creation of a Watershed and Waste Reduction Standing Committee, and we would like the funding allocated to be increased. The community deserves full-time staff to manage these complex issues and implement the CWMP. The City and this Committee need to address the continued threats of water diversion, polluted runoff, and concrete embankments that imperil our watersheds. We at the Urban Creeks Council are committed to working closely with the City of Goleta to address these issues.
Reed Ochalek
Board Member
Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council