Officials Preparing for a Monster Halloween Party in Isla Vista

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/093009_isla_vista_halloween_preparations/

By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer

Efforts are focused on minimizing problems related to the weekend festivities, expected to draw tens of thousands of revelers

They’re coming.

The city of Goleta is preparing for the Halloween invasion of Isla Vista, which typically includes an onslaught of out-of-town young people and hundreds of arrests and citations for alcohol- and traffic-related offenses.

As in years past, the city is collaborating with local agencies to protect the surrounding community and to try to reduce any negative effects.

At a community forum Wednesday evening, city staff and law-enforcement personnel spoke about plans for this year, and community members, including many who live in neighborhoods near Isla Vista, shared their concerns.

The speakers resembled a war panel — representatives of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Emergency Medical Services Authority, Santa Barbara Airport Police, UCSB Police and city staff all spoke about plans for containment and policing the area to create as safe an environment as possible.

Problems related to Halloween festivities greatly depend on which day of the week the holiday falls on, Goleta code enforcement officer Greg Nordyke said.

This will be Nordyke’s 31st Halloween in Goleta, and he said it’s generally a locals-only event when Halloween occurs on a Monday or Tuesday. This year, it falls on a Saturday, which means the party will start at least a day early.

Last year, there were more than 250 arrests, and more than 600 people were cited in two days on Halloween weekend — not including daytime arrests.

Vyto Adomaitis, Goleta’s public safety director, said it’s essentially a $1 million two-day event for the county, given increased law enforcement staffing.

The sheriff’s department plans to add 20 officers to its normal patrol staff for Friday and Saturday, in addition to increasing its dispatch staff and keeping its entire motorcycle force on duty.

UCSB Police are allocating an extra 12 officers to Isla Vista, including foot patrols.

Emergency Medical Services Agency staff will set up an eight-bed tent as a triage center in Isla Vista to isolate it from the rest of the medical system, so as not to flood local hospitals’ emergency rooms.

The biggest concern Wednesday was to alleviate, as much as possible, the effects of Halloween activities on the city of Goleta and surrounding areas.

Up to 65,000 people are expected, which creates the obvious problem of parking. UCSB enforces its permit-only parking, and visitors use commercial and residential street parking as alternatives.

Road closures, DUI checkpoints, towing and cooperation with bus and cab companies are attempts to lesson traffic gridlock and accidents, CHP officers said.

Residents expressed concerns about parking, the safety of trick-or-treaters and the drunken young people in their neighborhoods. “We’re kind of held hostage in our neighborhood for two nights,” one resident said.

Suggestions for residents included Neighborhood Watch-like rotations, temporary fencing, earlier trick-or-treating and calling police with any incidents.

More officers on duty will result in a quicker response times, and law enforcement urged residents to call 9-1-1 with any issues in the Goleta area during the Halloween weekend.

UCSB’s student government is working on a campaign directed at students to urge a safe, local Halloween.

“We’re all on the same page,” said Clay Carlson, Associated Students vice president of local affairs. He emphasized that student government cares about the effects on the community, and that many of the partiers generally aren’t UCSB students.

Many students understand the consequences after seeing advertisements and the aftermath of Halloween, but out-of-towners often behave without regard for the community, he said.

Law enforcement and city staff members said they would like the event to “go away,” adding that it doesn’t add anything positive to the community.

A public meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at San Marcos High School for high school students to explain the possible legal and medical consequences of participating in Isla Vista’s Halloween.

UCSB will host a town-hall meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in Embarcadero Hall to discuss community concerns.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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