- Home
- News Grid
- Local News
- Green Hawk
- Business
- Politics
- School Zone
- Nonprofits
- Missing Pets
- Multimedia
- Arts
- Movies
- Outdoors
- Sports
- News Releases
- Columnists
- Blogs
- Opinions
- Classifieds
- Advertise
- Donate
- Partners
Michael Rattray: ‘Goleta Beach 2.0’ a Slippery Slope
I attended the first informal public hearing held last Tuesday by Santa Barbara County officials for what’s now called the “Goleta Beach 2.0” concept planning process.
This has come about because the California Coastal Commission denied our locally supported plan to save Goleta Beach in July 2009. The interesting news is that there was consensus from the Goleta Beach working group, County Parks, professional engineering consultants hired by the county, the county Board of Supervisors and recommended support from the Goleta City Council.
The agreement was that the path of least resistance to save Goleta Beach from further erosion was to install a permeable pier addition, a groin installed on the east side of the existing Goleta pier to serve as a natural barrier, slowing the movement of sand down the coastline and allowing the gradual buildup of protective sand at the park.
Even though the Coastal Commission review was 18 months, low and behold the commission’s staff actually recommended approval of the permeable pier addition. But without any warning, the commission voted down this universally acceptable solution 9-1. This is yet another example of a state entity overruling the will of the people, disregarding local experts and ignoring the recommendation of local governments.
And this is where we find ourselves today: The Coastal Commission wants to hold our park hostage to a concept called “managed retreat.” The funny thing is, now the county decision-makers have decided that this trumps any consideration of our agreed-on solution and has acquiesced by punting the ball on second down.
Years of study, hundreds of hours of volunteer and staff time, and lots of taxpayer money to find a common solution that could go forward is now considered dead and buried because some of our elected officials don’t want to stand up for our community sense of ownership for one of our best local treasures.
So let’s get a peak under the tent and explore what “managed retreat” might look like. It would essentially let the western edge of the park and 170 parking spaces (about 48,000 square feet) give way to the sea and a new artery for the Goleta Slough to enter the sea. The county’s new offer is to move the lost parking spots to the other side of Highway 217 (only if demand requires replacement), dig up and move a lot of utilities, and relocate the bike path. What we’ll have is a lot of slough water that is uninhabitable just as it meanders on the east side of the park today (most of us cringe when we see little kids playing in this water).
Then at the point the sea takes back the land we have invested decades in building and preserving for up to 1 million visitors a year, Goleta Beach will be reduced to an island that potentially will shrink every year because that is what our state Coastal Commission, and now our county government wants — “managed retreat.”
This experiment at our expense is absolutely ridiculous. There are thousands of beachfront parks, man-made harbors and private coastal properties that have been shored up with a lot more man-made investment so citizens can enjoy the amenities of being on the coastline. To have our local public servants ignore the wishes of the good citizens who really do want to preserve Goleta Beach for generations to come is just plain wrong.
If there ever was a time to voice your opinion about a local issue, this is it. Once we go down this slippery slope, there is little chance of turning back. Our legacy should be one of saving our treasured park for future generations of families to enjoy the same peace and harmony we have enjoyed for decades.
The ocean and our coastline can live in harmony in the other 99 percent of our county. Goleta Beach needs a helping hand.
— Michael Rattray is a longtime resident of the Goleta Valley and a member of the Goleta Beach Park Coalition.
Comments
Noozhawk's comments are moderated, but by posting here you accept your responsibility to follow our rules as part of Noozhawk's shared online community. Please keep your comments civil and helpful. Don't attack other readers personally, and do not use vulgar, abusive or discriminatory language. Use the "Report Abuse" link if a comment violates these standards or our Terms of Use.
» on 02.23.10 @ 07:26 AM
for Mr. Rattray and anyone else who may have missed the Coastal Commission hearing and has not yet let go of last year’s idea, here is a link to the video- go to item 8b. Bottom line- in a democracy we learn (at least I did early on) when it is clear that we must turn a different direction. The 9-1 Coastal Commission vote was one of those times. Continuing to bemoan the purported ails of that body does nothing to move things along-
http://www.cal-span.org/cgi-bin/archive.php?owner=CCC&date=2009-07-08
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 07:36 AM
“The interesting news is that there was consensus from the Goleta Beach working group, County Parks, professional engineering consultants hired by the county, the county Board of Supervisors and recommended support from the Goleta City Council.”
Not to mention the thousands of residents and visitors to the area who use Goleta Beach as a gathering place, and who have largely been unheard in this debate.
This solution is just wrong.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 07:50 AM
ahem, Mr. Rattray, i worked with the working group and let me assure you- the only “consensus” was to present two options- including a managed retreat option- to the Board of Supes. the “permeable pier” was NEVER one of the options.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 08:34 AM
But, “rewriting history”, please recall that the “managed retreat” option was not favored by the majority of the Working Group by an informal 2:1 margin, even though a formal vote was not permitted by the group facilitators. Recall that the “managed retreat” concept has never been tried or proven, whereas other options presented to the Working Group have been proven to work elsewhere. Recall that the goal of the Working Group was to find a solution to the erosion problem that would conserve the present area of the park, while enhancing the beach. The “managed retreat” option guarantees neither. Just wait until the public learns that they may have to take a shuttle bus or water taxi to access the park.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 10:55 AM
Michael Rattray is extremely myopic in his views, which are par for the course considering his ties to certain business and political interests. His involvement “in the many nonprofit organizations dedicated to youth development” are that he sits on the boards of the United Way and the United Boys & Girls Club. He actually recently took complete control over the United Boys & Girls Club. He also happens to sit on the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, whose website Noozhawk advertises on. It’s of no surprise he would be allowed to write such a short-sided and long-winded editorial such as this. Quite simply, he is wrong. He should try objectively basing his opinions on facts instead of skewing them like this. What a disservice to our community to have a “leader” like Michael Rattray.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 11:17 AM
Let the rhetorical cycle begin again…
I find great irony in the fact that the Coastal Commission would deny a proposal on “environmental” grounds and now a new proposal would require the creation of new parking lots in or near the slough wetlands and the use of a potentially exhaust spewing shuttle bus to ferry park users back and forth. Just wait till the SBC Air Polution Control District gets their hands on that.
This whole fiasco has made a mockery of the public process. What a farce!
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 12:17 PM
Michael Rattray is extremely myopic in his views, which are par for the course considering his ties to certain business and political interests. His involvement “in the many nonprofit organizations dedicated to youth development” are that he sits on the boards of the United Way and the United Boys & Girls Club. He actually recently took complete control over the United Boys & Girls Club. He also happens to sit on the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, whose website Noozhawk advertises on. It’s of no surprise he would be allowed to write such a short-sided and long-winded editorial such as this. Quite simply, he is wrong. He should try objectively basing his opinions on facts instead of skewing them like this. What a disservice to our community to have a “leader” like Michael Rattray.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.23.10 @ 02:08 PM
A prereq to Goleta 2.0 should be that the beach resources are preserved, this beach is one of a kind and is really the only beach we have. With beach and resource preservation as a clear goal, then the effects of each potential mitigation can be weighed. As it is now it seems there is no goal other than to crumble to whatever organization sends mass emails (surfrider foundation etc.). The permeable pilings sure sound like a good idea in comparision to removing the west end of the beach and relocating parking in the wetland. There seems to be a panic that ‘something must be done’ and while in many places a managed retreat makes sense - at the Goleta beach it doesn’t. Either extending the pier or strategically building a small jetty or rockwall would help pile sand on the beach and solve the problem for much lower fiscal and social cost.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.24.10 @ 09:17 AM
Re Memory refresher -
In a democracy, it is most unusual to come up with a 9-1 vote against staff recommendations (Coastal Commission’s staff) without aggressive, last minute lobbying by groups (Surfrider &EDC;) that threw together - without thorough studies- an incomplete “managed retreat” plan presented to the CCC. Recreational amenities do not put back sand, turf and recreational space.
WHY was the issue in the past the cyclical nature of the tides and park erosion, but now, according to the EDC & friends, it’s Climate Change and rising oceans? My, what a quick turnaround in strategy.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 02.24.10 @ 09:28 AM
For a guy to spend 10 paragraphs ranting about the Coastal Commission (and nothing regarding any solutions) one would think Ratray would at least attempt reading the Coastal Act.
Sorry to break the news but the Coastal Commission by law HAD to deny the Goleta Beach project since it was inconsistent with the California Coastal Act. It doesn’t matter that a bunch of local yahoos and developers supported it! Nor does it matter (as Ratray points out for the wrong reasons) that the County spent millions lobbying for an illegal plan. Among other weirdness, the CCC found the County plan would have destroyed the beach over time and protected nothing more than the pier and the restaurant! Thus, it wouldn’t even have accomplished the very goal Ratray says he supports.
The ‘solution’ is and always has been to just move back.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
More Local News »
Wayne Mellinger: Triple Challenged Can’t Grapple with Their Demons Alone
For the homeless, the mentally ill and the addicted, society needs to step up with institutional help
George Runner: New Tax Interpretation Will Help Farmers Switch to Solar Power
California Board of Equalization clarifies exemption, ensuring its availability for agricultural expenses
Patty DeDominic: What’s On the Minds of High Achievers?
Take control of 2012 with a look at your health, wealth and time management
Adam Probolsky: Voters Are Receptive to Raising Local Revenues
Recent elections indicate voters don't lump in local government with institutional dysfunction in Sacramento and Washington
Helene Schneider: Mayor’s Year-End Message to Santa Barbara Community
There were many accomplishments in 2011 for which the city's residents can be proud, with much work still to be done in 2012
Weather: Fair 47.0º
Search Noozhawk »
