In response to the tragedies and coastal erosion in Isla Vista, the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department has unveiled a proposed amendment to the Isla Vista Bluff Policy.
The proposed change in policy will require property owners who have structures within 20 feet of the bluff edge to obtain and submit measurements twice per year from the foundation of buildings or structures to the actual bluff edge.
Measurements must be completed by a California-licensed surveyor or civil engineer and be submitted to the county’s building official.
This will provide another tool for the county’s monitoring of bluff erosion, by enhanced tracking of the distance of structures to the bluff edge and helping determine when a structure must be cut back or even vacated, the county said.
The department partnered with the office of county Supervisor Laura Capps to revise the bluff policy after receiving comments from community members who participated in a bluff safety town hall held by the Isla Vista Community Services District earlier this year.
“My job is to listen carefully and rapidly respond to the ever-changing needs of the community,” said Capps, who represents all of Isla Vista. “The bluffs are eroding at an accelerated pace, making the balconies of these properties more dangerous than ever before for the students who live and gather there in overcrowded spaces.
“Measuring the extent of the erosion every six months is key for taking common sense precautions to prevent future tragedies. We all want to make Isla Vista safer.”
“Some properties along the Isla Vista bluffs have experienced significant coastal erosion, catalyzed by climate change and more frequent significant weather events,” Capps said.
The county’s Planning and Development Department released its initial Isla Vista Bluff Policy in 2004, as part of its Bluff Monitoring Program, and updated it in 2020 to increase the single event failure threshold from 5 feet to 10 feet based on a single failure in 2017 that exceeded the original 5-foot threshold.
This amendment will aid the Department in tracking coastal erosion and ensuring property owners are keeping their properties as safe and secure as possible for tenants.
“The proposed policy change will give the department an important tool that allows staff to more precisely monitor the erosion of the bluff and determine when additional action by the property owner is required including the preparation of geotechnical reports, relocation of fencing, and eventually the relocation or cutback of structures,” said Lisa Plowman, director of Planning & Development.
The proposed amendments to the Isla Vista Bluff Policy can be found here. submit questions or comments on the policy to Santa Barbara County Building Official, Craig Johnson at johnsonc@countyofsb.org. Submit comments by June 25.