[Noozhawk’s note: One in a series on the honorees at the Goleta Chamber of Commerce’s 70th annual Goleta’s Finest Community Awards Gala, to be held Nov. 23 at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara.]
According to Peter Brown, “It’s important to assist your community in any way you can. That’s what makes communities work, when people participate.”
For his longtime community participation, Brown will be honored by the Goleta Chamber of Commerce on Saturday with the Goleta’s Finest Man of the Year Award.
Becoming involved in the planning and creation of the City of Goleta was a no-brainer for him. As an attorney specializing in land use and environmental law, he has done a lot of work in Goleta.
When Goleta was incorporated, he represented the Goleta Chamber of Commerce as the chamber worked with the city to develop the new city’s regulations and its current general plan, the city’s most important planning document.
During his six years as a chamber board member, Brown consistently worked on fostering economic development in the city.
In addition to assisting the chamber, he served as the land-use attorney for developers of many major projects in Goleta, among them Camino Real Marketplace, Hollister Village, Residence Inn by Marriott, Cabrillo Business Park, Maravilla, Sumida Gardens Apartments, Willow Springs I and II Apartments, University Business Center and ATK Space Systems.
Brown’s legal practice as a partner at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP has also emphasized public law. He has served as the city attorney for the City of Carpinteria for more than 25 years. In 2001, he was elected by his fellow city attorneys to serve as president of the City Attorneys’ Department of the League of California Cities.
But Brown’s life is more than just legal work. He is a passionate lover of music, having sung in a number of choral groups, including the Santa Barbara Choral Society, the choir at First Congregational Church of Santa Barbara, and even an a cappella group called The Concord Singers.
He also loves the outdoors. Brown and his wife, Suzanne, a music teacher at Goleta’s Mountain View School for nearly 30 years, raised two sons in Goleta. Son Chris works at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Matt is an architect in Denver.
Born in West Virginia and raised on the East Coast, Brown served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, including two years in Vietnam as an interpreter.
Coming to the Santa Barbara/Goleta area in 1975, Brown’s strong desire to serve his community continued; he has served on the boards of the Music Academy of the West and the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts at The Granada Theatre. He currently serves on the board of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation.
“I’ve always believed in nonprofit service,” Brown said. “That is so important to a vital community.”
The Goleta Chamber of Commerce’s 70th annual Goleta’s Finest Community Awards Gala will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, 8301 Hollister Ave. in Goleta. Click here for more information, or to purchase tickets.
— Kate Schwab represents the Goleta Chamber of Commerce.