Santa Barbara County Supervisors got an update Tuesday on the bluff erosion that takes place in Isla Vista underneath cliff-top homes, with several incidents of portions of the cliff falling away being reported this year.
Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the report.
The board was briefed earlier this year after a large portion of the cliff under the rear of an apartment building fell away in May, leaving the structure’s patio hanging precariously over the 40-foot drop to the sand below.
County supervisors were made aware of an emergency permit granted to John Abedi, who owns 6625 Del Playa Dr.
The five-unit apartment building is a legal non-conforming structure, meaning it was legal when it was built, but wouldn’t be if it were to be rebuilt today under current codes and restrictions, county planner Dianne Black told supervisors then.
Abedi has been working with staff to deal with the problem, and applied for a coastal development permit in February for a project to demolish part of the building, construct a structural wall and a new second-floor building addition, according to county documents.
In May 2015, however, “a wedge shaped portion — approximately 15 feet tall, 45 feet wide, and a 3-foot depth — of the 30-foot high escarpment sloughed off, exposing a portion of the underside of the backyard concrete patio,” a county staff report said.
The steep coastal sea cliff is made of soft sedimentary rock and is subject to erosion, and the cliff’s face can erode anywhere from several inches to foot a year, and tends to happen in episodes rather than at a consistent rate, county staff told supervisorsTuesday.
At one point, 5 feet of cliff face eroded in a single incident, so code enforcement actions begin when the bluff erodes within 10 feet of the building.
If bluff erosion gets within 5 feet of the structure, a notice to vacate is issued, Black said.
In the case of the Abedi property, tenants weren’t required to relocate because the work was done while the building was vacant, she said.
When erosion occurs, properties along Del Playa are allowed to be modified, allowing for height and setback requirements, and the changes must not create more bedrooms than already exist or result in a loss of parking spaces.
Supervisors asked about what is done to enforce the number of occupants per unit, but were told the county isn’t allowed to regulate the number of occupants per unit under state guidelines.
Overcrowding “is a huge issue all over Isla Vista,” said Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr, who added that though the county itself may not regulate occupancy, the fire department has the ability to clear areas because of safety concerns.
Farr said that her office had also heard recently from a parent of a student living in Isla Vista that another Del Playa home had also lost a chunk of cliff face underneath.
County staff confirmed the incident and said that the area has been barricaded and is now under construction as well.
Inspections of the bluff occur often, from the beach below as well as inside the buildings, according to county staff, who said that many of the balconies attached to buildings are cantilevered over the edge, but would likely not immediately collapse because of coastal erosion.
Along with the approval of the presentation, Farr recommended that the property owner as well as the tenants of the buildings effected by erosion be given notice. She also recommended that county staff return with more information about the fire department’s ability to monitor overcrowding.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
