On March 3, the Planning Commission again postponed a final decision on the fate of the Foothills. Because the P&D staff must add important information about grassland impacts to the EIR and redistribute it, a final decision has been deferred until sometime in June. In the meantime, the public once again has an opportunity to send comments to the Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, and local papers. Please tell your Supervisor why preserving this land in its entirety is important to YOU. Thanks to all those who have written letters and attended the hearings. Your voice is important!

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This will be the final Planning Commission hearing, and very important to attend. The hearing starts at 9:00 am and may go all day until 4:00 pm. For those wanting to testify it may be best to come in the afternoon. This hearing is special because of a change in the applicant's project that makes the Planning Commission (PC), not the Board of Supervisors (BOS), the primary decisionmaker.

The orginal proposal called for a General Plan Amendment (GPA) because a policy needed to be changed for development on Rincon Shale, a geologic formation with known stability problems. All projects that include a GPA automatically get decided by the Board of Supervisors (BOS). However, the applicant is now claiming that he has removed all homes underlain by this geology and now does not need to apply for a GPA. Removing the GPA from the application means that the Planning Commission, not the Board of Supervisors (BOS), will make the first decision on the project. That is why your attendance at this hearing is so important. Regardless of how the decision goes on March 3, an appeal will be filed to the BOS to hear and reconsider the project decision. (If Bermant gains approval from the PC at this stage, SMFC will appeal to the BOS, and vice-versa).

A group of Chumash-heritage residents and several SMFC members and the public gathered recently at the edge of the foothills — the site of Bermant's proposed housing development — to bring to light an important issue related to the lack of comprehensive archaeological investigations on the property. The Chumash are concerned that archaeological sites have not been adequately delineated or studied, and that additional investigations should occur. About 60 people gathered at the end of Cieneguitas Road to participate in a circle of blessings and native song, sharing their hopes that county officials will decide to protect natural resources and the burial sites of their ancestors, which they believe may number at least 400. Although the Chumash requested a “Phase II” study, which would thoroughly map and catalogue all buried remains, the County has only prepared an extended Phase I report. The report is expected to be released very soon and will be thoroughly reviewed by the Chumash and the SMFC.