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May 4th, 2006
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
The SMFC has begun an exciting new chapter in the ongoing effort to preserve as much of the Foothills as possible for the public. On May 3, the Coalition, in conjunction with partners Small Wilderness Area Preserves (SWAP) and the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) announced an agreement with Jeff Bermant that gives us an option to revise the development on the western half of the property. Working with a new developer, Bob Comstock (the developer that facilitated the Ellwood land swap), the groups unveiled a new proposal that will move the currently-approved development off the most sensitive area on the northern West Mesa to a much smaller footprint on the southernmost portion of the mesa. This new development scenario will preserve approximately 100 acres that will become additional public open space and create a larger, permanently preserved area of the Foothills totaling about 300 acres. See plan images below, Benefits and Challenges, and our Press Release.
Right now, there are several ways you can help. First, become fully informed and stay tuned. The proposal is in the conceptual stage at this time. Second, provide us, Bob Comstock, and the County with not only your concerns, but ways in which, for example, traffic impacts might be mitigated. Third, if you feel that the benefits outweigh the challenges, voice your support for the new proposal. Writing letters to the editor of the Santa Barbara News Press, Santa Barbara Independent, and the Goleta Valley Voice expressing your support for this solution will help to “get the word out” to the general public and our decision-makers. You can also contact our County Planning Commissioners to let them know how you feel about this new opportunity to save more of our precious foothills, since they will be the decision-makers on this new option project. The names and addresses of these contacts can be found here.
We anticipate that for the next several months, we will be in a bit of a holding pattern while the County environmental review process begins for this new project. As the project moves forward, we will keep you apprised of its progress. We welcome your input and hope you will stay involved throughout the development review process to help fine-tune the details as the process moves forward.
Thank you for your continued interest and support - we could not do this without you! Please help us at this critical juncture by making a financial contribution to our effort. Please send your tax-deductible donation to:
San Marcos Foothills Coalition
PO Box 30412
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
We depend on you, our community of supporters, to help us in our efforts to permanently preserve more open space in our rapidly changing world. The SMFC is working to achieve the best possible outcome for the ecologically sensitive West Mesa area of the property and to voice the community’s concerns in nearby neighborhoods. We look forward to working with you to save at least 300 acres of the property and to ensure appropriate management and stewardship of these lands in perpetuity!
Finally, we are so grateful to all of you who have supported this effort to protect the best of what remains of Santa Barbara’s foothills.
Board of Directors
SMFC
Revised Project : Approved Project
Click on map to enlarge.
San Marcos Foothill Coalition
Press Release May 3, 2006 |
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Santa Barbara – Several leading community organizations announced today that they had achieved a settlement concerning the Preserve at San Marcos project. Under the Agreement, a revised project will be pursued on the western half of the San Marcos Foothills property with the objective of securing an additional 100 acres for permanent open space. Added to prior open space commitments, the revised project enabled by the settlement would result in permanent preservation of more than 300 acres of the 377 acre San Marcos Foothills parcel.
The San Marcos Foothill Coalition has labored to protect the San Marcos Foothills property for nearly a decade. The 377 acre San Marcos Foothill parcel contains extensive native grasslands and high quality habitat, including the unique fanglomerate (boulderfield) on the West Mesa. The San Marcos Foothills is home to large numbers of rare animals, including grasshopper sparrows, burrowing owls and other locally important birds.
In November 2005, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a sprawling residential project that would have occupied most of the West Mesa. The San Marcos Foothill Coalition and Small Wilderness Area Preserves negotiated an agreement with the developer allowing a substitute developer to propose a revised project for approximately one half of the approved project. The environmental groups have worked closely with the substitute developer, Bob Comstock, to devise an alternative project for the West Mesa that clusters all the development on the extreme southern end and preserves more than 100 acres of land for the public.
The revised project must gain approval by the County while addressing all of the original project conditions and meeting a 24 month deadline in the agreement. If successful, the agreement and revised project will create one of the largest public open space areas on the south coast. Large areas of contiguous open space are essential for the protection of native plant and animal populations endangered by the loss of habitat in the region.
The County will require the preparation of a supplemental environmental impact report and the revised project will undergo the County’s ordinary land use process, including public hearings and consideration by the Planning Commission over the next 24 months. The original development approved for the eastern portion of the property and accessed from Cieneguitas Road would proceed as approved.
For more information, contact Mark Holmgren, San Marcos Foothill Coalition Vice-President, 680-4045 or Marc Chytilo, 682-0585.
Click on the links below to read media reports; right click on links to download the PDF files.
Benefits
Additional Public Access and Open Space
- Preserves an additional 104 acres of public open space .
- Increases total contiguous public open space for total of approximately 300 acres.
- Confines development to smallest possible footprint and establishes a well-defined and secure public open space that will never be developed.
- Eliminates prominent hilltop development.
Community Benefits
- Enables public access to the west side of property.
- Clusters development near existing infrastructure and connected to public sewer.
- Creates opportunity for east-west trail network.
- Allows public education opportunities .
Species and Habitat Protections
- Significantly reduces impact of development and fire clearance on grasslands, wetlands, native plant communities and wildlife habitat.
- Creates opportunity to save the breeding population of Grasshopper Sparrows and the wintering Burrowing Owls that use the West Mesa and to improve upon the habitats of both.
- Preserves the fanglomerate feature (the Boulder field).
- Preserves open wildlife corridors between east and west sides of property.
Challenges
- Requires 44 units on Baja West Mesa.
- Increases traffic and congestion on Via Chaparral and Foothill/Cathedral Oaks.
- Increases some visual effects to communities, while it decreases others.
- Must complete CEQA and County processing in 23 months.
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