••• “Goleta Grapples with Car-Camping Community,” reports the Independent. “‘No Parking’ Signs and Citations Go into Effect as City Expands Safe Parking Program.” Speaking of which, all of the RVs parked on the stretch of Quarantina Street near the Highway 101 overpass (above) are starting to make it look like Venice Beach.
••• Noozhawk ran an update on the state’s proposed rules to reduce vegetation around houses. As is often the case, it’s a broad-brush application to a problem that warrants finesse, but there’s hope: “Approved alternatives to the proposed regulations from local fire agencies—to be decided—will also be permitted.”
If approved later this year, the changes would immediately apply to any new construction within [State Responsibility Area and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Local Responsibility Area] zones.
Owners of already-built structures would have three years to remove combustible items such as firewood, dead leaves, mulch, wood chips, branches, dead and dying vegetation. That also includes any vegetation on roof and gutters. Herbaceous plants and succulents would be allowed within that 5-foot zone, but they must be under 18 inches and “not woody,” per Board staff. Any vegetation, live or dead, would have to be removed within a minimum of 1 foot of a structure or up to the edge of a structure’s roof eave, whichever is longer. Trees would be allowed, but branches must be at least 10 feet away from chimneys. Branches must also be trimmed to 5 feet above roofs and would be prohibited under eaves.
Property owners would also be required to create an “under-eave safety zone,” where any combustible material is removed under a property’s eaves, within five years of regulation approval.
Any gates made of combustible materials, such as wood, would have to be replaced with a non-combustible material, such as metal, also within five years. Any sheds, fences and outbuildings within 5 feet of a property must also have exterior non-combustible materials.
••• The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County “has moved from its more reactive posture of the past, waiting for opportunities to arise, to a more active position now of pursuing conservation deals with landowners. While upcoming deals are still being worked out and thus confidential, the Land Trust expects to close on seven transactions totaling more than 6,000 acres in the next 12 months. The properties are in high biodiversity and agricultural areas, including in the Santa Maria Valley, Happy Canyon, Purisima Hills, and Lompoc Valley. More than $17 million in federal and state funds, some private funds, and landowner donations and mitigation have enabled this incredible level of transactions to take place.” —Independent
••• “Goleta Board Favors Revised Design for Anthem Chapel Construction Project [….] The revisions sought to address neighbor and board member concerns about design and impacts to the area.” —Noozhawk
••• “Santa Rosa Island Fire Nears Full Containment [….] No Further Fire Growth Expected After Largest Wildfire in Channel Islands’ Recorded History Burns 18,379 Acres.” —Independent
••• Vina Robles Amphitheater, the popular outdoor concert venue in Paso Robles, has a new owner [L.A.-based Nederlander Concerts], and with it will come a new name [TBD], more concerts and expanded opportunities for events.” —Noozhawk
••• “Pacific Point Resort is set to open in July 2026 in Pismo Beach, folding two longtime hotels into one expansive oceanfront property. The 170-key resort, created from the former Pismo Lighthouse Suites and Shore Cliff Hotel, sits 90 feet above the Pacific where the bluffs meet the edge of town.” —Travel + Leisure
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Yes, I started taking Quarantina to get to our dog school and was surprised at the conditions down there. Feel like the city needs to come up with some solutions for all the people living in rv’s.
My husband just installed a new wooden gate he designed & built- next up, double gates on south side of house.
I see the need to have homeowners do more prevention around their homes- but this seems ridiculous compared to leaving the entire Gaviota Coast without a decent firebreak.
I live in a concrete house. It has lots of beautiful plantings growing up the walls. Decades of home ownership hacked away to keep my concrete house from burning down.
Concrete houses can burn too. Just because your walls aren’t concrete doesn’t mean your house won’t burn down. Essentially living in a kiln.
That’s why my fire insurance is over $2000 a year. A few shrubs aren’t going to cause my house to burn.
RV dwellers are people too. They are already broke where will they go? These types of draconian measures are not supported by the majority of residents and will be directly challenged in court. Any Officer or City Employee who willfully participates in the crackdown will be subject to litigation and potential Federal Charges
What draconian measures are you referring to? Making an area unavailable for overnight parking? There’s a lot to unpack here but it’s definitely a cleanliness issue and safety issue for the community. I’m not suggesting that people shouldn’t be treated with dignity and respect, but that dignity and respect needs to extent to the community itself. Creating an area that is unsafe is not an acceptable solution.
Spoken like a true person who lives nowhere near the problem. Love to see these RV encampments move up to the Mesa, San Roque, Goleta neighborhoods, Mission Canyon. You would have the people who love everyone and preach inclusivity screaming about how they love everyone, but it can’t happen there because of the fire danger and there’s just not enough room.
The same people who advocate for immigrants don’t give a crap if immigrants have to live in super sketchy areas and walk by homeless people everywhere and groups of men living on the street. Imagine a 23-year-old young Mexican woman walking home from work at 10:30, passing these RVs, walking underneath the Cacique Bridge where five guys are laying around.
How does that work for the rights of the young immigrant woman who’s put in that situation? Who do you defend, the RV dwellers or the vulnerable immigrants?
Because let’s be real, and I know it’s hard for some people to piece together, but the real community problems and safety issues are mainly where immigrants live. That’s how it’s designed. As much as privileged white people say they care about all these problems, they don’t want them anywhere near them. They want them near the immigrants.
People don’t get it. Overbuilding affects immigrants. Come home from 10 PM there’s no parking. Homelessness affects immigrants. You should see the Latino families walking with her kids I have to step over Body’s on Milpas. It’s embarrassing and not correct. It doesn’t happen on the same scale in white affluent communities.
Don’t forget the RVs, cars, and vans installed along De La Guerra St, bordering the SBJH school field where students do PE and recess .A liner is installed along the fence that borders the field.
I’m a former SBJHS student, and a resident of this neighborhood.
The folks living in those RVs etc are a quiet bunch. They don’t bother the kids. Yeah, some of the vehicles are in terrible shape. It’s gotta be hard when a beat up car or RV is your home.
I’m a small, disabled person. The Cacique St area is rough, and not somewhere I’d walk after dark. The area on DLG? No concerns. The vehicles are an eyesore, but otherwise? Non issue.