The City of Goleta has released the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Rancho Estates Mobile Home Park Fire Improvements Project. Though the car wash has been removed, the continuing concern in this project is the building of a gravel emergency access road on top of the bank of Devereux Creek, near the Coronado seep, one of the premiere birding hotspots on the South Coast. Devereux Creek in the Ellwood area of Goleta is an important corridor for migratory and breeding birds and is adjacent to the Coronado Butterfly Preserve. The road would remove trees and violate creekside buffer zones mandated by Goleta’s General Plan.
How can you help?
Attend the Planning Commission’s public hearing on June 26th at 6PM in the Goleta City Council Chambers! Present your comments on the adequacy of the FEIR and merits of the proposed project. Your presence at the hearing can help us influence the City to select the most environmentally-friendly alternative. If you can’t testify in person, please send your comment letter so it is received on or before June 26th. Comments (and questions regarding the project and/or review process) can be directed to Joe Pearson II, Associate Planner, at email hidden; JavaScript is required or Kathy Allen, Supervising Senior Planner, at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Mr. Pearson and Ms. Allen may be reached at 805-961-7543.
To those of you who attended the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) hearing and/or provided oral and written comments on the DEIR, thank you. You made our support for birds and their habitat very clear. Click HERE to read the City’s responses to comments. We also want to thank Planning Commissioner Robert Miller for taking the time to walk the site with Conservation Committee Member Ken Pearlman.
Our Conservation Committee has compiled talking points (click HERE to view). You may select two or three about which you feel strongly. Expressing them in your own words is most effective, but not necessary. It’s acceptable to write your remarks in advance and read them aloud at the hearing.
Goleta City Council Chambers are at 130 Cremona Dr., Suite B, Goleta. Enter on the east side of the building. You don’t need to be a resident of the City of Goleta in order to speak, but to do so please pick up a speaker slip near the entrance, fill it out, and give it to a City official inside the Council Chambers.
If you have questions or would like to help the Conservation Committee on this project, please email email hidden; JavaScript is required or call (805) 964-1468.
