City Council — September 1, 2026

Thank

you. Okay, at this time we'll have public forum on anything that's anyone that wishes to speak to anything that's not on our agenda this evening.

Yes thank you Madam Mayor I do have two slips for public form for those of you in the Zoom webinar please use raised hand icon if you would like to speak to a non-agenda item. Our first speaker will be Carrie Maxwell all speakers will have three minutes.

Thank you Good evening. My name is Carrie Maxwell and I live adjacent to Covington Way. I'm here to urge this council to uphold the Goleta Planning Commission's vote to deny the conditional use permit for Anthem Chapel. When most people think of a neighborhood church, they picture a modest, quiet building that blends into the local fabric. They think of a place that primarily serves the immediate community, hosts weekly service and respects the rhythm of a residential area.

What is being proposed here is completely different. This is not a traditional neighborhood church This is a massive, high-intensity regional event center. Anthem Chapel is proposing a 20,000 plus square foot multi-story complex with a 500 seat sanctuary and a two story education facility. On top of standard services their own application outlines an intense commercial grade operational schedule 26 weddings and 30 memorials annually alongside midweek programming in daily school operations on top of three services each Sunday This means heavy regional traffic flooding our quiet residential streets seven days a week. This extreme intensity of use directly violates the Gleta General Plan and the city's zoning code. First, it violates general plan policy LU1.6 which mandates that new developments must be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

A traditional low-impact chapel fits that definition. A massive event venue drawing hundreds of vehicles from outside the area into a single family residential zone does not. Second, because this project acts as a regional draw rather than a local neighborhood church, its traffic demands are severe. The proposed 107 parking spaces are grossly inadequate for a 500 seat capacity violating general plan policy TE4.1 which requires safe traffic circulation and adequate infrastructure.

We have already experienced the reality of this heavy usage during past outdoor events where spillover parking blocked our driveways, local hydrants and emergency access routes. Finally, a traditional church respects the boundaries of its environment. This project forces a massive building footprint right against a nature preserve and critical monarch butterfly habitat. To make this heavy usage work, the applicant is explicitly asked to violate general plan policy CE1 by slashing the city's standard 100-foot ESHA buffer in half.

Under Goleta Municipal Code, a conditional use permit is a discretionary privilege not The code explicitly states a CUP cannot be granted if the project is detrimental to the public safety, health or general welfare of the neighborhood. Traditional churches enhance the neighborhood. This high intensity regional venue breaks our city codes and disrupts our community safety. Please protect our neighborhood, uphold the law and deny this appeal. Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sylvia King. And last call for Zoom speakers. If you wish to speak to public forum please use raised hand icon.

Members of the Council, my name is Sylvia King. I urge you to uphold the Planning Commission's denial of Anthem Chapel's permit. Understanding this development's impact requires real evidence—congregation size and growth potential and current use along the corridor mapped against this high-intensity facility's proposed schedule. The traffic safety analysis is supposed to show us what this project does to our streets before it's built.

Instead, because a church and a school don't fit the city's narrow study categories most of what's being proposed was never measured. Of the 20,066 square foot building only 6,512 square feet less than a third was measured against Monday through Friday staff commutes The preschool and daycare weren't measured against traffic either, just drop off and pick up counts then exempted entirely.

Assessing the applicant's peak usage evenings weekends and Sundays was not even considered. The parking count only considers adults in the 500 seat sanctuary a consolidation that skews the numbers before the analysis even starts. The adjacent 13,554 square foot education building where children attend Sunday school was left out entirely. 500 adults into 117 spaces is more than four people per car not counting a single child.

Every vehicle in that lot would need to be a full minivan just to fit. The overflow will spill into our neighborhood three times every Sunday. None of this evaluates the facility's true scale, a congregation with potential to grow to the thousands. Using Santa Barbara Unified School District records since 2023, the applicant has rented Goleta Valley Junior High's auditorium and library and cafeteria and a classroom capacity of 1,073.

At Christmas they moved to Dos Pueblos' Performing Arts Center and the gymnasium capacity 1,948. Los Caneros is an evacuation route through a very high fire hazard severity zone. The City's own 2022 Traffic Safety Study flags Cathedral Oaks and Los Caneros with priority safety concerns, yet this development's safety studies used weekday employee traffic only so three Sunday surges were never even evaluated.

These flawed reports are what let this project claim a categorical exemption from CEQA, skipping environmental review altogether. I'm asking you to weigh this project against the general plan and its impacts on the Los Canares Corridor and vote no for its size and scale in a neighborhood that already has two houses of worship and a public venue bordering a nature preserve.

Thank you.

That is all the speakers for Public Forum Mayor.

Okay, then we will close public comment and go to amendments or adjustments to our agenda. Madam

Mayor no changes but I can move into CM updates if you like and Janet if you'd queue it up I'm gonna start with something a little different a visual

oh we like visuals

I do Maybe it'll become a regular on my CM updates. All right, here it is. The coolest thing I saw this weekend. All right, here it is. Show it Shannon. Does everyone know what this is? So I was yes, yes. So I was riding my bike along from UCSB on the Oburn Trail which I do once or twice a week and I couldn't believe it but staring in front of me was the transitional section of our San Jose Creek multi-purpose trail that will connect the Obern Trail then go under Highway 217 and is a important component of the entire trail that's being built right now so This project is going at light speed. You might have noticed a lot of improvements are going on.

They've already completed at least the structural element of a bridge component off Kellogg that will go over the creek. They're working on the section that parallels Highway 217 and taking advantage of the fact that Caltrans had traffic control out there for two years, why they replaced a bridge so it was really It's fortuitous that they were able to do that. Of course, they're also working on the Cairo Real side which seems to be a trickier part of the whole project but yeah this popped up really fast so the picture on the left is the new bike path over the new bridge that they built on the Obern Trail and then you can see ahead there's going to be this hairpin turn that will bring people off the Obern Trail onto the San Jose Creek Trail and if you look at the picture on the right You come down that turn and you go through a tunnel that's already done, that goes under Highway 217.

And to remind the Council and the community, that was also very fortuitous. The project was almost killed as you might remember four years ago because Caltrans needed to replace that bridge and they said we can't wait for you City of Goleta and if we didn't get this tunnel under at the same time the bridge was built this project would not have happened And so we were able to have Caltrans add that tunnel as a change order to their bridge project, and you're looking at the tunnel right there that will take people to the other side of Highway 217 and then the bridge project. So that is the coolest thing I saw this weekend. I'll go out next weekend and see if I see something that can top that, and I'll have a new picture next week.

The ice rink? That was number two, Councilmember Caston. I will also mention some good news that we just received today. So there's a very important grant called the Reconnecting Community Program Grant that the City received about two years ago. We received notification that we were going to receive the grant $11.1 million dollars I believe for this San Jose Creek Trail and it's been a little bit of a struggle wrestle the money from the federal government after they said we received the grant but we just received note today from Caltrans that we do have a signed contract now for that money. We don't have cash in hand, but that's the most positive news we've heard yet.

So yeah it feels like $11.1 million is finally pretty certain that is coming the city's way to help complete And then I just have a couple announcements, Madam Mayor and Councilmembers. Coastal Cleanup Day and Creek Week are coming up very soon. There's many ways that the public can participate. The celebration this year runs from Saturday September 19th through Saturday September 26th coming up very soon.

You can sign up for Coastal Cleanup Day on the 19th by going to exploreecology.org The City is also doing a bulky item drop-off event for large, bulky waste items. There will be a San Jose Creek walking tour so maybe there's a chance to see the cool thing I saw over the weekend and there's going to be a Creek Week art contest. So full list of events for this entire week and details will be on our website soon.

Great! Good news. Thank you. Okay moving on to consent calendar

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. That is item A1, approval of the City Council meeting minutes of July 21, 2026, the special city council meeting minutes of August 12th, 2026 and the city council meeting minutes of August 18th, 2026. Item A2 acceptance of the July 2026 check register. Item A3 acceptance of the July 2026 investment transaction report. Item A4, Approval of Plans Specifications Award of Construction Contract Budget Appropriation and Adoption of Categorical Exemption for the City Hall HVAC Replacement Project and Status of the Public Facilities and Building Maintenance Reserve. And Item A5, Temporary On-Street Parking Restrictions for the 2026 Isla Vista Halloween Events.

Thank you.

I'll move to approve the consent calendar.

Looking for second. We'll call vote.

Yes thank you Madam Mayor that's item B1 proclamation of the City Council of the city of Goleta California declaring September 2026 as national preparedness month

And Mayor Pro Tem Smith will do the presentation.

All right, it's so wonderful to see our team here. I'll go ahead and read our proclamation. We'll probably do some photos and then we'll have any remarks. So I'm here today to proclaim this proclamation of the City Council of the city of Goleta declaring September 2026 as National Preparedness Month. Whereas National Preparedness Month highlights the opportunity for the whole community of the City of Goleta to prepare their homes, businesses and our community for any type of emergency including natural and human-caused disasters.

Whereas knowledge and preparation empower individuals to face unexpected challenges with confidence because disasters can strike without warning And whereas individual preparedness begins at home, including registering for ready SBC alerts which builds resilience reduces fear and strengthens community bonds that subsequently generates community resilience. And whereas the City of Goleta Emergency Services Division delivers numerous community education events including twice yearly Community Emergency Response Team, also known as CERT training.

Providing community members with the skills to become prepared at home and once confidence in their own household's readiness to support their neighbors during emergencies And whereas to meet the challenges of today and prepare for the obstacles of tomorrow, every household school business should review emergency plans, practice safety drills and support one another in readiness efforts.

So therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of the city of Goleta does hereby proclaim September 2026 as National Preparedness Month in the city of Goleta. Approved the first day of September 2026 and signed by Mayor Paula Perotti. We'll do some photos first and then comments? Or comments first? We'll do comments first. We'll improvise.

Madam Mayor and members of the Council, I'm Jace Levy. I'm the Emergency Services Manager here at the City of Goleta. Thank you for recognizing National Preparedness Month as we see time and time again disasters can strike communities without warning. In addition to preparing our public infrastructure, each of us can take individual action to be prepared as well.

Our public education programs including our community emergency response team trainings provide individuals the foundational elements to do precisely that, to prepare at home but what it also does is foster a community to help our neighbors and become advocates for emergency preparedness Ultimately, this built an interconnected web of resilience so that when a disaster occurs we are better prepared both individually in our households and as a community to meet the challenges ahead.

I want to thank some of the individuals behind me, some of our instructors from our CERT program. Mr. Bob Strojek, Mr. Anthony Rodriguez, Ms. Suzette Chaffee, Ms Janet Hagen, our neighboring cities' offices of emergency services from Carpinteria and Santa Barbara as well as UCSB and the wider county CERT collaborative for their support. Thank you again for this proclamation and we encourage residents to register for ReadySBC so we can alert you in case of an emergency.

I think we give me a mic and there's no way I'm going to not say something. I would like to also recognize every single person who comes to assert class because they are reaching out to protect their families and their communities. And it's an extraordinary step that they take. I recognize all of our students.

Thank you. Okay, next presentation please.

I could ask for speakers on this item Mayor.

Excuse me? I

could ask for public

speakers. Oh absolutely! I'm so sorry are there any public speakers?

Thank you Madam Mayor. I have no speaker slips those of you on the zoom webinar who's to speak to this item please use raised hand icon and i will call on you. I am seeing none Madam Mayor.

Thank you thank you so much for all that you do with the CERT program and keeping our community safe thank you

And that will take us to item B2, a proclamation of the City Council of the city of Goleta California recognizing September 2026 as Lemon Month.

I'm going to read the proclamation. Are we ready? Okay, a proclamation of the City Council of the city of Goleta, California recognizing September 2026 as Lemon Month. Whereas Santa Barbara's South Coast Chamber of Commerce from Goleta to Carpinteria will be holding the 33rd Goleta Lemon Festival on September 26th and 27th, 2026. at the Gersh Park in Goleta. And whereas, in an effort to celebrate the Goleta Lemon Festival, the community will honor Goleta's heritage the week leading up to that event. And whereas local shops and restaurants are encouraged to feature lemon-inspired menu items. I already see them out there, and lemony specials. And whereas community members are asked to wear their vintage Lemon Festival shirts, I have pulled mine out already, and merchandise or wear yellow to school and work.

Whereas the Lemon Festival will showcase more than 20 types of lemon food and merchandise, while benefiting dozens of local non-profits. Now therefore be it resolved that on this day, the first day of September, the City Council of the city of Goleta California does hereby proclaim September 1st through the 20 to the 30th, 2026 as Lemon Festival Month in the city of Goleta and approved on this first day of September signed by myself Mayor Paula Perotti. So yay!

Everybody come out to the lemon festival it's really a lot of fun especially the pie eating contest I think no but I was just thinking you should be doing it so would you like to say a few words? And then we'll do pictures

Then we'll do pictures, okay. I'm looking at Kelly because she's in charge and she's all right. All right thank you. Madam Mayor members of the council my name is Tony Vallejo this is like my seventh year doing this now or something. I am a CPA and proud chair of the Goleta Lemon Festival and I'm honored to be here once again on behalf of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce to celebrate this beloved Goleta tradition.

The Goleta Lemon Festival continues to be one of the largest festivals on the south coast An event that captures the true zest of our community. There's not too many of them this time, don't worry. Courtney wouldn't let me get cleared away this time. True zest of our community year after year families friends and neighbors gather to celebrate Goleta's history culture and vibrant character and this year will be no exception. We're excited to welcome back favorite traditions like the pie eating contest that I'm told the mayor will be participating in Safety Street, lemon-inspired treats along with expanded activities for all ages, live music and performances from two stages. And of course the GledaFall Classic Car Show.

The Goleta Lemon Festival is the chamber's largest annual event and a ripe opportunity, just a couple for more than 40 local non-profit organizations who take part in making this festival possible. We are deeply grateful for the City of Goleta's continued partnership and we thank the city staff and police for their support in keeping the festival safe family friendly and welcoming for all And of course, none of this would be possible without our volunteers. The heart and soul of the Goleta Lemon Festival from the dedicated committee members some of only a couple are here we got a lot more than that on the committee not to mention the hundreds of students and adult volunteers they're the reason this event comes together each year so when you're there be nice to them their volunteers okay?

You always are We can't wait to see you at Gersh Park for another unforgettable Goleta Lemon Festival September 26th and 27th. Get ready for a weekend filled with fun, family and community pride. We'll see you all there!

Okay,

next presentation please.

I could ask for public speakers on this one

as well? Public speakers. What's wrong with me tonight?

Thank you, Mayor. I have no speaker slips. Those of you on the Zoom webinar who wish to speak to this item please use your raised hand icon and I will call on you. And I'm seeing none.

Okay thank you. Then we'll move on.

That'll take him to it is B3 a proclamation of the City Council of the city of Goleta California declaring September 2026 as library card sign up month.

Luz Reyes-Martin council member please present this.

All right, so happy to get to do this one. Thanks for being here. So I'm presenting a proclamation of the City Council of the city of Goleta California declaring September 2026 as library card sign up month. Whereas libraries are foundational to education, imagination and opportunity. Offering everything from early literacy programs to digital tools that support lifelong learning and personal growth.

And whereas libraries welcome all people serving as inclusive and accessible community hubs that connect individuals across cultures, generations and experiences. And whereas libraries curate collections and design programs that reflect the diversity of the populations they serve, ensuring equitable access to information technology and culture for all. And whereas libraries help individuals navigate life's challenges by providing trusted information digital access job search support and connections to essential services And whereas libraries contribute to thriving local economies by equipping job seekers, entrepreneurs, students and creators with tools and training to succeed.

And whereas in times of both crisis and calm, libraries and their staff remain steadfast in supporting and strengthening their communities. And whereas library resources help households save money, reduce waste and make sustainable choices all through the simple power of a shared public good. And whereas a library card offers a front row seat to everything the library offers from books and technology to lifelong learning and imagination.

And whereas libraries, librarians and library workers across the country are joining together to celebrate Library Card Sign-up Month under the theme A Library Card Hits All The Right Notes. Now therefore be it resolved that the City Council of the City of Goleta California does hereby proclaim September 2026 as Library Cards Sign-Up Month in the city of Goleta.

Thank you

Thank you, Mayor and Council for this proclamation. My name is Kim Crail and I'm the Supervising Librarian for the Goleta Valley Library. Our City Librarian Elizabeth Saucedo truly wanted to be here this evening to accept this proclamation but unfortunately she's not feeling well so I have the honor of accepting it on her behalf. We all know that libraries hold an essential place in the lives of our community members.

Every day, the library staff see people of all ages visit our libraries to discover stories, learn new skills and stay informed, keep in touch with family and friends, strengthen their reading and technology abilities and connect with one another. A library card is a ticket to an entire universe of resources free accessible and open to everyone. We encourage every Goleta resident to visit your local library this month whether you already have a library card, want to sign up for one or simply want to explore our temporary space at GVL Express. We're open until 7.

Thank you for recognizing the power of libraries, the dedication of library workers and the tremendous potential of our community to grow and thrive. Happy National Library Card Sign-up Month!

And public comment. Do we have any public speakers?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I have no speaker slips. Those of you who wish to speak to this item please use the raised hand icon and I will call on you. And I'm seeing none, mayor.

All right, thank you.

That will take us to item C1, consideration of initiation of a general plan amendment for change in land use designation at the property located at 7979 Hollister Avenue from Open Space Active Recreation to Commercial Visitor Serving.

Okay thank you this is a public hearing and so staff will make presentation we'll open the item and we'll take ex parte's from council I'll open the public hearing, staff presentation. Council will have questions. The applicant answering these questions will not count towards 15-minute allotments so the applicant has 15 minutes. Public testimony three minutes. Time for a rebuttal if there's any time left over before the 15 minutes is up. Staff responses if any more council questions of the applicant and staff, and then I'll close the public hearing and entertain deliberations.

And so we will start with... I'll open the item, and then we'll go around ex parte. Council Member Kariakal, let's start with you.

I spoke with the applicant Michael Johnson earlier this month and did not learn anything that was not already in the staff report or public record.

Thank you.

I also spoke with the applicant and their agent more than a month ago, I forgot when it was two months ago maybe and I don't believe I learned anything new that's not part of

Okay, the applicant Mr. Johnson reached out to me via email and asked if I had any questions and this was a while ago and I responded that I didn't have any questions at this time. Mayor Pro Tem?

Yes, I have no ex parte communications to report we did receive some information from staff by email which they'll address in their presentation this evening

Thank you. The applicant did reach out to me, so thank you for that outreach. Unfortunately it didn't work out with my schedule, so I didn't get a chance to meet in person, but thank you to staff for the very thorough report. Thank you.

Okay. We're ready to open the public

hearing. Great. Good evening Mayor and Councilmembers. We're going to give a presentation. Joining me online will be Elizabeth Yee, she is a consultant from Civic Solutions. She's been helping us with the application process associated with the Elwood Onshore facility decommissioning and the things that we've been working on so I'm gonna turn it over to her for the presentation and then at the end of the presentation I will conclude it and then we would ask you to hold your questions until the applicant is done, and then we can respond to questions whether it's the staff or the applicant at one time. So with that, I'm going to let Ms. Yee take the mic.

Thank you, Lisa. Good evening Mayor and City Council members. We are here today for the General Plan Amendment Initiation for 2005-001 at 7979 Hollister Avenue. The process as you may know for a GPA initiation is to allow for early public input, allow the city Council, the opportunity to deny the initiation of a general plan amendment allows for City Council to provide staff with additional direction in processing the amendment and in this initiation it doesn't mean that In order to initiate the general plan amendment, the request must be consistent with principles and goals of the general plan. It must not have the material effects on the community or the general plan. It must provide additional public benefit that the current land use cannot provide.

It must have public facilities availability to the site and or address it And the request must be, or must not be required under other rules and regulations. So in the request for a GPA initiation, the primary question in consideration for City Council is what is appropriate land use designation to guide and redevelop the redevelopment of Things to consider for the site, the coastal zone and the adjacent ESHA in which all regulations and policies both would apply regardless of land use exhumation. In addition to that, CEQA is applicable to all development and modifications to the site and will be included at a time of application for further development.

Highlighted in the blue is 7979 Hollister Avenue, also known as the Elwood onshore facility. The site is located on the northwest edge of the city and a site is the item of the request. The site is 4.46 acres with a existing oil processing facility on-site, which has been decommissioned since 2024. Remediation has not started as it is dependent on the final use for the actual site. The city has a preliminary abandonment plan from the applicants for that facility, which will eventually be modified to accommodate for the final use.

It is located to the east of the Sandpiper Golf Course, to the west of the Ritz-Carlton Bacarra's Resort and adjacent to the site but not directly on the site is Bell Creek and Esha. The applicant requested to modify the general plan land use map also known as Figure 2-1. The request is to amend the Open Space Active Recreational Land Use designation to the proposed visitor serving commercial land use and to subsequently amend the other applicable policies as determined necessary for the application. Applicant requests to modify figure 2-1 of the general plan, uh, to change the existing OSAR to BS to allow for specifically RV park and small scale hotel or motel and associated ancillary commercial uses to support the lodging.

Seen here is the parcel in the request as part of the land use figure 2-1 designation map. The site is adjacent to OSAR, which again is the Sandpiper Golf Course And the site adjacent to that with the visitor-serving commercial seen in red is Ritz Carlton. So, the current general plan and zoning designation OSAR or Open Space Active Recreation allows for public parks recreational activities and facilities both private and public along with a mix of passive and active recreational development options.

In the application request for the map amendment, applicant requests to modify figure 2-1 to change the land use designation from Open Space Active Recreation to Visitor Serving Commercial which would allow for the uses desired by the applicant to be on the site. But it also allows for all of the other visitor serving uses to also be applicable to the site.

The request is only going to be applicable So the description for the visitor serving zone under the land use designations for the general plan speaks to a range of low to moderate intensity which the existing development adjacent to there is all serving of visitors. Okay, so visitor-serving commercial land use allows for a variety of allowed uses and conditionally allowed uses. The main uses as requested by the applicant would include in the allowed uses the motel and hotel along with restaurant use And then also in the conditional uses, it would also include the recreational vehicle parks.

So as an alternative suggestion by staff we are suggesting a text amendment to modify table 2-4 to allow for additional uses in the OSAR general plan land use designation. It would be applicable to all The modification would allow for specifically adding three additional uses that includes the Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Next slide, please. Alternatively, if we were to initiate change to figure 2-1 to visitor serving it would allow for the applicant to propose new coastal lodging facilities at a lower cost point. It would also allow the consideration of change for the site from recreation to commercial uses and would also include all of the options in terms This is a change to the open space active recreation.

The applicant being able to propose a new RV coastal lodging facility and the motel hotel and associated commercial uses to. Go with the, uh, the hotel uses. And it would retain all of the existing open space active recreational uses. It would not change the overall land use designation of the specific property, but it would also be applicable to all open space agriculture, sorry, Open Space Active Recreational Properties which includes the four privately owned sites and city parts as well.

So with that, so we do see there's a few options available to the City Council tonight. One if the council doesn't believe that any of the criteria are appropriate you know council doesn't need to well could retain the Open Space Active Recreation designation. If you believe that amending figure 2-1 is to study it, to initiate the study. You could adopt the resolution that we've provided as attachment one to the staff report and then if you feel that it's appropriate to amend table two dash four, you could adopt the attach, the resolution attached as table two, sorry, as attachment two. I will note that in the staff report we listed all of We included those uses that the applicant has requested as an option for you to consider, but the resolution does say just to initiate the RV park.

But if the council felt that the other uses would be appropriate, you could add that to the resolution that's attached is attachment too. But the recommendation is for... If you choose to go with Amending table initiating the request to table 2-4 it would be just for the RV park is what the resolution is set up for And I do want to just mention that this is an initiation request, you know We are you know, then the applicant would need to apply for a The general if you choose to initiate something to apply for that item and then submit the application, the development proposal to go with it. It would be subject to the full city review process with CEQA and Design Review Board and Planning Commission and then ultimately coming here to Council because it is a legislative act, and then possibly Coastal Commission depending where we are in our process with the LCP.

So tonight's action would be first of many but it would not be the ultimate decision so I think with that concludes staff presentation and will be happy to answer any questions And now I've got to figure out how to shift over to the applicant's presentation. Does the applicant have a presentation?

Yes.

Good evening. Good evening, Mayor and council members. My name is Michael Johnson. I'm going to give a brief description of who I am and kind of what our vision is. And then I'll hand it over to Jay Ritterbeck to give our formal presentation. Michael Johnson, as I said and if we haven't had the pleasure of meeting. I moved here in 1998 to Freeman Place off of Cannon Green with my one-year-old pretty young at the time and subsequently raised our additional three kids a total of four through our local school system they all graduated from Goleta Valley DP And this area that we're talking about is somewhere dear to our heart.

We spent countless times as a family down there at Haskell's Beach, we saw the access change and it was very beautiful. That was a huge asset to our family. So from the prism of that I have a unique perspective on that site. And public parking and public access is really lacking. I mean, even last weekend we're giving parking tickets to the Bacara because there's just not enough parking down there to supply the need. And I'm requesting a change for to visitor serving Not because I don't have another use that is very commercial, very profitable in the existing uses but it limits my ability to open up our site to share with others.

So that is the backdrop of why I'm requesting this and been down there cleaning the site up from what was left. And then I have a good understanding of what's available down there and visitor serving will provide the best ability to share our site with

the community. Thank you.

Thank you Mayor, Councilmembers. Is this able to actually forward? So Jay Ritterbeck, lots of familiar faces. Good to be back. True North Land Use Consulting. I am the agent for Bell Canyon Recreation, the current owner and yes we basically are requesting this to again provide a more public access to this area and focusing in on glamping glamorous camping and having enough ancillary support around that with hotel concessions in order to be able to pay for the additional parking, the additional beach access, the additional public access to this area. So Michael as he said you know he wants to share this area it's a jewel and currently there's just not enough access to it okay please go ahead Just as Ms. Elizabeth said, a little less than 4 1⁄2 acres.

The whole site sits about 20 feet above sea level. We've been looking at sea rise, looking at the modeling. Basically the airport in downtown Old Town is going to be five feet underwater before any of that sea level rise touches this. So we've been talking to Coastal Commission about that, we've been talking to a number of other agencies to make sure that we're crossing all T's and dotting I's With the recent development at the Sandpiper, we've been in constant communication with them to make sure that we're partnering and that we're not going to be proposing anything that's going to be conflicting but really partnering with them as they're moving forward through the process with their application before the Coastal Commission.

So the site is 100% developed right now. It was an industrial site, oil and gas for a very long time. We think that the use that we are proposing is going to be much more compatible with the high-end luxury Bacara as well as Sandpiper Discussing and have been ready to come before you for over a year We've really been waiting for that abandonment plan to be adopted all the interested agencies, which there's alphabet soup That's really looking at. You know the number of agencies that are reviewing and have eyes on this project and this property You know working with them staffs been fantastic to be coordinating a lot of that And we really just want to put it put a nail in the coffin of the last remnant oil and gas within the city Go ahead So the site in 1990 when the county rezoned it to open space active recreation, it was also planned residential development.

So it was not totally envisioned. That was the Bacara. That was Sandpiper and this site. So it was rezoned. This one specifically to make it a nonconforming use so that the oil and gas could not expand, could not intensify. And it did its purpose. OSAR really did its job. As context, when I was working for the city with Ann Wells, I managed Jay Sheth, the consultant that oversaw the site for us. And really what...I was very familiar with the site and all the regulations which is why when I left the city and moved to Tennessee. That's when the applicant, he wanted to have the team together to put a project together that knew the site, knew the regulations, retained Padre who, that the state was using and he wanted to do it right and he wanted again, he wants to share the site with everybody Knowing that it's a complicated, very rich, it could potentially be a very rich jewel for the city if developed correctly.

When the pipeline ruptured in 2015, Aventico went bankrupt. It sat there for awhile and then the state had to come in because they basically walked away from all their obligations with All the wells, they didn't plug and abandon. They didn't clean anything. They just walked away. So the state came in. This is very familiar history for all of you I know but maybe not the audience. So the state plugged all the wells associated with Platform Holly. They halfway cleaned the EOF and at a certain point when there was, when the wells were done they left and the site was still not clean They, I think in 2023 they had an MOU with the city so there was not a lot of permitting. It was just to stay in and do what they needed to do and get out. They did a pretty good job.