goleta valley community plan

Eastern Goleta Valley. Map from County of Santa Barbara Planning and Development. Click map for larger image.

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Goleta Valley Community Plan
Agricultural Permit Streamlining (LUDC)

OPEN staff has also been participating in the Goleta Valley Community Plan (GVCP) process, which will update the 1993 Goleta Community Plan. Issues that have been followed closely by OPEN staff include reviewing various agriculturally zoned pockets of land still remaining in Goleta Valley and their future use, open space areas such as More Mesa, and biological resource protection. The Goleta Valley Planning Advisory Committee (GVPAC) completed a draft plan in mid 2011, and the Plan has recently been reviewed by the Santa Barbara Planning Commission.  While the Planning Commission recommended that very little agricultural land should be considered for a rezone, due to OPEN and the community’s active participation in the Plan process and hearings, the Commission did recommend that the Caird agricultural property, along with the Tatum and MTD properties, be rezoned to accommodate residential uses. The Caird property (otherwise known as the South Patterson “Triangle”) is located between Maria Ygnacio and Atascadero Creeks, both of which support steelhead and other rare species, is an active ag parcel, and rezoning it is not needed to achieve the housing numbers desired by the state. The Plan will be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors in early 2012.  For additional information or to join the mailing list for hearings, please see the County’s website or contact Christina McGinnis.

OPEN will continue to raise community awareness regarding the need to protect our more “urban” agricultural zones in the Goleta Valley. Urban agricultural zones provide an important connection to the agricultural heritage of the region. The pockets of agriculture remaining in the Goleta Valley produce a variety of crops, much of it organic and locally consumed. Preserving our ability to feed the local population will become increasingly important if and when the ability to transport goods in the marketplace from outside the area is threatened. Additionally, the decentralization of the food system of the country and the local food movement is an essential part of our region’s stability and sense of community. The quality and taste of locally-grown produce cannot be overstated.

Since the environmental review process has yet to begin for the GVCP, there will be ample opportunity to help shape the future of agriculture in the Goleta Valley.