GavPac Vote November 8

Our community has protected the Gaviota Coast since 1970 when Selma Rubin organized the citizens of Santa Barbara County to overturn government approval of a 1,535 house subdivision in El Capital Canyon. 1,535 homes! It’s now our turn to step forward and defend the Gaviota Coast.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the approval of the Gaviota Coast Plan, an update of the 1982 local coastal plan for the region, on Tuesday afternoon, November 8. The GavPlan was created by a citizen committee, the Gaviota Planning Advisory Committee, over a period of six years. It will serve as the vision and regulatory framework for the preservation of the rural character of the Gaviota Coast for the next several decades.

The plan provides many benefits: It streamlines permitting for many small-scale agricultural endeavors, protects the public viewshed along the coast, reaffirms the importance of the Coastal Trail and inland access, develops innovative design guidelines for appropriate development, and prohibits large scale development of the area north of Point Conception.

Cast your vote in the election and then join us in the afternoon of Tuesday, November 8 for the hearing in the fourth floor hearing room at the County Administration Building, corner of Anacapa and Anapamu (call us for the expected time of the hearing, 683-6631). Participatory democracy works slowly, but it is the primary defense for much which we hold dear.

Phil McKenna is a board member of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy.