Goleta Beach Park Takes Shelter

Maintenance on a winter sand berm continued Monday at Goleta Beach Park, where the County of Santa Barbara is preparing for El Niño-fueled heavy surf. Protecting park facilities from the pier to the west end of the beach, the 2,400-foot berm shelters sanitary sewer, electrical and water lines, and the Beachside Bar-Café, whose owner in 2014 was swept out to sea when a rogue wave hit his restaurant. Intended to prevent serious flooding and damage, the berm was completed in late December under an Emergency Permit from the California Coastal Commission, according to the county’s Parks Division.