If you are anything like me, you prefer the surface of your mountain trails to be dirt, not asphalt or concrete. A silly question to even have to ask, but being that we are at an unprecedented time in the management of Santa Barbara’s Trail System, this is the reality. The fact of the matter is that portions of the public trails have been and are currently at risk of being paved over for new residential developments!
How could this be? Why have I not heard about this? Aren’t our trails protected? All of which are good questions that require good answers.
From a historic perspective, the loss of access to Santa Barbara’s trails and or the paving over of trails was a major concern for trail users once the Santa Barbara County population began growing exponentially during the 1950s. This growth caused developers to build more housing in order to accommodate the new residents moving to the area, many of these developments occurred on property with long standing trails on them.
Access to many of these trails was lost during this era due to being located on private parcels; others were turned into roads which sent trail organizations and the local agencies, specifically the County of Santa Barbara, scrambling to find ways to protect these trails for future generations by gaining easements. It took decades to get where we are today. and most of the local trails have easements. But the fight to save the trails continues.
Since many trails exist on private property, easements are needed to guarantee their future, yet this was no deterrent to ensure the dirt trail surface remains as indicated by three decisions to pave over portions of local trails over the past three years.
The county’s Planning and Development and Parks Division have recently begun to allow developers to pave over segments of public trails in order to build new residences, specifically for driveways and or walkways. The following trails all have easements, and one is a historical landmark.
The first instance of the paving of a trail was the Old Pueblo Trail — built in 1918 — when a new residence broke ground on Park Hill Lane in 2022. There was no public notice that this historic roadside trail would be paved over to become part of the driveway. By 2024 a major section of trail was gone forever. I specifically asked those associated with this project during the construction phase if the trail was going to be preserved and access continued, reminding them an easement existed. I was told it would be, but I was not told that plans included paving over a large segment of trail to make it part of the paved driveway.
Last year plans were made public for a new residence in Hot Springs Canyon which will pave over a major section of the Hot Springs Trail (prehistoric in origin), drastically changing the entire canyon. The Santa Barbara Trails Council has led the fight to preserve this trail and canyon; the end result is not known. This trail and several others were designated as historic landmarks in the 1970s in case a situation such as this arose where developers might damage or destroy a trail. (See the SBTC petition to Save Hot Springs Trail and sign if you already have not done so.)
Earlier this year, County of Santa Barbara Planning and Development, Parks Division, and Montecito Board of Architectural Review all approved the paving over a portion of lower San Ysidro Trail (documented usage since 1875, likely prehistoric origin) and narrowing it as it parallels Park Lane West in order for a new residence to be built. There was no outreach to the public by the county, nor any posting along the trail corridor that this was to occur and no opportunity for the public to comment on this change. Construction has already begun on this project and the MBAR approval video can be seen here approving the project.
What can you do?
I strongly encourage you to share this with anyone who loves Santa Barbara’s trails, wants to see them protected for future generations, and would write local elected officials and county staff to change this apparent new planning policy related to trails that favors developers over trail preservation. I have reached out to county staff and the Board of Supervisors to prevent these pave overs from occurring, but I have yet to receive a response.
This will not be the last time a trail is damaged, paved over, or moved to a less desirable location in order for land owners to develop their properties. To prevent this from occurring again, a major change is needed in trail planning policy within the County of Santa Barbara and other local agencies. There are numerous other trails along the front country, all with easements on private property that could be at risk. Those trails include: Arroyo Burro(a large portion was previously paved over by a developer), Jesusita, Tunnel Trail, Hot Springs, McMenemy, San Ysidro, Wiman, Old Pueblo, Buena Vista, Franklin, and others. As a trail using community we need to be on the lookout for our trails and until changes are made, this will continue to be the case!
List of County of Santa Barbara staff to address your email to:
pad@countyofsb.org
lplowman@countyofsb.org
dvillalo@countyofsb.org
egraham@countyofsb.org
kheaton@countyofsb.org
jarmas@countyofsb.org
jlindgren@countyofsb.com
And CC:
daryl.hodges@usda.gov, jleblanc@santabarbaraca.gov, roylee@countyofsb.org, lcapps@countyofsb.org, jhartmann@countyofsb.org, Nelson@bos.countyofsb.org, steve.lavagnino@countyofsb.org
