After much scrutiny, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted on Wednesday to approve the county’s Environmental Justice Element (EJE), a guide required by the state to identify “environmental justice communities” and address their needs.
Commissioners were initially hesitant to pass the element due to tricky wording around implying regulations, which the EJE is not intended to do. Commissioners asked that county staff make it clear that the EJE was not to produce regulations on industries or development, but rather solely guide policies to benefit low-income communities disproportionately affected by pollution and other health risks.
Environmental justice ensures everyone has the right to a healthy environment and equitable say in the decisions that affect it, which is the main idea behind the element’s objectives and policies, according to the county.
County staff identified EJE communities as Casmalia, Cuyama, New Cuyama, Ventucopa, Garey, Sisquoc, Los Alamos, and Isla Vista. These are communities that suffer from issues like air and water pollution, pesticide exposure, food deserts, and unsafe housing conditions.
Objectives include reducing exposure to pollution and improving air quality; increasing access to public facilities, physical activity, and healthy foods; promoting civic engagement; and generally expanding services in each community to address individual needs.
Public commenters, including representatives from the Environmental Defence Center and CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy), applauded county staff for their work and the element for its purpose but asked for more meaningful engagement and public outreach with the communities impacted — a sentiment echoed by commissioners.
“Many people who live in the eight identified environmental justice communities were never made aware that the county was developing an environmental justice element,” noted Lauren Partch, the Environmental Justice Outreach Program coordinator for EDC. She requested that workshops be held in each community to increase public awareness and participation and to revise the element’s policies.
“As currently drafted, the element’s policies have not been designed to actually reduce the pollution and environmental hazards that burden our communities. They are vague,” she said.
“And they provide no way for the county, let alone the public, to track the implementation or the efficacy of these policies in reducing the historic pollution and environmental hazards that continue to harm our community members.”
Commissioners, particularly Commissioner John Parke, agreed, asking for county staff to include a plan for implementation for the element’s policies. “We don’t want the Environmental Justice Element to just sit on a shelf and mean nothing,” he said.
County staff ultimately revised the resolution to include recommendations for county staff to conduct additional community outreach, convene a stakeholder group to track implementation, and develop an implementation plan.
“We’re on the rails, but we haven’t finished the journey,” said Commissioner C. Michael Cooney.
The element now moves on to the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
