HASKELLS BEACH ACCESS THREATENED
BACARA CONDO PLANS IN WORKS

WHAT’S GOING ON:

There is a list of more than 30 Bacara proposals in the Goleta General Plan that weaken environmental protection and facilitate plans to build more than 60 condominiums, some as timeshare units, in the designated area of the current public parking lot and beach access trail at Haskells Beach.   

The Bacara wants the option to move the public beach access to another location in the future and to limit hours of public access to the parking lot and Haskell’s Beach to sunrise to sunset, rather than 24/7 as currently required by the Coastal Commission.


These are some of the changes to be approved by Goleta City Council Thursday Jan 17:

• LU 1.12, 3.6, and 9.1 which would allow time-shares
• OS 1.3, 1.10, 2.4, which are coastal access and removal of 24/7 parking
• 7.3 ESHAs would require site specific biological studies
• Figure 3-2 rezone of parking lot and vertical access
• CE 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 weakening of ESHAs
• 2.2 cut streamside buffers from 100' to 50'
• 4.6 weakens monarch buffers
• 5.1 and 5.3 weakens protection of grasslands, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub
• 8.4 removes buffers from historic nests
• 9.1 tree protection reduced
• VH 1, and 1.4 weakens view protection
• 1.6 weakens protection of natural landforms
• Coastal bluff setbacks are being decreased to possibly settle lawsuits
• exemption from getting a city permit for commercial events on the beach
• The city also wants to change many shalls to shoulds thus weakening protection in general.  
  
  All of these and the ones the city is recommending be deleted are all for the benefit of Bacara.
   
  Almost all the approximately 80 amendments will harm the environment and the City of Goleta.  
  
  Most of Bacara's requests are to move forward with the citizens of Goleta paying for the processing
  
  

Email your Goleta city council members today:

Michael T. Bennett
Mayor
mbennett@cityofgoleta.org <mailto:mbennett@cityofgoleta.org>
Roger S. Aceves
Mayor Pro Tempore
raceves@cityofgoleta.org <mailto:raceves@cityofgoleta.org>
Jean W. Blois
Councilmember
jblois@cityofgoleta.org <mailto:jblois@cityofgoleta.org>
Eric Onnen
Councilmember
eonnen@cityofgoleta.org <mailto:eonnen@cityofgoleta.org>
Jonny Wallis
Councilmember
jwallis@cityofgoleta.org <mailto:jwallis@cityofgoleta.org>

TALKING POINTS

Subject:   Deny all general plan amendment requests submitted by the Bacara!

I oppose all Bacara-requested changes to the general plan.  Please prevent degradation of our coastal environment and protect the public’s right of access to the beach.
 
Don’t let Bacara overturn on the conditions to provide public access that were part of its Coastal Development Permit.
 
Don’t exempt Bacara from getting a city permit for commercial events on the beach and turn over Haskells  Beach to Bacara customers for private events between dusk and dawn.
 
Don’t allow Bacara to move the public access beach area further to the east, away from their elite patrons, and closer to the Venoco plant.
 
Don’t destroy the natural areas Bacara were required to create and restore as mitigation for the environmental destruction caused by their original construction, in order to allow for increased development.
 
Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to make these and MANY OTHER changes that clear the way for the significant expansion of Bacara with time-share condos.