SBCAN NC Roundtable meeting is Thurs, Sep 24 via Zoom

Posted by · September 22, 2020 4:23 PM

SBCAN North County Roundtable

Thursday, September 24, 2020, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Via Zoom

AGENDA

Here are some topics we will discuss, some with links:
 
Solvang Development Proposal by Ed St. George
 
Wildfires:
 
"Surface Expressions:"
 
And other topics:
 
OASIS Senior Center. This proposal, under discussion for several years, was recommended by the County Planning Commission last Friday. It involves changes to the County's General Plan, therefore, it will be heard by the Board of Supervisors.  SBCAN's Board previously endorsed the "Environmentally Superior Alternative," which would locate the new facility on County property on Foster Road instead of in open space in the middle of Old Orcutt. Here is the information on the County's website:  https://www.countyofsb.org/plndev/projects/oasiscenter.sbc
 
The Neighborhoods of Willow Creek and Hidden Canyon.  This proposed development of homes in between the fairways of Rancho Maria Golf Course has been on our agendas over the years. Now a final SEIR is finished and a Planning Commission Hearing is scheduled for October 14. Here is the link to the County's information on this:
 
Update on Oil Issues: Exxon/Mobil Trucking, and On-shore Proposals.
 
Other Issues: Please write or call if you have other items you want to be sure we discuss.

If you would like to be in on the meeting, email me at ken@sbcan.org and I will send you a link to join the meeting.

Hope to see you Thursday.

Ken Hough
SBCAN Executive Director
ken@sbcan.org
805.563.0463
http://www.sbcan.org/

 

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SB Councilwoman Megan Harmon at SBCAN SC Roundtable Thursday, September 17, 2020

Posted by · September 17, 2020 11:31 AM

SBCAN South County Roundtable

Friday, September 18, 2020, Noon to 1:30 p.m.

Via Zoom

AGENDA

Our primary agenda will include late news on housing and tenants' rights issues. 
 
Santa Barbara City Councilmember Meagan Harmon will join us as well as other representatives of housing advocacy groups.
 
We also will hear a report on the Equity Survey by the Fund for Santa Barbara.

If you would like to be in on the meeting, email me at ken@sbcan.org and I will send you a link to join the meeting.

Our North County Roundtable will meet Thursday, September 24 at 6 p.m. We will send out a notice next week.

Ken Hough
SBCAN Executive Director
ken@sbcan.org
805.563.0463
http://www.sbcan.org/

 

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Truth in Recruitment Townhall with Salud Carbajal: Expand draft registration to women or end it for all?

Posted by · September 01, 2020 5:21 PM

SBCAN is cosponsoring the Truth in Recruitment Townhall with Rep. Salud Carbajal: Will Congress ​Expand Military Draft Registration to Women?

We hope you will join in.

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SBCAN: Women’s Equality Day Car Cruise Wed. in SM

Posted by · August 21, 2020 3:13 PM

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SBCAN SC Roundtable meeting Friday, Aug. 21, 2020 via Zoom

Posted by · August 20, 2020 2:16 PM

SBCAN South County Roundtable

Friday, August 21, 2020, Noon to 1:30

Via Zoom

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order by Chair and SBCAN Co-President Dick Flacks. Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.) A wide range of housing issues and initiatives are bubbling up and we’ve invited several of those doing the bubbling to brief Roundtable participants on the details of their work. New possibilities for housing justice!
  2. The Santa Barbara City Council is deliberating strengthening of eviction and rent stabilization protections: Meagan Harmon, Santa Barbara City Councilmember, and Frank Rodriguez from CAUSE. (15 min.)
  3. Formation of a Santa Barbara Tenants’ Council: Alex Entrekin, Legal Aid Foundation, and Stanley Tzankov, Fund for Santa Barbara. (15 min.)
  4. Santa Barbara Housing Hub: Linda Honikman. (10 min.)
  5. Eviction Protection Bills in State Legislature: Vianey Lopez, with Assemblymember Monique Limon (10 min.)
  6. Housing for Santa Barbara’s State Street: Meagan Harmon, Santa Barbara City Councilmember (10 min.)
  7. Brief updates from participants. Including Kate Connell regarding Truth in Recruitment Townhall; Linda Honikman regarding the Affordable Housing report from County Grand Jury and the City's response, effort to apply for a state funded Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant and the ongoing AIA charette. (2 to 5 min. each)
  8. Open discussion about other items of interest. All (5 min.)
  9. Our next meeting is scheduled for September 10, 2020 via Zoom.

If you would like to be in on the meeting, email me at ken@sbcan.org and I will send you a link to join the meeting.

Ken Hough
SBCAN Executive Director
ken@sbcan.org
805.563.0463
http://www.sbcan.org/

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Important News on ExxonMobil Restart and Trucking Proposal

Posted by · August 13, 2020 5:59 PM
As you probably know, SBCAN has been working with a broad coalition to urge the County to deny ExxonMobil's proposal to restart offshore platforms and truck crude oil to Santa Maria and Kern County. Hearings are currently scheduled for September 2 and 9 at the Planning Commission. This could change now.
 
We are represented by the Environmental Defense Center in this matter and the following is based largely on their email.
 
Yesterday the County planning staff released a report recommending that the project be revised to only allow trucks to the Santa Maria Pump Station (where the oil would be deposited in a pipeline to the Phillips Santa Maria Refinery and then on for further refining in the Bay Area), and not along Route 166 to Kern County. ExxonMobil agreed to this revision.
 
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SBCAN Encourages You to Apply Now for County Citizens’ Redistricting Commission

Posted by · August 05, 2020 2:36 PM

Application form: http://www.countyofsb.org/asset.c/5480

Applications are due August 21st

Santa Barbara County is seeking 11 extraordinary people to draw the boundaries for the five supervisors’ districts. These districts will have a strong influence over policy direction for the entire County over the next decade.

To comply with the Constitution’s guarantee of one person, one vote, political districts are redrawn every 10 years after the census to ensure that each district has roughly the same population. If the 2020 Census shows that Santa Barbara County’s population is around a half million, then each supervisor’s district will have about 100,000 people. But how should they be grouped for elections?

Until this year, the supervisors made the final decision on district boundaries. Some complained that the supervisors were choosing their voters rather than the voters choosing their supervisors. So, in the November 2018 election, Santa Barbara County voters approved an initiative—YOU Draw the Lines (Measure G)—that creates an 11-person Citizens’ Independent Redistricting Commission to adjust the supervisors’ district boundaries.

The process was designed to select independent, representative, and qualified residents to take on this critical task. The final 11-member Commission must reflect Santa Barbara County’s racial, ethnic, geographic, age and gender diversity and be as proportional as possible to the actual voter registration of the County.

The commission will provide an open and transparent process that enables full public consideration and comment on the drawing of district lines. Commissioners will conduct themselves with integrity and fairness to create an independent and unbiased map (see the official document).

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SBCAN Roundtables Information

Posted by · June 09, 2020 5:06 PM

SBCAN Roundtables took a hiatus when the coronavirus necessitated stopping all in-person public meetings. We are coming back now via Zoom. The South County Roundtable will resume next month. The North County Roundtable will resume on Thursday.

SBCAN North County Roundtable
Thursday, June 11,  6 PM to 7:30 PM via Zoom

We hope you will be able to join us:

Here's the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81862027793?pwd=N3JnOGU0NWNQMHpFOGJwUGFPUGlQUT09

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order by Janet Blevins: Introductions; agenda review (5 min.)
  2. Urban Growth Boundary for Solvang. At our last meeting (Feb. 13) Nancy Emerson and Susan Bott joined us to discuss their ideas on this topic. The proposal has qualified for the November ballot! Celebration time! (5 min.)
  3. Proposed Development in Solvang. Blended-use project proposed by Ed St. George involving the Veterans Hall. Public workshop sessions are scheduled for June 27. (5 min.)
  4. Open Discussion Regarding Social Justice Issues and Recent Protests. (Time TBD)
  5. Santa Maria’s Blosser Southeast Area 5B Specific Plan. This plan pertains to the last large agricultural tract in the City of Santa Maria. Here is the link to the Specific Plan: https://www.cityofsantamaria.org/home/showdocument?id=27228 (10 min.)
  6. Oak Trees Destroyed on Santa Maria Airport Property. Discuss status of tree ordinance in Santa Maria. (5 min.)
  7. Bailey Avenue Annexation Proposal in Lompoc. Under consideration for the last decade or more, this expansion of the City of Lompoc into prime agricultural lands to the west is being advanced by the city to the Local Agency Formation Commission. (10 min.)
  8. City of Santa Maria General Plan Update. This plan update raises the strong possibility of Santa Maria taking action to expand its sphere of influence and city boundaries into adjacent prime agricultural lands.  (10 min.)
  9. CalGEM Consideration of Aquifer Exemptions for Oil Wastewater Injections. (5 min.)
  10. Status of Onshore Oil Projects: ERG, Aera and PetroRock in Cat Canyon, and BLM Lease Proposal. Mostly good news as Aera and PetroRock have withdrawn their applications. (10 min.)
  11. Exxon/Mobil Restart and Trucking Proposal. FEIR to be released later this summer. (5 min.)
  12. Brief updates from participants. (2 to 5 min. each)
  13. Open discussion about other items of interest. All (10 min.)
  14. Next meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for July 9 via Zoom.

If you have trouble joining the meeting, call me at 805.563.0463.

Be well. Stay safe.

Ken Hough
SBCAN Executive Director
ken@sbcan.org
805.563.0463
http://www.sbcan.org/

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Join in a Solidarity March Thursday, June 4 honoring George Floyd

Posted by · June 03, 2020 4:07 PM

Join us in a Solidarity March tomorrow, Thursday, June 4, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. honoring the life of George Floyd. There will be marches in Santa Maria at city hall and Lompoc at North H and Central.

The NAACP is the leader of the march. Santa Barbara County Action Network is one of many cosponsors.

Social distancing, mask and nonviolence required.

"The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them."

For more information, call 805-448-7869.

 

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Aera Energy withdraws app for hundreds of new oil wells in Santa Maria area

Posted by · May 28, 2020 12:13 AM

Aera Energy withdrew its application to drill hundreds of new cyclic-steaming oil wells in East Cat Canyon yesterday (May 27)!

SBCAN has been working for more than eight years to defeat onshore oil development proposals in the greater Santa Maria area. First, we worked to secure strict mitigations from the County of Santa Barbara for Santa Maria Energy’s expansion in Orcutt, then we helped ensure that Pacific Coast Energy's Orcutt Hill expansion was denied by the County.

Next PetroRock and now Aera Energy (owned by Exxon/Mobil and Shell) have withdrawn from the fight sensing the formidable community opposition and the futility of trying to make a profit drilling for some of the thickest and most carbon intensive oil in the world.

We thank all of our volunteers who have written letters and testified before the County Planning Commission against this project, as well as all our partners including Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Los Padres Forest Watch, Safe Energy Now North County, Food and Water Watch, 350 Santa Barbara, Sunrise Coalition, World Business Academy, Standing Rock Coalition, and others who have joined the fight with intelligence and vigor.

SBCAN and Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club have retained the Environmental Defense Center on this effort.  EDC has represented us—and all the residents of the county—exceedingly well in analyzing and articulating the devastating impacts of Aera’s proposal.

Our water resources, flora and fauna, air quality, and the earth’s climate are safer with this proposal withdrawn.

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Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN) works to promote social and economic justice, to preserve our environmental and agricultural resources, and to create sustainable communities.
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