Help Protect Commercial Agriculture in Santa Ynez Valley

The Environmental Defense Center is representing SBCAN in opposing the subdivision of the 4,000-acre ranch know as Rancho La Laguna. 

We need your help at the County Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, April 26. Please review this material provided by EDC:


EDC logo
 

TAKE ACTION >>
April 21, 2017
 
 
We Need Your Help
 
Rancho La Laguna - Photo by Mark Oliver
 
Dear Friend,
  
We need your help. Can you join us in Santa Barbara on Wednesday April 26?
   
Spanning 4,000 acres, the incredibly rich and scenic farmland known as Rancho La Laguna, located in the San Rafael Mountains overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley, is proposed to be subdivided and developed with upscale estates.  

The land – full of rolling hills, deep canyons, and oak forests - is home to amazing biodiversity. Fifty-six rare wildlife and plant species call this quintessential Santa Barbara landscape home and currently coexist side-by-side with cattle grazing and farming.

Splitting this land into smaller lots for development will undermine both its agricultural integrity and nearby farms, and will eliminate much of the natural resources that make this area so beautiful. 
 
On Wednesday, April 26, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and vote on the future of this large undeveloped Ranch.  The Commission’s decision will set a precedent to protect – or to dismantle and develop - agricultural and natural lands in Santa Barbara County. 

Please join EDC and our clients, the Santa Ynez Valley Alliance and SBCAN, in urging the Commission to  deny this protect and protect this amazing landscape for wildlife and local agriculture.
 
WE NEED YOUR VOICE

  1. Attend the hearing
    April 26, 9:00 a.m. (link to agenda)

    123 E Anapamu, 1st Floor, Planning Commission Hearing Room, Santa Barbara
    * You can also testify remotely from Santa Maria at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 East Lakeside Parkway.

  2. Send a comment letter by April 24, 2017

    Urge the Santa Barbara Planning Commission to deny this project. 
    Email your comments to David Villalobos at [email protected]

Thank you! 
 
 
Brian Trautwein
Environmental Analyst & Watershed Program Coordinator