Hot Topics

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Rent Control Case -- Decision Upholds Goleta City Ordinance

in

May 16, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it won’t review the decision to protect rent control in Goleta’s Rancho Mobile Home Estates, a ruling made last December by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that had implications for mobile home parks statewide.

Guggenheim used the City of Goleta’s incorporation in 2002 as a way to test the rent control ordinance, which the County of Santa Barbara had enacted years earlier. He sued Goleta, arguing the ordinance illegally cut down on his profits by capping rental fees. The court, though, sided with a government’s ability to regulate in order to protect residents. Guggenheim’s lawyers appealed the ruling earlier this year, but were shot down by the nation’s highest court.

“Mobile home owners tend to be low- or moderate-income individuals and families, elderly, and disabled who have struggled to become homeowners,” said Tim Giles, Goleta’s attorney, in a prepared statement. “The court’s decision affirms the important role rent control regulations play in providing stability for this vulnerable population.”

 

Link: 
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Rent Control Case
Date: 
16 May 2011 - 1:00am

SBCAG Board Votes to Maintain Status Quo on Emissions Targets

SBCAG Board Votes to Maintain Status Quo on Emissions Targets

Debate on whether to adopt stricter standards than those recommended by the state ends in 7-6 vote


Date: 
20 Sep 2010 - 1:15am

Lompoc Council considers conversion of farmland in General Plan Update

 

Council wades through General Plan Update

By Bo Poertner/Managing Editor bpoertner@lompocrecord.com | Posted: Tuesday, September 7, 2010 11:18 pm

After hearing from a parade of speakers discuss the city’s General Plan Update, the City Council late Tuesday still was discussing the long-range planning document with no final decision expected.

Mayor Mike Siminski tried to divide the 20-year General Plan into sections for better understanding by the public, and easier discussion, beginning with the Final Environment Impact Report, followed by consideration of proposed annexation areas — Bailey Avenue, River Park area and Miguelito Canyon.

Date: 
2 Sep 2010 - 2:00pm

Santa Barbara Planning Commission OKs low-income apartment project

From the Daily Sound, By JOSHUA MOLINA -- JULY 16, 2010

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a 53-unit apartment building for low-income workers, but also directed the developers to move the project five feet away from Mission Creek – and five feet closer to Bath Street.

The city’s Housing Authority plans to demolish a two-story, 10-unit apartment complex at the site. The new project is geared toward low- and very-low income workers, and people transitioning out of homelessness. Ideally, the residents would work downtown and not need to drive cars.

Only four members of the commission were present for the meeting.

Just a few blocks from downtown, the units would range in size from 320 to 445 square feet. The project also includes a community center and recreation room.

“The city needs more rentals,” said commissioner Charmaine Jacobs. “The city needs smaller rentals. The city needs rentals that allow people to choose whether they have cars or not. I think this is a very good project. I find it to be commendable.”

Environmentalists raised concerns at the last-minute about the project’s proximity to Mission Creek. They argued for a 50-foot setback from the creek. Housing Authority Executive Director Rob Pearson said a majority of the project was set back at least 50 feet.

Date: 
16 Jul 2010 - 1:00pm

Four Companies Bid to Build County Waste Conversion Facility

Officials say the project would speed up decomposition and produce green energy and other byproducts

From Noozshawk.com - By Carlyle Johnston | Published on 07.12.2010

 

After a three-year process including the development of a feasibility report, extensive public outreach and an extensive request for proposal process, four companies have submitted formal proposals to build and operate a conversion technology facility to process solid waste disposed at the Tajiguas Landfill.

“We are impressed by the variety of technologies and number of companies who wish to participate in this unique public-private partnership,” said Mark Schleich, deputy director of public works for Santa Barbara County.

The proposed new conversion technology facility will recover recyclables and use bacteria or high levels of heat in a highly controlled environment to speed up the decomposition of the community’s waste, ultimately producing a local source of green energy and other useful byproducts.

The four companies that have submitted proposals are International Environmental Solutions, Mustang Renewable Power Ventures, NRG Energy and Plasco Energy Group.

The comprehensive proposals will be reviewed over the summer and results will be presented to the community in the fall. The evaluation of the project will be overseen by a partnership among Santa Barbara County and the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang and Buellton.

Date: 
12 Jul 2010 - 1:20pm

Steelhead survival at stake with Santa Barbara Mission Creek project

From the Daily Sound

By JOSHUA MOLINA -- July 9, 2010

Can the steelhead survive in Santa Barbara?

City officials, environmentalists, and water quality advocates sure hope so.

Starting next week, the city will begin work on a near -$800,000 project to help the endangered steelhead trout swim up Mission Creek and spawn.

Crews will remove concrete near the Tallant Road bridge, create pools for the fish to live and rest, and bury a protruding sewer main line deep into the creek to reduce sewage spills.

The construction will force the closure of Tallant Road from Samarkand Drive to Alamar Avenue from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays from July 12 to July 26.

The project is intended to improve the habitat for the fish, enhance creek water quality and restore native vegetation in Mission Creek. Officials will also plant 1,500 plants and trees in the creek

“Mission creek has really been neglected over the years,” said Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams. “There was a time when that fishery was a part of the local economy. It is my hope that 100 years from now it will be again.”

Dozens of years ago, steelhead were so plentiful that they could be fished out of the creeks with a pitchfork.

Date: 
9 Jul 2010 - 1:15pm

Supervisors Grant Conceptual Approval of Goleta Beach 2.0

The board also discusses California Coastal Commission policy recommendations for its Local Coastal Land Use Plan

By Ben Preston, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 07.06.2010

 

After a flurry of debate lasting a few weeks, the decade-old problem of how best to approach erosion protection at Goleta Beach Park received a big push forward Tuesday as the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0-1 to approve conceptual plans presented by county Parks Department staff.

Deputy Parks Director Eric Axelson said the plan, dubbed Goleta Beach 2.0, was an attempt by county staff to tackle the problem in an entirely different manner in the wake of the California Coastal Commission’s 9-1 defeat last summer of the previous proposal put forward by the county.

Where the former plan, called the permeable pile pier project, sought to use a series of wooden pilings placed alongside Goleta Pier to trap sand on Goleta Beach, Goleta Beach 2.0 is what planners said is a more natural approach, and calls for movement of infrastructure and parking areas away from parts of the park vulnerable to erosion.

 

Date: 
6 Jul 2010 - 1:20pm

County reviews tenant rights ordinance

 

Date: 
21 Apr 2010 - 1:20am