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.