- TODAY - Friday, Feb. 14, Roundtable Meeting: Marine Protected Areas for Pt. Sal and Carpinteria. Save Our Sanctuaries
- Feb. 16 and 22, Black History Month events
- Feb. 19, Public Review of the Santa Maria General Plan Update.
- Now through Feb. 24, Comment on County Hiking Trails.
- NEW: Sunday, Mar. 9, SBCAN Annual Membership Meeting.
The County Planning Commission upheld Santa Barbara County Action Network's appeal of the permit issued by County staff that would have allowed trucking of up to 10 loads of crude oil from the Lompoc Hills to Coalinga for up to 50 years at a distance of 165 miles. On Wednesday, a majority of the Commission found that the safety hazards were too high to approve the project.
The County staff had approved the project with a mitigated negative declaration that concluded the Project would cause no potentially significant environmental impacts.
SBCAN’s appeal noted that the Board of Supervisors rejected the Exxon proposal to truck oil from the Las Flores processing plant based on risks of oil spills, and grounded opposition in the County zoning ordinance, General Plan and California Environmental Quality Act.
By a 3-2 vote, the Planning Commission upheld the appeal, based on the project’s adverse impacts to public safety along the 165-mile route, the lack of adequate environmental analysis, and the inability to make the findings for approval.
SBCAN Co-Executive Director Ken Hough stated, "The rejection of this project reflects the risks of transporting crude oil to communities and the environment. The many examples of tanker truck accidents, spills and fires helped demonstrate that trucking was not appropriate. Further, the project conflicted with the County’s Climate Action Plan, which seeks to limit increases in fossil fuel extraction and develop a sunset strategy."
Attorney Marc Chytilo of the Law Office of Marc Chytilo, APC represented SBCAN at the Planning Commission meeting. He noted the legal barriers to project approval: “The Planning Commission majority understood that the Sentinel truck rack project would cause significant environmental impacts and expose communities along the 165 mile route to substantial new hazards. Trucking is just a risky way to transport oil.”
The Planning Commission is scheduled to adopt findings for denial on March 12, 2025, opening a 10-day period for a further appeal to the Board of Supervisors.
TODAY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14
CENTRAL COAST MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
Friday, February 14, 2025
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom
Agenda
- Welcome
- Marine Protected Areas - Sandy Aylesworth and Bella Sullivan of the Natural Resources Defense Council will present their proposals for MPAs off Pt. Sal and Carpinteria. They will explain what an MPA is and why they are asking the California Fish and Game Commission to put these protections in place. Attendees will be invited to ask questions and express concerns or support. The SBCAN Board will consider whether to support the proposals.
- Save Our Sanctuaries - Jim Hines of the Sierra Club will speak on efforts to protect local National Marine Sanctuaries in light of the potential defunding of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
- Other issues or announcements
- Closing
Register for the Zoom meeting here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fdMsMXRXTc6Yi6Zg2B2JMg
Note: We are changing the North County Roundtable to the second Friday each month at noon and making it a Combined Roundtable when topics warrant it. The South County Roundtable will continue to be held the fourth Friday at noon and will also be a Combined Roundtable when topics warrant it.
Download Fact Sheet on Pt. Sal proposal
Download Fact Sheet on Mishopshno proposal
SUNDAY, FEB. 16
and
SATURDAY, FEB. 22
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19
Public Review of the
Santa Maria General Plan Update
Draft Policy Frameworks
PUBLIC NOTICE FROM THE CITY OF SANTA MARIA:
The Draft General Plan Policy Frameworks are available for public review and comment from Wednesday, February 5 to Sunday, March 2.
WHAT’S BEING PLANNED: The Community Development Department is preparing a Comprehensive update to the City’s General Plan. This document creates the master plan for Santa Maria’s growth for the next 20-30 years. The City is anticipated to grow by 30,000 to 40,000 residents during that time, meaning the community must identify where and how to build thousands of additional housing units, and where to build new parks, schools and other development. The Policy and Plan Development phase is currently underway with the completion of draft Policy Frameworks for each of the nine elements of the City’s updated General Plan. The Policy Frameworks are a step in the General Plan Update process prior to drafting General Plan Elements. The frameworks highlight key direction for each General Plan Element including goals, policies, and implementation activities to achieve that direction.
WHERE YOU COME IN: The public review period will be an opportunity to review the draft Policy Frameworks for the General Plan and provide your feedback. All of the frameworks as well as a form for providing feedback are available at the project website: https://www.imaginesantamaria.com/policy-frameworks
Upcoming Public Meetings where you can learn more and provide feedback:
Planning Commission Study Sessions: Thursday, February 6 and Thursday, February 20 at 1:30 p.m. at Shepard Hall in the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria
Office Hours with Planning Staff:
Wednesday, February 19 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XKdVD95rQUOgywXiOYutTQ
Wednesday, February 26 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Community Development Department Conference Room, 110 S. Pine St., Santa Maria
Comments may also be submitted within the public review period to Dana Eady, Planning Division Manager, by email at [email protected], or mailed/delivered to the City of Santa Maria Community Development Department (110 South Pine Street, Room 101, Santa Maria, CA 93458) by Sunday, March 2.
Department: Community Development
Contact Person: Dana Eady, Planning Division Manager
Telephone Number: (805) 925-0951 ext. 2444
Email Address: [email protected]
--
AVISO PÚBLICO:
Revisión Pública de los Marcos de Política Preliminares de Actualización del Plan General
Los documentos del Borrador de los Marcos de Política del Plan General están disponibles para revisión y comentarios públicos desde el miércoles 5 de febrero hasta el domingo 2 de marzo.
LO QUE SE ESTÁ PLANEANDO: El Departamento de Desarrollo Comunitario está preparando una actualización integral del Plan General de la Ciudad. Este documento crea el plan maestro para el crecimiento de Santa María para los próximos 20-30 años. Se anticipa que la ciudad crecerá de 30,000 a 40,000 residentes durante ese tiempo, lo que significa que la comunidad debe identificar dónde y cómo construir miles de unidades de vivienda adicionales, y dónde construir nuevos parques, escuelas y otros desarrollos.
La fase de Desarrollo de Políticas y Planes está actualmente en marcha con la finalización de los borradores de los Marcos de Políticas para cada uno de los nueve elementos del Plan General actualizado de la Ciudad. Los Marcos de Políticas son un paso en el proceso de Actualización del Plan General antes de redactar los Elementos del Plan General. Los marcos destacan la dirección clave para cada elemento del Plan General, incluidos los objetivos, las políticas y las actividades de implementación para lograr esa dirección.
DÓNDE INGRESA: El período de revisión pública será una oportunidad para revisar el borrador de los Marcos de Políticas para el Plan General y proporcionar sus comentarios. Todos los marcos, así como un formulario para enviar comentarios, están disponibles en el sitio web del proyecto: https://www.imaginesantamaria.com/policy-frameworks
Próximas reuniones públicas en las que puede obtener más información y proporcionar comentarios:
Sesiones de estudio de la Comisión de Planificación: 6 de febrero y 20 de febreroa la 1:30 p.m. en Shepard Hall en la Biblioteca Pública de Santa María, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria
Horario de oficina con el personal de planificación:
Miércoles 19 de febrero, de 1:00 a 2:30 p.m. en Zoom. Regístrese aquí: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XKdVD95rQUOgywXiOYutTQ
Miércoles, 26 de febrero, 1:00 a 2:30 p.m. en la Sala de Conferencias del Departamento de Desarrollo Comunitario, 110 S. Pine St., Santa Maria
Los comentarios también pueden enviarse dentro del período de revisión pública a Dana Eady, Gerente de la División de Planificación, por correo electrónico a [email protected], o enviarse por correo/entrega al Departamento de Desarrollo Comunitario de la Ciudad de Santa María (110 South Pine Street, Room 101, Santa Maria, CA 93458) antes del domingo 2 de marzo.
Departamento: Community Development
Persona de contacto: Dana Eady, Planning Division Manager
Número de teléfono: (805) 925-0951 ext. 2444
Correo electrónico: [email protected]
From:
Mark van de Kamp, MPA, DTM
Public Information Manager
Santa Maria City Manager’s Office
Office: (805) 925-0951 ext. 2372 / cell: (805) 720-4038
Santa Maria City Hall, 110 East Cook Street, Santa Maria, CA 93454
Join the Santa Maria Team
NOW THROUGH MONDAY, FEB. 24
COUNTY HIKING TRAILS – DRAFT COUNTY RECREATION MASTER PLAN
The Santa Barbara County Recreation Master Plan represents a once in a generation opportunity to promote and plan for trail development and to protect and expand the County's trail system.
The proposed Recreation Master Plan is here.
SUNDAY, MARCH 9
SAVE THE DATE!
SBCAN's annual membership meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 9 at St. Marks-in-the-Valley in Los Olivos. We will also have an online link available.
Our guest speaker will be the new mayor of Buellton, David Silva.
More details to come!
If you haven't renewed your SBCAN membership for 2025, please do so now. We need your support -- through your participation, membership, sponsorship or donations.
We need to keep moving forward together to face the challenges of the new year and accomplish our shared goals of environmental, economic and social justice.
We’re stepping up our game – and we hope you’ll step up with us! We have new initiatives we’ve implemented and more we’ve planned. Please read our 2024 “Highlights” for details.
You are integral to our success. You have helped us build a strong network of progressive activists, save prime farmland, create more affordable housing, work to improve water quality, fight increased trucking of fossil fuels and restarting of the pipeline that burst into the channel, and more.
We are making our annual membership appeal now. If you recently paid your membership, or sponsored one of our events, or made a donation, you are already a member for 2025. We’re not asking you to contribute again – unless you want to! Mostly, we hope you will read our 2024 Highlights and continue to be involved with us.
If you have not made a recent contribution, we hope you will become a member or renew your dues now to help us continue to do our vital work. We rely on grants, sponsors, donors, fundraisers and you to keep doing our educational and advocacy work.
The average amount of dues our members pay is $10/month, however, we welcome higher or lower membership dues – whatever level works for you.
Please make your donation online at sbcan.org/donations, or send a check to P.O. Box 6174, Santa Maria, CA 93456-6174. We especially like monthly contributions!
We’ll send information soon on our 2025 Annual Membership Meeting and Election.
If you are not receiving emails from us, please sign up for our Action Alerts at sbcan.org/sign-up, and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/SBCANorg
Thanks again for your support and doing the good work!
Sincerely,
Jeanne Sparks and Ken Hough
Co-Executive Directors