HOT Committees, Rail Spur Hearing, NC Awards Dinner

Written by
March 08, 2016

1.  Thursday, March 10, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., N.C. H.O.T. Committee, Rabobank Conference Room, 1554 S. Broadway (corner of Battles Road), Santa Maria
2.  Friday, March 11, Noon, S.C. H.O.T. Committee, Rabobank 2nd Floor Conference Room, 33 Carrillo St. (corner of Anacapa Street), Santa Barbara
3.  Friday, March 11, 2016 starting at 9 a.m.: Continuation of County of San Luis Obispo Planning Commission's Hearing on the Phillips 66 Rail Spur. 
4.  Sunday, May 22 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m., North County "Looking Forward" Awards Dinner, Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria

1.  Thursday, March 10, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., N.C. H.O.T. Committee, Rabobank Conference Room, 1554 S. Broadway (corner of Battles Road), Santa Maria

SBCAN North County Housing, Open space & Transportation Committee
Thursday, March 10, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM 
NEW (OLD) LOCATION: Rabobank Conference Room, NE Corner of Battles and South Broadway

DRAFT AGENDA 

  1. Call to Order by Interim Chair Janet Blevins; Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
  2. Phillips 66 Rail Spur Project Update: Planning Commission hearings in San Luis Obispo occurred on Feb. 4, 5, and 25 and will continue on Mar. 11, with deliberations likely beginning that day. (10 min.)
  3. PG&E Proposal for New Transmission Line from Bakersfield and New Substation in Santa Maria: Staff attended public workshops on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. same time, at VFW Post 2521, 200 E. Battles in Santa Maria. Do we need a new transmission line from Bakersfield, which will take ten years to plan and construct, or do we need more locally generated and cleaner electricity? (10 min.)
  4. Farmworker Bill of Rights: CAUSE proposal for County Board of Supervisors (10 min.)
  5. Motorsports Park in Lompoc: An EIR is underway for this project that would include on off-road vehicle area and an eventual drag strip.  We should start sharing what we know about this project before the Draft EIR is published. (10 min.)
  6. Enos Ranchos: This development on the NW corner of 101 and Betteravia in Santa Maria moved quickly through the Planning Commission and City Council in the last month. There may be little left to advocate for now that Council gave most of its approvals last week, but there is one we still want to push with the Planning Department and the Recreation and Parks Department: mitigating the loss of excellent views from the bluffs parallel to Betteravia by putting trails from the planned park to the top of the bluff. (10 min.)
  7. Reports from Participants (Sierra Club, Clean Energy Now, NAACP, CAUSE, others) (20 min.)
  8. Suggestions for next month’s agenda

2.  Friday, March 11, Noon, S.C. H.O.T. Committee, Rabobank 2nd Floor Conference Room, 33 Carrillo St. (corner of Anacapa Street), Santa Barbara

SBCAN South County Housing, Open space & Transportation Committee
Noon, Friday, March 11, 2016
Rabobank, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 33 Carrillo St. (corner of Anacapa Street), Santa Barbara

DRAFT AGENDA

1.         Call to Order; Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
2.         Shelby Foothill Coalition: proposed conversion of agricultural land in Goleta to large-lot residential (5 min.)
3.         Central California Power Connect: PG&E proposal to build greater redundancy for Santa Maria Valley, with major new transmission line from the Central Valley (10 min.)
4.         Open Dialog with New Santa Barbara City Councilmember, Jason Dominguez (30 min.)
5.         Emerging Tenant Rights Agenda for Santa Barbara city, Mickey Flacks (10 min.)
6.         Farmworker Bill of Rights: CAUSE proposal for County Board of Supervisors (5 min.)
7.         Brief updates from invited, but not necessarily confirmed, participants (2 to 5 min. each)
           a.         Bike Coalition: Ed France
           b.         Milpas Business Improvement District: Jacquiline Inda
           c.         Sierra Club: Katie Davis
           d.         Food and Water Watch and World Business Academy: Becca Claassen
           e.         Mobile-Home Project: Sharon Rose
           f.          Isla Vista Self Governance: Jonathan Abboud
           g.         Citizens Planning Association: Lee Moldaver
           h.         Community Environmental Council: Jefferson Litton
           i.          Sustainability Living Research Initiative: Ben Werner
           j.          Other 
8.         Other HOT topics of interest to those in attendance (10 min.)

3. Friday, March 11, 2016 starting at 9 a.m.: Continuation of County of San Luis Obispo Planning Commission's Hearing on the Phillips 66 Rail Spur

During the first two days of this hearing, February 4 and 5, dozens of Santa Barbara residents were among hundreds of people speaking out overwhelmingly against this project. During the continuation of the hearing on February 25 testimony was pretty evenly divided with lots of people fearing for the loss of their jobs. (SBCAN testified that this was a false argument since the Phillips 66 attorney testified, on the first day of the hearing, that if the oil didn't come by rail it was going to come via 100 trucks each day.) Few other Santa Barbara County residents were there that day, but Salud Carbajal's staff spoke on his behalf, making many good points about the risks to our communities and coastal resources.

Public comment continues starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 11 at the SLO County Government Center at 1055 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.  If you have not yet testified to the Commission, please get there by 9 a.m. to get a speaker number. If you will speak on behalf of SBCAN, please contact me so we can supply you with talking points that will build on the points we have already raised.

Mesa Refinery Watch Group's latest newsletter includes a thorough report on the first two days of hearings and lots of other related information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwGiaUb2pm0PYVdfcnpORzZTcjg/view?usp=sharing

4. Sunday, May 22 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m., North County "Looking Forward" Awards Dinner, Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria

We will recognize five outstanding individuals from the North County during our annual dinner in Santa Maria. 

This year’s award recipients are:

  • Chuck Madson, “Looking Forward” Award
  • Rosemary Holmes, Giving Back to the Community Award
  • Doug Jenzen, Environmental Protection & Sustainability Award
  • Patricia Solorio, Working Families Award
  • Franca Lockard, Social Justice Award

Award Categories

  • Social Justice Award – For promoting fairness, tolerance, equality, respect and compassion for all people in our community.
  • Environmental Protection and Sustainability Award – For valuing, protecting, and preserving our natural resources and environment.
  • Giving Back to the Community Award – For giving back selflessly to the community through volunteer activities and community projects.
  • Working Families Award - For helping working families to obtain affordable health care, housing, educational and job opportunities; or to improve wages, benefits, working conditions, and worker rights.
  • “Looking Forward” Award – For strong leadership and vision in community building, civic engagement, and improving the quality of life in our community.
More information coming soon!