Candidate for
Council Member; City of Goleta

Affordable Housing

The need for affordable housing is a force that will shape, not just the city of Goleta, but the whole south coast, with impacts already spreading to communities both to the north and south of us. Goleta is losing out socially as well as economically if young, middle class professionals and other workers are unable to live in this community.

The key to a strong economy in Goleta is the ability of business, healthcare institutions, schools, public bodies and others to attract and retain a competent workforce. Housing affordable to the diversity of individuals who live and/or work in Goleta makes good economic sense for our community.

City Parks - A Great Community Resource

Goleta's parks and open space are a treasured resource for our community. It was a privilege to work with the community, a cooperative developer, the Trust for Public Land, the council and city staff in the complex land swap that lead to Ellwood Mesa being protected as open space in perpetuity. This two-mile coastal bluff, along with the Eucalyptus grove which is the site of major winter monarch butterfly aggregations, is now known as the Sperling Preserve in recognition of the very generous contribution of Peter Sperling toward its acquisition. The city's work on this project has been recognized with awards from the League of Cities and local and state planning associations.

We have also acquired a new park in Old Town and have improved and added new playground equipment to a pocket park on Nectarine and another on Mathilda Drive. In the General Plan we are proposing a parks master plan to assess the community need for different kinds of recreational facilities.

Oil Drilling Off the Goleta Coast

In Goleta and its environs we have both the last oil barging operations in California and the last remaining pier-based processing facility in California. These are heavy industry operations dealing with toxic materials, yet they operate as legal non-conforming use on a site zoned for recreation in a residential area.

Although Venoco has requested a change to industrial zoning, the Goleta City Council retained recreation zoning in this area in the Draft General Plan with the stated objective of promoting the discontinuation of these operations.

Bishop Ranch

The Bishop Ranch proposal would dramatically transform a 240-acre area of Goleta, north of Highway 101 between Los Carneros and Glen Annie Roads. The plan includes 1,500 housing units, a commercial center and playing fields. Proponents argue that the development will better address the need for housing in the Goleta area. However, while 30% of the units would be affordable to lower and moderate income individuals, the other 70%, given the location, would almost certainly be at the upper end of the market and therefore unaffordable to most working people on the South Coast.