May 1999

PANA NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING

Thursday MAY 20 - 7:00 PM

Mountain View School Auditorium

SUBJECT - Extension of CALLE REAL from Patterson to Turnpike.

Discussion of Alternatives. Relationship to ALBERTSONS, Jack-in-the-Box, Allstore, University Drive signal, and widening of Calle Real.

COMMUNITY AGENDA

Every Tuesday @ 9 AM

Board of Supervisors meets _ on Channel 20.

Every Wednesday @ 9 AM

Planning Commission meets _ on Channel 20.

May 13 _ PANA Board Meeting @ 5:30 PM.

May 20 _ Special PANA neighborhood meeting at Mountain View School Multipurpose Room @ 7 PM to discuss the Calle Real Extension and its relationship to the Albertsons site and the Jack-in-the-Box site. PANA needs your input.

May 25 _ Board of Supervisors Hearing on Park fees, and other Goleta development fees. This is "Goleta Day" and involves fees and grants totaling $200 million during the next 10 years. This is important. Come _ show you care.

May 26 _ Goleta Roundtable @ 7 PM

June 15 _ Board of Supervisors hearing on fee discounts for Beneficial Projects.

June 18 _ PANA Board Meeting @ Noon.

June 23 _ Goleta Roundtable @ 7 PM

These dates change frequently - for the latest dates, times and locations; or to add information -call Jack Hawxhurst at 683-9068.

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Airport Gateway Project - the City of Santa Barbara Planning Commission performed some more DUMPING of growth in Goleta recently. This is the 180,000 square foot development north of Hollister, between Lopez and Love. It will house Miravant and some retail space.

The City reduced the parking requirements, refused to include bus-pockets on Hollister, refused to tie the project to landscape improvements along Hollister, and ignored demands to pay for its impacts to Goleta via new GTIP and parks fees. It remains to be seen whether the City will own up to becoming a good neighbor to Goleta.

The hearing revealed two huge underlying issues. First, the City Airport Specific Plan gives no hint when Hollister will be landscaped. It now looks like a bombed out zone. There is no landscape plan, no budget, and no schedule _ but the Gateway Project is being allowed to proceed anyway. Second, its air pollution impacts have been reassessed _ about 500% higher than earlier. And APCD is letting them off of a Class I environmental impact for the price of a bus.

Air Pollution _ The process of estimating air pollution has changed throughout the state. The 500% change in the airport project was stated as being "typical." If so, essentially all projects will now exhibit a Class I impact. If so, will all be allowed to just pay a "ransom?" If so, it seems to suggest that the ability to predict cumulative impacts of growth are doubtful. If so, last year's estimates were WRONG. And the Maravilla was approved based upon faulty predictions.

Patterson Traffic Counts _ The first new Patterson traffic count in the past two years has finally been received. It essentially PROVES that the County has no ability to predict traffic as required by law.

Almost a year ago during the Maravilla hearings, we wrote a report on Patterson traffic that looked a the history of predictions since 1989. It showed that traffic predictions for 10 years into the future were consistently exceeded within a few months. We predicted that 1999 traffic on South Patterson would be 26,300 cars per day. The County predicted only 24,700 in 2008.

The new count is 26,500 cars per day NOW. This is final proof the County cannot predict traffic.

BACKYARD ISSUES

Koopman Lot Split

This 4 lot split on Cathedral Oaks near Patterson was approved by the Planning Commission and will provide a new sidewalk from Patterson to the Foothill School. This sidewalk was the main request by PANA.

Orchard Park

Recently, many of you closest to Patterson and Calle Real received a letter from us and JM development asking for letters in support of the 20 home development instead of the 48 home development favored by County staff. Soon we will see what effect this has on approval.

VA Hospital

The VA Hospital is a 34,000 square foot facility planned on South Patterson Avenue, just south of the existing Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. This property is zoned Professional-Institutional, perfect for the proposed use. They are being forced out of the current location at County Health Services on Calle Real east of Turnpike.

PANA is following this project through the process. Its traffic impacts are expected to be 70% of those at Maravilla.

Fairview-Cathedral Oaks Lot Split

Two new houses will soon begin construction at the north east corner of Fairview and Cathedral Oaks, where the church has obtained a 3-lot split.

Arby's Closed

NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC COP

Calle Real Extension @ Patterson

One of the most controversial aspects of the newly released GTIP is the plan to extend Calle Real from Turnpike to Patterson. Isn't that a shocker? Yep, AFTER building the Allstore, the County is planning to knock some of it down. But County Public Works staff cannot find any designs. They have delayed this newsletter for a month because they couldn't tell us what this project is. Last week they were planning to put it through the area Calle Barquera, but after a call from PANA, this was dropped. Today the County is advancing a design that goes through the Allstore, through the Jack-in-the-Box site, under Patterson, and through the Albertsons site.

Come to the special neighborhood meeting on May 20 to discuss this and other ideas.

University Drive

As mentioned last newsletter, the signal at University and Patterson is planned for installation from June to September this year. Present plans will rebuild the University Drive bridge over Maria Ygnacia Creek from November 1999 to April 2000.

Fairview

You have no doubt received a notice from CALTRANS confirming our newsletter information about the Fairview Avenue/101 interchange rebuild. Now they are saying it will start sooner (June) and take longer. Also Fairview will get resurfaced during August.

Hollister

Hollister in Old Town will get interesting for the next few months. First, the storm drains will be rebuilt over 2 months beginning in mid-May, followed immediately by resurfacing ending by Labor Day.

Calle Real

The Maravilla project has been sold to a LA developer. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on the schedule _ and the timing of the Calle Real widening. The Calle Real bridge over San Jose Creek will affect us between mid-June and mid-November, as reported in the last newsletter. But _ Public Works is now wondering whether to proceed with widening.

Save stale bread - we all may have to leave a trail of bread crumbs in order to find our way home each day.

COMMUNITY-WIDE ISSUES

Growth is still proceeding at breakneck pace and will surpass our Goleta Community Plan

We Need Your Help !

We need your contributions in order to expand our distribution of newsletters. When you donate to PANA, more of your neighbors learn what is happening around our area. Please think of your contribution as extending PANA's reach -not just getting the newsletter to yourself.

Finally, consider getting involved. There are key meetings going on all the time. PANA represents the area at an average of over one meeting per day with County officials. Connecting you with them requires your financial support.

PANA is an all-volunteer organization. ALL of your contribution goes to communicating with neighbors and elected officials.

5664 Stow Canyon Road Goleta CA 93117
683-9068 -fax 683-4648