Surfrider members from Washington, Oregon, and California recently participated in a meeting of the West Coast Ecosystem-Based (EBM) Management Network in Port Orford, OR. Co-sponsored by the NOAA Coastal Services Center, the meeting convened practitioners from six community projects to discuss best practices for implementing ecosystem-based management. Discussion topics included stakeholder engagement, collaborative science, integrated governance, and ecosystem protection and restoration. Attendees included elected officials, scientists, managers, and ocean users. To learn more about the West Coast EBM Network, please click here . To learn more about Surfrider engagement in ecosystem-based management, please click here. Thanks to Paul Jenkin (Ventura, CA), Gus Gates (Florence, OR), Jody Kennedy (Grays Harbor, WA), Kathy Greer (Grays Harbor, WA), Leesa Cobb (Port Orford, OR) and Pete Stauffer (Port Orford, OR) for participating!

NAPLES COALITION

P.O. Box 1099, Goleta, CA 93116
Ph: 805.683.6631Link

http://www.SaveNaples.org

For Immediate Release
October 13, 2009

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO CONSIDER RESCISSION OF DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS FOR THE SANTA BARBARA RANCH, AKA NAPLES, DEVELOPMENT ON THE GAVIOTA COAST.

When: TUESDAY OCTOBER 20, 2009. Estimated time of hearing is unknown at this time. Meeting agenda and staff report can be found at http://santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx#current
Where: County Administration Building, 105 East Anapamu 4th fl, Santa Barbara Broadcast on Channel 20 and streamed at http://www.countyofsb.org in real time.

Background
The Santa Barbara Ranch development is a 71 large lot residential development located two miles west of Goleta on the rural and agricultural Gaviota Coast. The development received tentative approval by the Board of Supervisors in late 2008 after unanimous opposition by the community (not a single citizen, unaffiliated with the developer, spoke in favor of the project over the years of public testimony).



The Supervisors conditionally approved separate Development Agreements in Ordinance 4694 for the inland and coastal portions of the Naples development specific to Santa Barbara Ranch on October 21, 2008. This ordinance embodies conditions which must be satisfied before the Development Agreements are effective including project approvals by the California Department of Conservation and the California Coastal Commission. These conditions have not yet been satisfied and therefore the Development Agreements are not in full force or effect.

The conditions that the County relied upon in approving the development agreements changed materially in February 2009 when the developer withdrew his application for the coastal portion of the Project. This in effect revoked most of the purported County benefits in the development agreements and undermined many of the mitigation measures required in the EIR. Further, the developer has failed to respond to Coastal Commission requests for biological information. Finally, Santa Barbara Ranch’s partner, Dos Pueblos Ranch, recently announced they had placed Dos Pueblos Ranch on the market. These conditions provide a basis for revoking the development agreements.

The Naples Coalition strongly urges the Board of Supervisors to cancel the development agreements so that future Boards may be able to respond to changes in circumstances.

Canceling the Development Agreements will not cancel the underlying project approvals.

About The Naples Coalition:
The Naples Coalition is a Santa Barbara County, CA-based public benefit corporation with representation by local non-profit groups including the Citizens Planning Association of Santa Barbara County, Gaviota Coast Conservancy, League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara County, Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club, Santa Barbara Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, Santa Barbara Chapter of the Audubon Society and Santa Barbara Community Action Network. The Naples Coalition is dedicated to the preservation of the rural character of the Naples property on the Gaviota coast. Specifically, the Naples Coalition is responding to Vintage Communities, an Orange County development company that purchased the Naples town site lots and has an application pending with the County of Santa Barbara to build up to 72 large luxury houses on the rural Naples property. The Naples Coalition seeks to preserve the rural character of the Naples area from this development’s impacts.

Visit http://www.GaviotaAction.org for complete information regarding the development at Naples.
Visit http://www.SaveNaples.org of information about Naples and the Naples Coalition.
Visit http://www.savenaples.org/index_res/NC%20History%20Chronology%209-09.htm for a summary of the 120 year development history of Naples.

Contact:
Marc Chytilo, Esq Phil McKenna
Attorney for the Naples Coalition Naples Coalition Board Member
Phone: 805-682-0585 Phone: 805-682-0302
Email: airlaw5@cox.net Email: mckennapj@cox.net

World Famous Malibu Surfrider Beach received F water quality ratings 62% of this year making it one of California's most polluted beaches. Aging or malfunctioning septic tanks in the City's "Civic Center" area (including Malibu Colony and Serra Retreat) are leaching into the ground, resulting in polluted groundwater reaching the ocean where visitors surf and recreate. Surfrider Beach is a classic California beach, that deserves better.

Photo: Serra Retreat, Malibu Colony, and Civic Center area

With encouragement from the public, and the West LA/Malibu Chapter's Clean Water at the 'Bu Coalition, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) will be considering a prohibition on septic systems at their November 5th public hearing. The Chapter will be asking the RWQCB to move on this septics ban to alleviate chronic pollution at Malibu's world famous Surfrider Beach (aka The 'Bu). You can find answers to your questions and links to the science on the Clean Water At The ‘Bu campaign blog.

View the Proposed Amendment to the Water Quality Control Plan for the LA Region to Prohibit On-Site Wastewater Disposal Systems (OWDS) in the Malibu Civic Center Area

YOU CAN HELP! Here's how:

1. Attend the RWQCB hearing Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 9 am, and say you support Surfrider Foundation's position. Metropolitan Water District 700 North Alameda Street Downtown LA.
2. Sign the petition asking the RWQCB for a wastewater solution for Surfrider Beach. Sign the petition now!

The City of Ventura gave the go-ahead for the Surfers' Point Managed Shoreline Retreat project.

The passage of the state budget allows the previously earmarked grant funding to be released in time to break ground this year.

Construction of the first phase of the project should begin in November 2009. For more information visit http://www.surferspoint.org.

Photo: Bike trail at Surfer's Point now...

On October 6 -7, 2009 Surfrider Foundation participated in a meeting on Marine Spatial Planning for Renewable Energy on the West Coast in Seattle, WA. The purpose of the meeting was to formally launch an eighteen month process to develop a 'Coastal Siting Report' for renewable ocean energy projects off the West Coast. The meeting was part of the West Coast Governors Agreement on Ocean Health, and was sponsored by the Nature Conservancy, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Marine Minerals Services (MMS). Invited participants discussed a range of topics including regulatory frameworks, baseline data needs, and decision-support tools. Over the coming months, the process will provide an opportunity to help ensure that renewable ocean energy development minimizes impacts to the nearshore enviroment and existing uses like recreation and fishing. For more information, please visit the website of the West Coast Governors Agreement or contact Pete Stauffer pstauffer@surfrider.org.