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Santa Barbara Channelkeeper & city of Goleta file Suit Against City of S. B. |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 06 June 2002 |
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June 6, 2002
For Immediate Release
Contact: Drew Bohan, Executive Director Santa Barbara Channelkeeper 805-563-3377, 455-2396 (cell)
SANTA BARBARA CHANNELKEEPER AND THE CITY OF GOLETA FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY OF SANTA BARBARA AND THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
The Coastal Commission's April 9 decision to allow the Airport Expansion Project to fill in and pave over portions of the Goleta Slough is challenged in state Court. Santa Barbara, CA.-
On April 9, the California Coastal Commission voted 7 - 3 to allow the City of Santa Barbara to destroy a major portion of the Goleta Slough to accommodate its Airport Expansion Project. The City plans to fill-in and re-route two creeks (Tecolotito and Carneros), and otherwise destroy approximately 30 acres of the Slough.
Commission staff had prepared a 69-page Staff Recommendation that urged the Commissioners to vote to deny the project. The Commissioners rejected their own Staff's Recommendation and instead voted to approve the project. The Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the City of Santa Barbara and the Federal Aviation Administration calls the Goleta Slough "the major environmentally sensitive habitat area in the Goleta Valley's coastal zone."
A substantial portion of the Goleta Slough ecosystem is also a State Ecological Reserve. Seven major creeks and several minor creeks flow from the Santa Ynez Mountains into the 430-acre Slough. An estimated 279 bird species have been reported in the Goleta Slough, which was recently designated a "Globally Important Bird Area." Nevertheless, the Commission voted to approve the needless destruction of this resource. Moreover, the Commission did not require the City of Santa Barbara or FAA to restore tidal circulation to the Goleta Slough despite the fact that the City of Santa Barbara's own Local Coastal Plan states that impaired tidal circulation is one of the two "major threats to the Slough's continued existence as a wildlife habitat."
Local biologists agree that if tidal circulation is not restored, the Slough ecosystem will collapse. The Commission's erroneous and unlawful decision in this case threatens to set an important precedent for the rest of the State. Over 90% of California's historic wetlands have been destroyed. If this project is allowed to go forward, the few remaining wetlands in the state will be in jeopardy.
Channelkeeper is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds. For more information, please call Drew at 805-563-3377 or 455-2396 (cell). -###-
Source: http://www.sbck.org/newsevents/AirportPressRelease.htm
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