Article taken from the
Santa Barbara News Press
County supervisors dole out funds for coastal projects By
ANNA DAVISONNS 12-12-02 The county Board of Supervisors doled out more than $1.3 million for improvements to coastal parks and restoration of shoreline habitats. In Tuesday's action, a couple of big grants went toward purchasing coastal property. The county will use $550,659 to acquire seven blufftop properties totalling nearly an acre along the 6700 and 6800 blocks of Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista. They will be preserved as open space. The Santa Barbara Land Trust will spend $230,000 to purchase conservation easements on ranchland along the Gaviota coast. The easements will conserve agriculture, habitat and scenic views. The grants come from Coastal Resource Enhancement Funds -- money collected from oil companies as a way of compensating for the effects of oil-related development. They are allocated annually. The board considered applications for funding of 17 projects. Supervisors approved grants toward 12 of them and scrambled to find $15,000 for a last-minute request to fund work on the Goleta sand berm at Goleta Beach County Park. The other allocations were: * Dunes Center: $168,000 for a 10,500-square-foot exhibition hall that would house displays about the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes environment. * Ocean Beach Nature Center: $60,000 to build a 1,500-square-foot nature center and other visitor facilities at Ocean Beach County Park. * Carpinteria-Rincon Coastal Trail Feasibility Study: $50,000 to analyze three potential routes for a mile-long portion of the California Coastal Trail from Rincon County Beach Park to the eastern end of Carpinteria. The route would be the only off-freeway bicycle and pedestrian link between the two areas. The feasibility study will examine the costs and benefits associated with each potential route, any resource issues and property issues. * Carpinteria Salt Marsh, Basin I and South Marsh: $50,000 to restore and enhance the Carpinteria Salt Marsh and adjacent areas. The work would include removing non-native plants, planting native coastal species, adding pedestrian trails, a viewing area and interpretive signs and flood protection measures. * Sea Center Revitalization: $50,000 to upgrade part of Stearns Wharf under the Sea Center to accommodate an enlarged and renovated education center. * Gaviota Coast Common Ground: $45,000 for a facilitator to lead 34 meetings over two years in which locals could present their vision for the Gaviota coast. * Rincon Park Day Use Area, Phase I: $37,037 to begin construction at Rincon Beach County Park. The work would include grading the site, building a group picnic area, providing disabled access to the restrooms and beach, planting trees and installing a new irrigation system. * Isla Vista Public Restrooms: $30,000 to build a restroom facility along Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista or at the Coal Point Reserve. The site will be chosen after consultation with area residents and other interested parties. The building would include two unisex toilets and four outdoor showers and be designed to comply with the Americans with Disability Act. The only public restroom in Isla Vista is four blocks from the nearest beach access point. * Arroyo Burro Pampas Grass Removal: $21,888 to clear pampas grass -- an invasive weed -- from both sides of the access road to Elings Park and from private property and the right-of-way between Cliff Drive and Modoc Road. The pampas grass will be replaced with native coastal plants. * South Coast Watershed Resource Center: $19,861 for educational displays on southern steelhead, a reading area for children, spotting scopes and other minor improvements.
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