[Scpg] July 20th Hearing/Support Urban Creeks Council Efforts for better Mission Creek Estuary Lagoon Protection/IMPORTANT SB Watershed Issue

[Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

To Interested parties:

Urban Creeks Council is working hard to negotiate a settlement of our appeal
of Planning Commission approval of the project at 29 State St. where there
may be impacts to the Mission creek lagoon.  There are some sticky
negotiating points, however and at this time it looks like this important
issue may not be resolved in negotiation.  If resolution is not reached, the
City Council will hear the appeal of Planning Commission approval of the
Negative Dec and design concept for building a 19 room hotel annexation to
Harbor View Inn on the East side of the Mission Creek estuary on July 20.
The project allows no buffer space beyond that which is absolute minimum
requirement for flooding protection (25 feet from top of bank of the future
Army Corps of Eng. Flood Control Project for Lower Mission Creek).  The
existing complex of buildings owned by the same applicant has been built in
piecemeal fashion on the West side of the estuary, with the same very
inadequate 25 foot buffer, not designed for resource protection and not
integrated into the landscape in a way that accomodates important habitat
interconnections with the lagoon.

This appeal is an opportunity to direct the attention of planners to an
analysis of eventual optimization of the bank structure at this point to
minimize cumulative impacts, and to enhance, restore and optimize conditions
that are important to interdependent species and ecosystems.  Currently the
site is a sloped bank consisting of native mud soils.  UCC wants city to
better explore outcomes relating to important ecosystem interdependencies
and treatment of the future bank and buffer.  The appeal is also an
opportunity to focus on concerns which stem from planning deficiencies that
will allow this applicant to continue to exert his strangle hold on the
Mission Creek estuary.

Note:  In 1995 the city allowed a 10 foot displacement of the vertical wall
into the estuary on West side as part of pattern of piecemeal resource
depletion by the same applicant.  The same applicant filled behind the
vertical wall, displacing wetlands to create real estate for the already
built hotel complex on the West side of the estuary.

The city in this current application is now bowing to the applicant by
relaxing their stated intentions and their established trend to require
better resource protections in the form of wider buffers on Mission Creek.

Additionally, UCC is not pleased that the city is allowing transfer of
densities to this site.  Without the TEDR's, the site would accomodate only
7 hotel units.  12 additional rooms (entitlements) are being transferred to
the site in this application.  We identify a policy deficiency in that the
city should disallow density transfers to a site where there may be impacts
to ESHA or other important water resources, or where enhancement or
restoration of important ESHA and associated habitat may be feasible through
more careful selection of sites as receptor for density credits.  UCC would
like the city to ask the applicant to consider alternatives that would
absorb some of the TEDR's that are under consideration into the campus of
Harbor View Inn buildings on the West side of the creek, and or deny
transfer of some of the TEDR's, and or reevaluate limitations of size, bulk
and scale, or perhaps propose other design modifications that would create
space for a wider buffer.

Of further concern, UCC is not happy with the 8' wide concrete sidewalk that
was allowed on the West side as an access pathway within the inadequate
buffer space.  This pathway is poorly planned, does not invite the public,
does not provide good interpretive value due to design flaws.

In this current proposal, the same applicant is proposing yet another
creekside pathway now on the East side of the estuary within the inadequate
buffer space (25' from future top of bank of A.C.E. Flood Control Project.)
Alternative analysis would consider disallowing the additional pathway on
the East side, and would consider making the existing pathway on the west
side more accessible to the public, providing better interpretive value for
the pathway, and replacement of concrete with pervious materials.

The Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council would like to enlist your support in
this appeal.  Please let us know if you are able to attend the hearing on
July 20.  Please let me know if you can write a letter that would support
our desire to see better buffer protections, and that would echo our desire
to see better management of the resource. We think this is an issue that is
of key importance in the evolving process that might one day return health
and diversity to the impaired natural system.  With no creekside development
standards in place, with no watershed master plan in place that would
promote recovery of systemic function and biological productivity, and with
continued assault on the resource as exemplified by this proposal, efforts
to promote health along the city's shoreline are seriously compromised.

An in depth biological evaluation of the project has been prepared by Wilson
Environmental Consulting Services.  The report supports UCC's position, and
confirms our reasons for asking for better buffer protections.  It is
available for those who would like to review it, just let me know and I will
email it to you as an attachment (pdf file).

Thank you for helping with this.  Your participation is important.  Letters,
phone calls or email to the Mayor and City Council, and speaking at the
hearing July 20th are needed to make a difference.

For the creeks and water resources,

Eddie Harris
Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council
eharris at silcom.com
805.962.8260