SHIRLEY KIMBERLIN Everything I list turns to SOLD! 805-886-0228 skimberlin@aol.com
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Council talks sun and rain
As the world turns
BY DALE MYERS
“Updating the FIRM postinterchanges project would remove 272 structures from the Franklin Creek area (floodplain).
The Carpinteria City Council acted to expedite construction of the Linden/Casitas Interchange Project and the installation of residential solar panels at its July 13 meeting. The council voted to redraw the local floodplain map in an attempt to end a stalemate with Federal Emergency Management Agency over raising freeway bridges –– Public Works over Carpinteria Creek, and it voted Director Charlie Ebeling to streamline the process for approving solar panel installation within the city. In presenting on the long-simmering discussion over how to appease FEMA, Public Works Director Charlie Ebeling said, “To meet federal regulations, the city is proposing to FEMA that the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) in the Carpinteria Creek area be updated to reflect the risk of the freeway washing out, as happened in 1969 and is shown in the current engineering studies.” The project consists of replacing the Highway 101 bridges over Carpinteria Creek, which FEMA had objected to because it places a few new homes into the floodplain. The plan would also remove hundreds of homes from the floodplain, but it’s not permissible by federal standards to develop in a way that adds homes to the floodplain. The city now contends that the homes in question have always been in the floodplain. Changes to floodplains by projects require FEMA approval, and the current FIRM for Carpinteria, which was developed in 1977, does not reflect the potential for the freeway washout. Subsequently, the City Council voted unanimously (with Councilman Wade Nomura recusing himself) in favor of authorizing the city’s floodplain manager to submit a Letter of Map Revision request for the Carpinteria Creek area of the FIRM to FEMA. “Updating the FIRM for freeway washout conditions would remove 12 structures from the floodplain and add eight,” said Ebeling. “Updating the FIRM post-interchanges project would remove 272 structures from the Franklin Creek area, but the project does not change the status of Carpinteria Creek area structures.” In other business, the council voted unanimously in favor of introducing an ordinance to streamline the permitting process for small residential rooftop solar systems (and to continue the proposed ordinance for adoption to the next council meeting). The ordinance,
See COUNCIL continued on page 4
ANTONY MARCHIANDO
Ricardo Magana, 8, frees himself from the funhouse through the rotating tunnel at St. Joseph Church Festival on July 10. Magana was among the hundreds of local tykes who reveled in the bright lights and big rides of the annual, three-day festival on Linden Avenue. The wellloved carnival, which turned 58 this year, generates important funds for St. Joseph Catholic Church and always produces immeasurable fun for Carpinteria families. More photos of the event are on pages 26 and 27.
Schools present health plan Tests show fitness slump in fifth-grade BY LEA BOYD
Despite healthier cafeteria foods and a concerted effort to get kids moving, just over half of the fifth-graders in Carpinteria Unified School District meet healthy fitness standards. The good news, as reported to the school board on July 14, is that that percentage jumps to 77.7 in grade seven and 89.1 in grade nine. CUSD representative Sue Harrison presented the board with an overview of the district’s Health and Wellness Plan, which addresses mandates by the state and federal governments and provides a comprehensive description of the district’s efforts to improve the fitness and nutrition of its students. Students are assessed in grades five, seven and nine for physical fitness through testing in six areas, including body composition (similar to body mass index), aerobic fitness, abdominal strength and upper body strength. Students are categorized in the Healthy Fitness Zone by meeting five or six of the standards. Results show that body composition standards are the toughest to meet in
“One area that makes us very unique is our ability to buy fruit and vegetables from local growers.” ––Sue Harrison
all three grades: only 57.8 percent of fifth-graders meet the standard, while 71.4 and 70.3 percent of seventh and ninth graders are hitting that target. Students in kindergarten through sixth-grade are required to participate in 200 minutes of physical education for every 10 days of school. For seventh- to 12thgraders, 400 minutes of PE instruction are required.
See SCHOOLS continued on page 4