Our 165th Year
Rogers to lead Assistance League
Fascination with fish
Longtime member installed as president of ALSB - A2
Aquatic Jewels is new shop in Montecito Village - B1
75¢
M O N D A Y , M A Y 1 7, 2 0 2 1
Harbor gets ‘Clean Sweep’ Volunteers participate in 13th Operation Clean Sweep
Historic Resource guidelines headed to City Council By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Graham Carter, right, helps scoop up trash during “Operation Clean Sweep”— the cleanup of the seafloor debris — at the Santa Barbara Harbor on Sunday.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A dumpster full of corroded crab traps, pipes, tarp and more emerged from the ocean’s floor during Operation Clean Sweep, the Santa Barbara Waterfront Department’s annual harbor cleanup. Waterfront officials canceled the past two years’ Clean Sweeps, so seasoned “sweepers” have waited to dive in until Sunday morning for the 13th Operation Clean Sweep. “It’s almost like we’ve picked up right where we left off,” Harbor Operations Manager Erik Engebretson told the News-Press. “We have folks today that have been volunteers since we started.” Santa Barbara city divers, Santa Barbara City College dive program graduates and Salty Dog Dive Service staff were among the event’s 50 volunteers. The effort focused on the trash beneath the commercial fishing docks at the Santa Barbara Harbor. Divers swam down, clipping rope onto garbage and guiding it to the dock. Volunteers above water pulled the rope up, threw the mucky items into bins and carted the trash to a large dumpster. Waterfront Public Information Officer Chris Bell estimated that this year’s haul was the largest yet. The cleanup changes location annually, so it takes about five years to make a full rotation. David Running, a Waterfront maintenance diver, guesses that the two-year gap likely didn’t make a huge difference on the haul. “The longer you go between the more stuff is gonna accumulate, but I don’t think I don’t think it was that bad,” he said.
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Volunteers lift bins used to store live crabs out of the ocean, a heavy task with sludge in the containers.
Plastic bins with holes drilled out comprised most of Sunday’s trash pile. Fishermen store live crabs in these containers, holding them underwater to keep the crabs alive until market time. A diver hauled up one of these boxes and found around five live crabs inside, but that wasn’t the
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oddest find of the day. One volunteer group found a swordfish bill (and separated it from the rest of the haul). Waterfront staff assume most of the trash they recovered ended up on the seafloor accidentally, either by a boater’s misstep or a strong gust of wind.
Although the items may have been light enough to catch the breeze, they’re heavier when lifted from the ocean. Creatures like mussels or sea slugs cling onto the large trash, and containers fill with sludge. Mr. Running, who has Please see HARBOR on A4
Goleta city staff is bringing back to the City Council the updated 2021-2023 Strategic Plan, a guiding policy resource that identifies the priorities and goals of the organization and serves as a roadmap to inform future decision making, the city’s budget allocations and defining priorities in the departments’ annual work programs. After hearing the first draft version in February of this year, the City Council requested a focus on celebrating and improving the city’s existing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The new section was reviewed by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ad Hoc Subcommittee. During the staff presentation, staff will walk through the last remaining strategic goal and associated objectives to review the changes proposed to ensure equity, inclusion and access in city programs, services and activities. The added statements include: “continually examine operational policies and practices to eliminate bias and ensure equity, inclusion, and access; use data to develop baselines, set goals and measure the success of specific programmatic and policy changes; encourage and support the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s ongoing efforts
to ensure equitable policing; and seek input from relevant organizations and community groups,” among others. Goleta City Council members will also receive a presentation from the Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation on the potential creation of a Goleta Regional Action Plan. Among other things, the Goleta RAP would bring together business owners, the South Coast Regional Chamber of Commerce and other key stakeholders experiencing the impacts of homelessness to create strategies to reduce the impacts of homelessness for the City of Goleta, according to the staff report. “The primary objectives of the RAP include rallying appropriate partners to resolve local issues; helping educate the community on long term solutions to homelessness through presentations during RAP meetings; and creating 30/60/90-day impact reduction plans with all partners,” the staff report reads. “SBACT’s proposal and RAP efforts are intended to work in support of the City’s Homelessness Strategic Plan, not supplant it.” If the Council wishes to provide financial support, SBACT is seeking base funding for the effort in the amount of $16,750. Two public hearings will be Please see GOLETA on A4
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
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Goleta Council to hear updated 2021-23 Strategic Plan By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
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In a major work effort to meet the City of Santa Barbara’s goals, policies and implementation measures of the General Plan’s Historic Resources Element, city planners are proposing amendments to the existing Historic Resources Ordinance. The amendments, which apply citywide, aim to ensure the continued protection, preservation and enhancement of historical, architectural and archaeological resources; streamline the review process of potential designations and restoration projects to historic resources; and outline a process and criteria for designating historic districts. To inform property owners of historic resources around the preservation principles, appropriate treatment of historic resources and the city’s architectural design review process before beginning a project, staff and members of the Historic Landmarks Commission developed Historic Resource Design Guidelines. The Santa Barbara City Council will be asked to adopt the guidelines Tuesday afternoon. The guidelines are available to view on the city’s website at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/hrdg, and
provide specific instructions on: windows, doors, exterior woodwork, exterior plaster and masonry, roofs, roof elements and chimneys, porches and balconies, paint, additions, new construction, accessory dwelling units, streetscape, landscape and lighting elements and more. “The overarching goal of the guidelines is to protect the historical and architectural integrity of significant historic structures and landscapes in Santa Barbara,” the draft document with the guidelines reads. “Incorporating these guidelines into a project’s design will encourage more compatible architecture, attractive development in historic districts, context-sensitive design and contribute to the overall historic character of the city.” Major elements of the proposed Historic Resources Ordinance would: streamline the process to designate historic resources; outline a process to initiate, nominate and designate Historic Districts; include a new section on enforcement and penalties; establish a Certificate of Appropriateness process to review and approve minor maintenance administratively; update and incorporate definitions and language consistent with State and Please see COUNCIL on A4
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-18-27-35-36 Mega: 25
Sunday’s DAILY 4: 6-6-5-1
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 3-18-41-44-68 Mega: 3
Sunday’s FANTASY 5: 15-20-22-29-36
Sunday’s DAILY DERBY: 07-05-02 Time: 1:40.60
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 4-10-37-39-69 Meganumber: 24
Sunday’s DAILY 3: 4-8-8 / Midday 7-8-8