Surveillance cameras removed from Montecito trail; hiker raises concern

Editor’s note: Surveillance cameras on Ridge Trail in Montecito, which prompted concern from resident Bryan Rosen, have been removed. This story looks at the chronology of events for the cameras that Mr. Rosen discovered during a hike.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Montecito resident Bryan Rosen was taking a hike up Ridge Trail, which was busy with hikers.

When Mr. Rosen reached the hot springs, he found a surveillance camera pointed at a pool of hot water.

This was on Feb. 17.

According to Mr. Rosen, the camera was not there on Feb.15. The camera had a tag affixed to it which read “County of Santa Barbara, Public Works, Trail and Creek Monitoring in Progress, Do Not Tamper or Remove, Enforced by County Sheriff.”

On Feb. 17, Mr. Rosen contacted the Santa Barbara

County Public Works Department about the camera.

“That camera does not belong to the Flood Control District,” Alex Doran of Public Works told Mr. Rosen in an email on Feb. 17. “The Flood Control District always affixes metal tags with our name and phone number on it in case anyone has concerns. It seems odd the camera has ‘Public Works’ and ‘County Sheriff’ logos and no contact information. The ‘Trail and Creek Monitoring’ label doesn’t seem like something associated with Public Works activities.”

Mr. Doran said Public Works determined that the camera did not belong to the department.

On Feb. 18, a Saturday, Mr. Rosen hiked there again, and the camera was still there. According to Mr. Rosen, there were three women bathing in the pool.

Mr. Rosen said he “tampered with the camera by turning it toward the tree trunk it was attached to…I did a little trail repair work above where the