Article taken from the Santa
Barbara News Press
Published with permission
Ellwood Mesa subdivision
wins approval
By
THOMAS SCHULTZ
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
01/13/05
The California Coastal Commission approved a 62-unit housing subdivision for the Ellwood Mesa perimeter Wednesday -- a major milestone in a 20-year effort to shape development on the coastal wildland.
In a unanimous vote during a meeting in Long Beach, the commission gave the go-ahead to Comstock Homes and Development Partners.
"It couldn't have gone better," developer Bob Comstock said afterward.
He said the project will likely break ground in mid-April.
For years, several environmental groups have fought housing on the mesa and more recently worked with Mr. Comstock to refine his proposal. Plans call for 37 two-story and 25 one-story homes, ranging in size from 2,871 square feet to 4,141 square feet.
Ellwood Mesa is a seasonal monarch butterfly habitat. It is home to vernal pools and native grasslands, and it is used by visitors who walk, jog, bike, ride horses, watch birds or simply cross to the beach below.
The Comstock project stems from a carefully brokered land swap announced in 2002.
The Trust for Public Land plans to buy a 137-acre Ellwood property from Comstock Homes, then give it to Goleta as a park. The park would be a major piece of a larger, 652-acre Ellwood-Devereux Open Space spanning Goleta, Santa Barbara County and UCSB land.
Goleta in turn would give the developer-owners a portion of nearby Santa Barbara Shores Park, farther from the fragile shore.
The deal is expected to close on Jan. 31.
The remaining open space is expected to feature new or reconditioned trails and other improvements.
In addition to approving the homes, the commission limited public parking in an associated lot to the hours of 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Commissioner Dan Secord, who is also a Santa Barbara city councilman, proposed the restriction because some neighbors said all-night parking would cause a disturbance.
"The neighborhood got what they wanted in that regard," said Goleta City Councilwoman Margaret Connell, who flew to the meeting with other city representatives after mudslides closed Highway 101 at La Conchita on Monday.
"It was a bit of lovefest, really," she said. "There was no opposition. I don't think anybody is going to appeal this one. Everybody is pretty happy."