Gaviota among recipients of funds

The $81 billion state budget signed by Gov. Gray Davis Tuesday includes money to preserve the Gaviota coast, build a park in Goleta and create a new children's museum in Santa Maria.

While eight Santa Barbara County projects-worth more than $10 million-escaped a Davis veto, some suffered significant cuts. Requests for commercial space ventures and a Santa Maria youth center were both chopped in half.

The $5 million set aside for the purchase of land along the Gaviota coastline was the largest local allocation in the budget that Davis approved. State Sen. Jack O'Connell, D-San Luis Obispo and Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, both lobbied for the funds.

"The protection of the Gaviota coast is very important," O'Connell said. "It's such a pristine environment. It's clearly worth our efforts to protect."

The money will help buy open-space easements along the coastal bluffs and ranches in the region from Coal Oil Point in Goleta to Point Sal west of Santa Maria. It is the largest remaining open coastal area in Southern California

"These one-time investments to preserve California's coastline will pay lasting dividends for future generations to enjoy," Davis said in a written statement.

Corey Brown, an attorney with The Trust for Public Land, a group involved in the preservation drive, credited O'Connell and Jackson with making sure the money survived the Legislature and governor.