County zoning administrator to consider residential project on Gaviota Coast Cliffs | Local News

Environmental groups are opposing a proposed housing development in Naples on the Gaviota coast.

Developers want to use a 2008 environmental impact report as a basis for development, but environmental groups want new scrutiny.

The project includes construction of a 6,500 square foot single-family residence, an 800 square foot guest house, a 2,000 square foot barn and a 1,000 square foot garage.

On Tuesday, the Gaviota Coast Conservancy released a statement urging members of the public to attend Monday’s hearing and voice their concerns about the project.

The Gaviota Coast Conservancy argues that restoration must occur before development, that an independent environmental review is required, that impacts on public access are ignored, and that the project is inconsistent with the Gaviota Coast Plan.

The project also includes the DMF Fund LLC Habitat Restoration Project, which aims to restore 0.49 acres of native grassland and 0.14 acres of wetland habitat to address unauthorized disking, i.e. that is, the cultivation of a field with a harrow or plow to loosen the soil.

The drive was made by a neighbor in 2019, according to the Santa Barbara County Zoning Administrator’s staff report.

If developers are allowed to use the previous report, the discs on the site would not be part of the environmental impact report.

Additionally, since the 2008 report, the county has approved the Gaviota Coastal Plan, which includes protections for feeding habitats for the white-tailed kite, a type of hawk. Rachel Kondor, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Center, said she found evidence of foraging on the ground.

“This is such an important parcel and such an important coastal area that we would like to see a more rigorous review,” Kondor said.

The 2008 environmental impact report covered 71 lots in Naples, not just Lot 66, which is the one considered for development. For this reason, the Environmental Defense Center argues that the previous report had a broader perspective and that there have since been significant changes in this specific batch, according to Kondor.

The Gaviota Coast Conservancy insists that the DMF project is “substantially different” from the Santa Barbara Ranch project and that there may be new impacts from the development that were not considered in the original report.

“It’s a smaller project, and yet they’re starting from a larger report,” said Doug Kern, executive director of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy. “There are a lot of changing circumstances, and this would require you to evaluate the project in light of current changes.”

Kern said they were also concerned that the project does not have specific plans to ensure trails and public access to the bluffs, which the Gaviota Coastal Plan requires. The project plans state that public access will be provided but do not provide specific details.

Efforts have been made to build various projects on these cliffs since 1888, according to Kern. One of the main reasons the community has fought to keep this land undeveloped is the importance of the land to the Chumash people.

“We are very concerned that there has not been enough archeology to really determine the extent of these villages. — there could be burial sites, there could be any number of archaeological sites – and we don’t think these assessments are complete,” Kern said.

The Santa Barbara Ranch project was approved on October 21, 2008, but the project was never built.

In 2016, the lot’s new owner, DMF Fund LLC, submitted applications for the Seaside Residence Project on the same property and is seeking rights under the existing zoning designation, according to the staff report.

The Zoning Administrator’s hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Monday at 105 E. Anapamu St. in the Planning Commission hearing room. Members of the public can attend in person or on Zoom to provide public comments.

If approved, the project will then go to the county planning commission for approval.