COURT ACCEPTS AMICUS BRIEF IN MEASURE J APPEAL
The legacy of Carpinteria’s ill-fated Measure J will be determined in court, after the ballot measure failed decisively at polls on June 8, 2010.  The Second District Court of Appeal has accepted a Brief Amicus Curiae from four local organizations in support of the City of Carpinteria, which alleges that Measure J is unconstitutional and illegal, and should never have been allowed on the ballot in the first place.  In its initial filings, the City described Measure J as improperly granting administrative (or “adjudicatory”) powers to the electorate, something that is prohibited by state law.  In addition, the City noted that provisions of Measure J violate Article II, Section 12 of the California Constitution, which prohibits private corporations from gaining special privileges or advantages through the voter initiative process.  The Environmental Defense Center authored the Amicus Brief on behalf of EDC, the Carpinteria Valley Association, Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs and Get Oil Out!.

Dam it!
Everyone agrees that the nearly 200-foot Matilija Dam on the Ventura River is obsolete, but removing a dam of this magnitude does raise some challenges – like how to manage all of the sediments that have built up behind the Dam since it was built. EDC is working with the Matilija Coalition to make sure this project stays on track because removing the Dam will provide access for steelhead to currently inaccessible prime habitat, and restoring the River’s flow of sand from its headwaters to the ocean will replenish our severely diminished beaches. Click here to learn more about the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project.

GOLETA BEACH 2.0
In 2010, Santa Barbara County Parks Department unveiled a fresh, new more environmentally-sensitive plan for Goleta Beach Park: “Goleta Beach 2.0.” Following EDC’s and Surfrider’s victory in July 2009 when  the Coastal Commission denied Santa Barbara County’s proposed erosion control groin structure on Goleta Beach, the County has adopted a compromise approach that seeks to protect Goleta Beach Park by working with natural shoreline sand-supply processes.  The new plan is similar to the alternative our engineers and geologists conceived. It expands the beach area by an acre and adds trails, kayak rentals and other recreational amenities. Goleta Beach 2.0 relocates the parking spaces in the prime erosion zone nearest UCSB – along with the sewer and utility lines – inland and out of harms way.  EDC and Surfrider generally support the County’s new approach. However the new plan includes a “backstop revetment” – essentially a buried seawall which once exposed will cause erosion and narrowing of Goleta Beach.  TAKE ACTION>>