More Bates Beach Details
Carpinteria Design Board Approves Rincon Trail
The Carpinteria Architectural Review Board held a hearing on October 28 to consider that portion of the Rincon Trail which is on its city property. This is about 40% of the trail and is the part that falls on the north of the hill separating the freeway from the beach, the rest – the controversial part – is on county property. The meeting focuses on that part of the trail that starts at Hwy 150 and runs parallel to the 101 Freeway heading south for about a quarter mile.
The contest part of the Trail includes a bridge that will cross the railroad tracks from the freeway side and to the beachside of the hill, just east of where the nude beach is.
About 50 people attended the hearing at City Hall prepared to protest the southern side of the proposed Trail. Besides FOBB, the vast majority of those in attendance were paragliders who were protesting the plan’s removal of over 100,000 cubic feet of the hill above the beach required by the proposal. Doing so will remove the wind updrafts necessary for the gliders to soar. The Committee chair told them to hold their complaints for a different hearing in a few months when the Planning Commission will consider the revised Environmental Impact Report on the Trail.
Gary Mussell, Dir of FOBB, got to speak for a little over 3 minutes and pointed out that the Trail’s proposed terminus at the Bates parking lot was unsafe for bikers to ride through due to heavy auto use there. I also questioned the safety on the Trail path as there was no lighting and only minimal fencing. It is important there is adequate step-back fencing to keep people from peering over the cliff as our clothing-optional beach below.
Last, FOBB announced its support of a change in the Trail route to be more inland away from the beach alongside the freeway. The paragliders agreed and several of them congratulated me after the meeting for my supportive remarks.
In the end. The Board voted 5-0 to pass the Trail proposal along to the City Planning Commission, which will meet in January after a revised Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is released about the viability of the inland route.