EMID Updates
Town Hall: Roads, Culverts, and Infrastructure with Third District County Supervisor Joan Hartmann
Sent on behalf of Supervisor Hartmann:
Dear Rancho Embarcadero Residents,
We wanted to share a brief update on several issues raised at the Rancho Embarcadero town hall earlier in the summer.
Frontier fiber service to the upper canyon: We contacted Frontier about extending fiber service to the upper canyon residences. Frontier confirmed that the area would be extremely expensive to serve and that it currently has no plans for an expansion. Its Vice President of Public Affairs has nevertheless committed to exploring whether there are any viable options. The area may not qualify for available grant funding, but providing a list of interested households will help demonstrate demand and strengthen the case for future service. Residents interested in fiber service should provide their address here https://frontier.com/pages/why-frontier/why-fiber-internet/fiber-expansion to build momentum.
Drainage from the neighboring Wallover property on to Vereda del Ciervo: County Planning and Development reviewed the drainage improvements installed following the 2023 landslide. Staff determined that the system was constructed under an emergency permit, in accordance with approved plans, and generally follows the hillside’s historic drainage pattern. There are no outstanding permit violations.
However, the County shares residents’ concerns about the exposed PVC pipe, the persistent water and algae along Vereda del Ciervo, and the potential impact on the County-maintained roadway. Planning and Development has contacted the contractor, who is discussing possible aesthetic and functional improvements with the property owner. Because the project was constructed according to the approved plans, the County may have limited authority to require additional work, but collaboratively the contractor is thus far willing to engage in making improvements. Our office will continue pressing for practical improvements and will share further updates as they become available.
Easements and culvert responsibility: Work is still underway, the County Surveyor is compiling and mapping available information regarding easements and responsibility for the area’s culverts. We will provide an update when that work is complete.
Speed-limit signage on Calle Real: We thought we could hit the “easy button” on residents’ request for a speed-limit sign on Calle Real approaching the Rancho Embarcadero entrance. It turns out the current unposted speed is 55 mph—which is quite high. So, naturally, our next question was: What can we do to lower it?
Even with recent changes in state law giving local jurisdictions some flexibility in lower speed limits, Calle Real most likely does not currently qualify for those exceptions. Establishing a lower speed limit would require an engineering and traffic survey based largely on how fast vehicles are already traveling—and Public Works believes that would likely result in a posted limit of 50 or 55 mph. There is an entire methodology for setting speed limits in California, we are not allowed to pick a number and post it. Residents have historically preferred not to advertise such a high speed, so simply installing a sign may not be the safety improvement everyone had in mind.
However, we recently learned that the City of Goleta lowered the speed limit in a nearby neighborhood. We have asked County staff to take another look at the City’s methodology and determine whether a similar approach could work here? We are open to feedback on this – we anticipate that posting 50 or 55 mph signage would not fulfil the spirit of the request from Rancho Embarcadero residents.
Road-maintenance concerns: Residents may report County road-maintenance issues directly to Vincent Torres with County Public Works at 805-681-5678.
We appreciate everyone who participated in the town hall and helped identify these issues. We will continue following up with the appropriate County departments and sharing information as it becomes available.
Gina Fischer
Chief of Staff
Office of Supervisor Joan Hartmann
105 E. Anapamu Street, 4th Floor, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
C 805.319.0498|E gfischer@countyofsb.org
Click here for other EMID Notifications and Upcoming Events.