CURRENTS GaviotaCoas
| It's going on |  |
| Gaviota File
In December of 1992 the 1st hearing on the ARCO golf course issue was held. The Santa Barbara Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation voted to oppose what we believed was an illegal coastal development. The Chapter was less than a year old. Members of Surfrider spoke in opposition at the hearing. Despite a staff recommendation opposing the project, the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the ARCO development with what is known as a "Conditional Use Permit". It was Surfrider's belief that the ARCO project does not meet the criteria for such a permit. In April of 1994, the California Coastal Commission backed Surfrider's views by denying ARCO's permit. Despite the fact that they did not meet the criteria for a rehearing, ARCO was granted a rehearing in August of 1994. In August of 1994, the California Coastal Commission caved in under fierce political pressure and voted in favor of the ARCO project. It should be noted that at the time ARCO was the largest political contributor on the State level. Despite it's loss, Surfrider fought on. In a dramatic reprieve, members of the Surfrider Foundation were able to establish the presence of the threatened Red Legged Frog in Eagle Canyon. Biologists surveyed the project site for special-status plants and wildlife in 1999 and 2000. The Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that the project might result in the take of two federally listed species, the threatened California red-legged frog and the endangered Tidewater Goby. The developer was asked to create a Habitat Protection Plan.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) on the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and incidental take permit under the Federal Endangered Species Act for the Arco Dos Pueblos Golf Course has been released for public comment. The permit would permit killing of the Red-Legged Frogs and Tidewater Goby for golf course construction and operation.
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act and Federal regulation Prohibit the "take" of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. The project would permanently alter 115 acres of upland dispersal habitat for the California Red-Legged Frog. Mark Jennings, a consultant, who has reviewed the Environmental Assessment (EA), and the Habitat Conservation Plan, said that he found several flaws with the documents, especially the EA. According to Jennings, they failed to survey properly. They failed to survey for many species of concern, and have vague, one-sentence mitigation measures to do things that, done incorrectly, will not work. In Jennings view, the EA and HCP would not preserve endangered and special concern species. |
Last Resort Former Pritzker family partner Alvin Dworman has more than a busted thrift to worry about. By now most folks know Alvin Dworman as the star-crossed partner of Chicago's billionaire Pritzker family in the insolvent Superior Bank, one of the nation's largest thrift failures in recent years. But in ritzy Santa Barbara, Calif., he's better known for his bulldog tenacity in building the Bacara Resort & Spa, a 360-room, 225-fireplace, $220 million development where rooms go for as much as $5,000 a night. After taking over the land as part of the acquisition of a real estate firm, Dworman, 75, spent 18 years battling environmentalists, politicians and locals to build the resort. It finally opened last September. But Dworman is having about as much luck with Bacara as he's having in the thrift business. By some industry estimates Dworman is losing $2 million a month on the property, which he financed in part with $135 million in loans from CIBC World Markets and Salomon Smith Barney. Despite such recent celebrity guests as Michael Jordan, the resort is on average 56% filled. It needs 75% occupancy to be profitable. "I wondered where the money went," shrugs Alan Reay, president of Costa Mesa, Calif. hotel broker Atlas Hospitality Group, after a visit. The location doesn't help. Despite Dworman's gushy marketing materials, Bacara isn't actually in Santa Barbara, but in the adjacent town of Goleta. Its next-door neighbor is a belching natural gas processing plant visible from Bacara's beach. During construction Dworman had to spend an additional $10 million after Chumash Indian artifacts were discovered on the site. He built an extra-steep ramp to avoid disturbing a grave, then bought special room-service trays that wouldn't slosh food on the ramp. Dworman can't even relax on the nearby public Sandpiper Golf Course, where guests who've had their fill of "oatmeal sage body polishes" and "Bindi herbal balances" can retreat for a round on the links. Dworman sued the course in January, complaining that he'd lost $5 million in additional sales, "10,000 new room nights per year" and "substantial monies" he spent on a clubhouse because the course wasn't improved to "world-class status." With the case pending in court, Dworman complains that the property still hasn't been upgraded to his standards. At least he doesn't have the Pritzkers complaining about this deal: They pulled their money out long ago. |
Welcome to CURRENTS. This new page will be dedicated to keeping you informed on current events. This page will be updated more often. Look forward to news and comments on ARCO, Naples and efforts to save the Gaviota Coast from development.