Santa Barbara County Development And Redevelopment

The repercussions of a state gambling agreement are echoing off the hills of this oak-speckled valley of horse farms and vineyards as yet another Indian casino rushes a building project to avoid losing its right to operate lucrative new slot machines.

The repercussions of a state gambling agreement are echoing off the hills of this oak-speckled valley of horse farms and vineyards as yet another Indian casino rushes a building project to avoid losing its right to operate lucrative new slot machines.

The state Supreme Court, reviewing a widely watched environmental dispute, was asked Thursday to limit the alternative sites that local officials must consider before approving proposed developments. The case, along with a second dispute argued before the high court this week, posed a sharp clash between developers trying to combat needless delays and slow-growth forces trying to thwart what they see as environmentally harmful projects.

An aircraft will fly over Santa Barbara County's wine country this year, snapping photographs of sprawling oak woodlands in the picturesque countryside. County officials hope the aerial mapping will form a comprehensive database that will help strike a balance between environmentalists who want to save the oak trees and those who want them bulldozed to make way for new vineyards.

After nearly 18 years of delays, lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, preliminary groundwork has begun on a 400-room, $200-million hotel and spa to be situated northwest of Goleta in Santa Barbara County. The controversial Santa Barbara Club Resort & Spa is expected to open in about two years, according to Adco Group, the New York firm that owns the 73-acre site.

Many Southern Californians expressed little sympathy for drought-weary Santa Barbara as water rates tripled, lawns turned brown and vegetation withered and died. Santa Barbara deserved its fate, critics of the city's water policy said. Residents had the chance to obtain an additional water supply in 1979, but rejected it when they voted against tying into the State Water Project, partly to control growth. Now residents have another chance--a final chance--for state water.

While much of the rest of the country hunkers through these recession-like times and the state copes with its most severe drought in decades, a building boom is about to occur in this isolated hamlet in northern Santa Barbara County. Residents of this former company town have worried about a growth-limiting water shortage for more than 30 years, but now things are looking up.

Ellwood Shores, where hawks forage in the fields and monarch butterflies winter in the eucalyptus groves, seems an unlikely battleground. But this tranquil coastal mesa is a prime development site, commanding a 360-degree view of the sea, tawny grassland and the deep green of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

With its purple wildflowers, red foxes and great blue herons, the Ellwood Shores area seems an idyllic coastal refuge. But a 254-acre mesa here is the site of a contentious battle over growth along the seaside bluffs northwest of Santa Barbara. "It's a political hot potato that's burning a lot of us up," said one resident.

As city officials consider various proposals for emergency water supplies, the longstanding controversy over whether Santa Barbara County should tie into the state Water Project has again resurfaced. For decades, the issue of state water has divided the community on the issue of growth. Many city officials say they do not want state water because they fear that greater water resources will result in more development, which would simply create new water shortages.

Construction has begun on a $45-million community retail and entertainment project near UC Santa Barbara that will include a park and other recreational facilities. The 83-acre Camino Real project south of Highway 101 in the unincorporated Santa Barbara County community of Goleta will rank as one of the largest retail developments in the area, according to Mark Linehan, owner of Wynmark, the Santa Barbara-based real estate firm developing the project.

After nearly 18 years of delays, lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, preliminary groundwork has begun on a 400-room, $200-million hotel and spa to be situated northwest of Goleta in Santa Barbara County. The controversial Santa Barbara Club Resort & Spa is expected to open in about two years, according to Adco Group, the New York firm that owns the 73-acre site.

Ellwood Shores, where hawks forage in the fields and monarch butterflies winter in the eucalyptus groves, seems an unlikely battleground. But this tranquil coastal mesa is a prime development site, commanding a 360-degree view of the sea, tawny grassland and the deep green of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

With its purple wildflowers, red foxes and great blue herons, the Ellwood Shores area seems an idyllic coastal refuge. But a 254-acre mesa here is the site of a contentious battle over growth along the seaside bluffs northwest of Santa Barbara. "It's a political hot potato that's burning a lot of us up," said one resident.

Many Southern Californians expressed little sympathy for drought-weary Santa Barbara as water rates tripled, lawns turned brown and vegetation withered and died. Santa Barbara deserved its fate, critics of the city's water policy said. Residents had the chance to obtain an additional water supply in 1979, but rejected it when they voted against tying into the State Water Project, partly to control growth. Now residents have another chance--a final chance--for state water.

While much of the rest of the country hunkers through these recession-like times and the state copes with its most severe drought in decades, a building boom is about to occur in this isolated hamlet in northern Santa Barbara County. Residents of this former company town have worried about a growth-limiting water shortage for more than 30 years, but now things are looking up.

An aircraft will fly over Santa Barbara County's wine country this year, snapping photographs of sprawling oak woodlands in the picturesque countryside. County officials hope the aerial mapping will form a comprehensive database that will help strike a balance between environmentalists who want to save the oak trees and those who want them bulldozed to make way for new vineyards.

Construction has begun on a $45-million community retail and entertainment project near UC Santa Barbara that will include a park and other recreational facilities. The 83-acre Camino Real project south of Highway 101 in the unincorporated Santa Barbara County community of Goleta will rank as one of the largest retail developments in the area, according to Mark Linehan, owner of Wynmark, the Santa Barbara-based real estate firm developing the project.

The state Supreme Court, reviewing a widely watched environmental dispute, was asked Thursday to limit the alternative sites that local officials must consider before approving proposed developments. The case, along with a second dispute argued before the high court this week, posed a sharp clash between developers trying to combat needless delays and slow-growth forces trying to thwart what they see as environmentally harmful projects.

As city officials consider various proposals for emergency water supplies, the longstanding controversy over whether Santa Barbara County should tie into the state Water Project has again resurfaced. For decades, the issue of state water has divided the community on the issue of growth. Many city officials say they do not want state water because they fear that greater water resources will result in more development, which would simply create new water shortages.