Beautiful! Poetic justice. I don’t recommend the average Joe trying that approach however. It’s about time somebody flipped them the proverbial bird because it always seems like they’re doing that to us.
I was in Santa Barbara during the great oil spill, and witnessed the birth of the Coastal Commission.
What began as an innocent advisory watchdog morphed quickly into what it is today. A bunch of politicly motivated power hungry appointees who have no motivation to “protect our coast “. It has become a joke. I’d love to see the Commission be de-commissioned!
Completely agree. I grew up here - was also here during the oil spill. It absolutely needs to be gone. Along with Planned Parenthood, by which I'm not saying get rid of abortion, just the evil monstrosity PP.
I too was here in 69’ and remember the spill vividly. As a kid, I would see city workers in small dinghies spreading hay in the harbor, trying to soak up all the excess oil. It was terrible to be sure and gave rise to the modern environmental movement. No doubt individuals and corporations must be held accountable and liable to the fullest extent of the law.
However, it would seem legitimate tragedies which occur in society often result in more radical movements taking hold.
BLM and J-6 also comes to mind in terms of radicalization of the left, ie “never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Back when the environmental movement was mainly clean air and water and don't be a litter bug. What was not to like.
Then it slowly morphed into this draconian global micromanager, wealth redistribution scheme based entirely on unverifiable pseudo-science and even took over the entire K-12 educational agenda. Lessons learned.
Climate Change™ today is a hoax. Clean air, water and landscapes are still AOK, but it does not take endless tax dollars and intrusive government mandates to make us care about these reasonable common sense and measurable goals.
Yes, I remember the fun posters as a child “Give a hoot, don’t pollute.”
Today, the indoctrination of children is much more sinister. Introduction to Union activity at an early age, walking the picket lines for the benefit of teachers and continuing on to University level. The Union indoctrination continues into adulthood and goes hand in hand with Dem Party support. Environmentalism is yet another tentacle of indoctrination.
The architectural review board is composed of like tyrants. In order to permit a faux red tile roof made of metal I was required to kiss the feet of the board. The permit was denied pending board review. I was dragged before the body with my roofer and a physical sample of the roofing material to justify my affront to the character and beauty of Santa Barbara. While I agreed that red clay tile was true to the spirit of preserving Santa Barbara's historical character and that I was motivated by same, alas my home was not built to withstand the weight of a tile roof. I offered that the metal roof was very light, was completely fireproof and from curbside looked every bit the tile roof they sought. The board was unimpressed. The asked me to employ a structural engineer to confirm that indeed the structure was insufficient to support a tile roof and estimate the cost to reinforce. Obtaining an engineering opinion letter at considerable expense I showed that the structure was indeed insufficient to support a tile roof and that reinforcement would cost $50,000 (2014). Still unimpressed the board asked me to reappear with physical samples of the roofing material in other colors (swear). Reappearing with my roofer we offered samples in several colors. While still unimpressed, the board nevertheless approved the original permit while resolving to be less lenient in the future and admonishing me for playing fast and loose with Santa Bardara's architectural character.
While I usually disagree with many of the far right views of the articles here, I have also been a Santa Barbara business owner and have had to deal with the Coastal Commission and the SB architectural review board. They are impossible and make it hard for local mom and pop business (ie: making you hire a structural engineer to confirm your roof. That's ridiculous!).
I am 100% for all environmental protections and also for keeping the spirit of Santa Barbara's historical character, but tin roofs ARE fireproof and that should be taken into consideration in our fire prone area. The city also levees considerable fees for anything a business owner tries to do from the most mundane small change to the biggest things. This city is out of control and we will continue to see vacant commercial real estate causing blights to our city if we allow them to remain the way they are. Furthermore, all these excessive fees, rules and regulations for homeowners will ensure that only the very wealthy can afford to live here and fix up their homes.
Respectfully but candidly, you seem to frequently loathe the views of conservatives, ie small government, low taxes, reduced regulations, less overreach etc, UNTIL it affects you and your business personally.
A little teaspoon of hypocrisy served up with your morning coffee?
NO, LT, no hypocrisy at all! I may be a liberal, but I do not buy into government overreach, despite what you people love to say about liberals. I do NOT think that the city treated Jeff Barton fairly nor did they treat me fairly when I was trying to open my business. We jumped through hoops that were insane. I am no hypocrite. Nowhere did I say a single thing that was hypocritical. Check yourself. More right wing hate when I was actually leaving an agreeable comment.
As we should, Danno. But they are thoughtful objections to obvious fallacies; not hate nor even bad reactions. But necessary course corrections to keep discussions fair and balanced. A novelty in this town. Glad you are still reading, you too S. Schroder.
Perhaps, Sheryl, in all due respect, it would have been better if you'd simply left out your preamble about the "far right views of the articles here" and just commenced with your comment which I have to say must have been no fun for you to go through. You seem to look on The Current readers as always your adversary. I would like to think most of us are folks that want to live our lives honestly and well without the tyranny of big government looming over us. I hope that is your stance as well and except for your initial comment, I appreciate what you writing in on this.
I have no idea what “far right” or “liberal” means to Seibert or Schroeder. Or why they constantly mention the political niche they or anyone else belongs to. It's beyond tiresome, but it seems to be the only thing on their minds. It seems insanely important that they are liberal and not right wing like the people they see here. Don't you guys ever just drop the self identification and talk about issues? Without your identity intruding? I agree with people here on some issues and not at all on others. I don't care what they call themselves or what Seibert and Schroeder call them. Reading Seibert and Schroeder just makes me depressed.
All a responsible citizen can do is ignore harassing extortionists on local Boards. Seems now locals build, renovate, without permits; wait to be fined. The fine costs much less than the cost of going through the local elongated bureaucratic impossible process. My 3000sf home plans took 3 years of their redesigning into a 8800sf fortress that met their idiosyncrasies and EGOS. The City wants only the super wealthy to own a home here to pay high taxes for staff’s unreasonably high compensation packages. Eligibility test for applicants is ability to pay the cost of the process; or be a force like Ed St George or Space Force Brass! I applaud them!!
What can be done beyond a SCOTUS ruling in our totalitarian DEM controlled state? Government payrolled voters out number private sector.
As a nobody, all I can do is curse Gebhardt and his ABR peers of decades past whenever near City’s Garden Street planning office.
What a nightmare. Most likely a lot of stories out there like yours It's a shame when they stray from reality and common in such a way. Must be quite a power trip for them to have over the little peons.
Unfortunately Trump has no control over a state agency like the CA Coastal Commission. Regardless of who wins in November the CCC will continue in their arrogant, overzealous and over reaching ways.
Great eye opening article, Mr. Stoker. It's good to see a powerful commission like the California Coastal Commission being put in their place. I will be anxious to hear the outcome of it.
I read this interesting article by Mr. Stoker titled "Coastal Commission Comeuppance"
Recently I sat down with Mr. Stoker and told him WHO was here in Santa Barbara and the MAJOR
problems that have been uncovered in our Community. Those "WHO" are senior agents of
the FBI, "WHO" are addressing serious problems in our Community, that is a MAJOR Public Corruption Investigation; just one of which Mr. Stoker informs us as follows and I quote .......
"Three weeks ago, Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) appeared before the Commission trying to cooperate with the Commission and work out ‘issues’ the Commission has with VSFB to be consistent with the California Coastal Plan for additional launches of Space X rockets. At the request of Space X, I also appeared in my capacity as President and CEO of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Advocacy Center (www.sbctac.org) to support VSFB and Space X. The Commission has imposed seven conditions on VSFB to be deemed consistent with the Coastal Plan. Currently, VSFB is in compliance with four of those conditions. The bottom question was what would happen if VSFB refused to comply with the other three."
Again I quote from Mr. Stoker "At the hearing, Deputy Vice Commander of VSFB Dorian Hatcher testified. In his comments, he made it clear that VSFB would not be complying with the other three conditions. Then, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen happen at a Coastal Commission took place. After concluding his comments, Vice-Commander Hatcher did a 180 pivot from the podium and started walking back to his seat. As he was walking, the Chair asked Hatcher to his back if it was true that neither he nor his staff would answer questions from the Commissioners. Vice-Commander Hatcher, did another 180 pivot and ever so slowly walked back to the podium, grabbed the mike, and said two simple words, “…That’s correct!”
Let me be very clear to everyone here, including Legal Counsel for the Santa Barbara County and also for the Santa Barbara City, when you hurt people in your community and violate thier Civil Rigths on a consistent basis then maybe just maybe you are going to have a MAJOR Response from the US Government and the Civil Rigths Dept. of the DOJ, who are here in Santa Barbara.
The New Title should read "Santa Barbara So-Called-Leaders Get thier Comeuppance"
and I will again post former FBI Executive Tom Parkers Article for those who have not read it >>>>
"Perceptions of Political Corruption Too Often the Harbingers of Stark Reality"
I quote from former FBI Executive Mr. Parker's NO BS Article as follows>>>>>
"Perceptions are too often the harbingers of stark reality. This is especially true when it comes to questioning the ethics or illicit acts of local government officials. While spending nearly 25 years in the FBI and convicting a number of local, state, and federal officials on corruption charges, it did not take long for my colleagues and I to learn how to spot those who had crossed the bright line into unethical, and sometimes corrupt, behavior. In most cases, worrisome perceptions had run rampant in the community that something was wrong. For those of you who may not have knowingly experienced such behavior in your own community, and for purposes of this article, let me give you a quick homegrown lesson in what that malfeasance smells like."
PS - I will add this. When you hurt our children, like sexual abuse, using them for financial gain, then you have the blood of our Children on your hands. That is EXACTLY why Kennedy has supported Trump as Kennedy said in his speech yesterday "The War Against Our Children"
Thank you, Mike. Very clear report of the ongoing bullying the Coastal Commission does. Hilarious court moment by Hatcher - I wish my mom was still here to enjoy it. She hated the Coastal Commission. Like everyone else who ever had to deal with them.
After I read your column I took a look at their 2021-2025 “Final Strategic Plan” and I see they have a lot of diversity mandates (but of course) and are concerned about “climate change” affecting public access. So are they trying to use “climate change” to get their way with access - or are they planning to do something about climate change? The bloat of that agency makes it hard to understand anything past their flatulence, like what exactly do they think they have the right to do?
I often wonder where ultimate authority comes from for things like forcing citizens to take an experimental drug, gas bans, plastic bag bans, wear masks, housing mandates, put signs in our own front yards…etc.
I have inquired and gone only so far up the chain until I get the proverbial “it’s the state” 🤷♂️
Its nice to know that it can be pushed back against and Goliath can be brought to heel.
"It's the state" = state Senator Monique Limon and Assemblyman Gregg Hart.
The state is the collective voice of our own elected representatives. Why keep re-electing them and moving them up the political food chain, when they so actively work against us?
Limon (D): school board to assembly to state senator.
Hart (D) : city council to county supervisor to state assemblyman.
Full disclosure: I am running for my local little Goleta city council, district 4 this year 😃
I ask this question and others like it all the time and can’t get a straight answer. If I didn’t know better, I’d say no one wants to accept responsibility for these edicts and boutique projects forced on the people. So we lose things everybody wants like fireworks on the 4th of July and we get $5M road restriping projects, stack&pack housing developments, and tens of millions spent on a train station only used by less than a hundred people…
Eric, Downside of the failed Democrat election-reform measure "term limits". No one needs to take responsibility any longer for their own actions or what damage they inflict during their own short term in office.
Serious issues just get kicked down the road to the next group of elected short-timers. Employee unions swooped into this power vacuum for their own interests, and now remain entrenched forever.
Guard your own independence is the best advice I can offer, once you understand where the hidden powers exist even in our local elections. Maintaining your own independent community network for re-election is your best defense against organized partisan and employee union opposition.
Does any future policy or program increase dependency on the government; or does it free dependency on the government? And that includes government spending only for Democrat-voting union projects. Spending tax dollars is the mother's milk, even in local politics. Needing to continually raise tax dollars is its curse. Advocating for balanced budgets is a heroic duty..
Federal or state grant money available for local infrastructure also drives project decisions - such as linking Santa Barbara Airport to the Goleta Amtrak station is a worthy future goal, but not yet a feasible option.
Understanding the limits of municipal finance along with understanding the many, many strings and restrictions now put on any "free money" is essential homework for anyone running for public office. League of Cities should offer you this necessary public finance information. Thank you for running. Wishing you the very best.
Thanks! Yeah it’s a long shot but gotta try. In the immortal words of the late great Ernest Borgnine: “I’m not trying to light the world on fire; I’m just trying to keep my nuts warm.” 😃
OMG...do these people ever stop coming up with ways to spend money they don't have on projects we don't need?? Not content with ramming a re-striping road project down old town goletians throats and knocking down small businesses there over 40%, now they want to borrow from Peter to pay Paul to build some Taj Mahal train station here for the 100 people or so who may or may not use it! It's so depressing watching children run amok with their parent's credit card! ;)
Yes, I agree. These two specifically need to be targeted by Republicans for defeat. Through in Joan Hartman while you’re at it. Unfortunately, that will probably never happen because of ongoing election interference by the local public sector unions.
Wait, Gregg Hart was on the city council twice with some years in between. He was termed out, I can't remember what did for a while, (at some point before he was on the city Planning commission) then he ran again for council. All the while I found him to be condescending and self-aggrandizing.
His second lowest point was serving two separate term on the council. Who does that except someone who can get a job? But his lowest point, and I hope I never see others do this, was to serve one year on the council then bail. Because of district elections he ran unopposed and I think we all knew he had his eye on the county supervisor race. He could have dropped his city council nomination but he didn't. Meagan Harmon, with a few years of residency in the city was appointed to serve the rest of his term. And now we are stuck with her.
Gregg ran for his second city council term when it switched to district elections, knowing he would soon be moving on to the upcoming opening on the county board of supervisors. (Or was it his move to the Assembly after the in-house Democrat musical chairs left new openings to pursue.)
This future intended abandonment of office was not kept from the voters, who elected him anyway. (In our closed system partisan town) Then almost immediately he resigned from his second city council term to move on to the county board (state?), but not before dumping that restrictive "union labor agreement on all future city council operations. A politically shabby performance, for a man with a hundred dollar smile.
Thanks for your nice comments Eric. The CCC is appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Majority Leader. They each get 4 appointments. Since all three are far-left progressive Democrats the people they appoint are a reflection of themselves. And they have very little appreciation of the concept of private property rights. That is a completely foreign notion to them.
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a system of the larger disease...over-regulation, increasing government-overeach, and the ever-increasing power afforded the unelected bureaucracies, such as the CCC, RWQCB, CDFW, APCD, etc... I saw it firsthand with the wind farm development adjacent to VSFB. The developments' shared border with the CCC was considered the "electric third rail" never to be infringed upon.
The overall picture is very complex. On one hand, we need certain environmental protections in place. But when do these protections...or shall I say "arbiters" of the protection...become too powerful? There needs to be a balance. Unfortunately, it appears we are rapidly getting to a point (with decades of unchecked and accumulating power procured by the "machine"), where the balance has siphoned off the "power of the people" in favor of the authority bestowed to these regulatory agencies and various bureaucracies.
There needs to be a "great restructuring" of how these agencies can operate and the interaction/cooperation between said agencies and the general population. Without the proper "checks and balances" these agencies will turn into nothing short of "Gestapo-like" political machinery bent on absolute power and control not unlike a certain political Party that just concluded their "nomination" convention. And many of us think that point has already arrived.
One more reason not to support SBCC's pending half billion dollar Measure P bond issue is the college sits squarely within the Coastal Commission area of authority. Consequently, how many dollars from that bond issue will be siphoned off simply to support Coastal Commission detailed scrutiny of each and every SBCC proposed new projects?
As just one example among many past SBCC tangles with the Coastal Commission, a review of historic photographs was part of the Coastal Commission invetigation in order to install the donor-gifted Winslow Maxwell Overlook site on an unused portion of the campus. It was then discovered there were a few missing eucalyptus trees in that area, when compared to arial photographs of this site from many decades prior.
No one had present knowledge of when, where or how those trees had been lost. There was hell to pay to remediate this finding, which materially delayed the project and greatly increased additional project costs in response this minute degree of required Coastal Commission scrutiny.
Yes, it would seem that law abiding, taxpayers are being victimized by the regulatory state. That’s right, shake people down over fees and denying property rights. This, while bureaucrats enjoy high salaries, bloated pensions, all protected by the unions. Come election time, their candidates are re-elected simply because they outnumber us!
Congratulations to Mr. Stoker for exposing this cabal of lefty, environmental lunacy. Clearly, this appointed, non-elected board is the most powerful body in our state government. Their reach includes over 1,100 miles of our coast line and extends some 5 miles inland. The board make up is overwhelming from San Francisco with little or no representation from Central or Southern California. Yes, the make up is that of radical environmentalists, no doubt hand picked by the Democratic Industrial Complex which also decides everything of consequence in this state. Groups such as the EDC, Surfrider and the Sierra Club also have strong influence with the CCC in terms of board make up, policy and outcomes!
Kudos to the US Space Force for putting these bureaucratic bullies in their place!
The CCC seems to decide EVERYTHING that involves our treasured coast from space launches to home improvement to giving permission for a wedding ceremony! This is yet another prime example of how the deep state works…the proverbial tail wagging the dog.
That’s right, unelected zealots who have NO accountability to the voters, which decides the use of OUR coastline!
I used the analogy a few weeks ago; what if the US is under nuclear attack? Does the US military have to ask the CCC for permission to respond? It seems like a ridiculous question, but don’t put it past these extremists.
A interesting conflict seems to now exist between the CCC and housing rights advocates. Yes, the “housing for all folks” are now at odds over high density housing development on our coastline…go figure!
At the same time, the CCC has had an history of trying to extort private property in the form of public easements from property owners in exchange for remodeling a privately owned home! At least until a Judge saw otherwise!
Yes, it’s high time the citizens of our state takes back our coast and stands up against these appointed environmental radicals!
We as taxpayers and voters need to do what the USSF did, turning our backs on these power hungry bureaucrats and DEMAND reforms!
Reminder: Our local Coastal Commission representative is Meghan Harmon, the downtown city council member also responsible for the State Street mess, the proliferation of massive high-rise housing projects, the current city budget short-fall, and the city takeover by the aggressive bike lobby. What is next in her political future?
What’s next for Rep Meghan Harmon? I’m hoping full-time mothering of her children off of any Dias or decision making Board. How she was reelected escapes me: I can’t recall the vote count. Initially, Harmon was the SBDNC’s groomed and handpicked, puppet candidate.
Totally agree, and the vote wasn't that close. She was reelected because incumbents usually win unless like Jason Dominguez they under estimate their opponent.
She ran against Nina Johnson who was way more qualified. Nina worked for the city for decades while Meagan had only lived here for less than ten years. Also, do you remember the quote from Ed St. George on the Josh Molina podcast. He said she shouldn't run and should spend these precious years with her two little kids. Now she as an infant! Ed was crucified locally but it was Josh's #1 podcast for a number of years. The thing is, Ed was right.
Good Article & Great to hear that a military space force commander waive the flying fickle finger of fate in the face of the California Costal Commission — another governmental body that has overreached to the extent that is now losing authority, much like the loss of authority in all of our other institutions. Be it our government — the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the congressional branch — authority is being lost on all fronts. The ongoing breakdown of authority continues to occur in all of our aspects of our lives, be it our electoral system, health systems, education systems, media & information systems, policing systems, etc. Most all can now easily see that authority is breaking down around us as we suffer the consequences. This was expected.
I know a fellow who developed a large language model (AI) back in the 1990s that can somewhat predict the future. Some of the predictions are quite amazing, including foreseeing the 9/11 event, the financial crash starting 2007-2008, Trump's victory in 2016, and the COVID-19 event of 2019, to name a few of the bigger events that have manifested. The model is now predicting ever increasing building tension and release tension events within the social order over the coming months. If interested, have a listen to Clif's report of today, which is based on recent measures of our collective consciousness leading up to this point in time.
Beautiful! Poetic justice. I don’t recommend the average Joe trying that approach however. It’s about time somebody flipped them the proverbial bird because it always seems like they’re doing that to us.
I was in Santa Barbara during the great oil spill, and witnessed the birth of the Coastal Commission.
What began as an innocent advisory watchdog morphed quickly into what it is today. A bunch of politicly motivated power hungry appointees who have no motivation to “protect our coast “. It has become a joke. I’d love to see the Commission be de-commissioned!
Completely agree. I grew up here - was also here during the oil spill. It absolutely needs to be gone. Along with Planned Parenthood, by which I'm not saying get rid of abortion, just the evil monstrosity PP.
I too was here in 69’ and remember the spill vividly. As a kid, I would see city workers in small dinghies spreading hay in the harbor, trying to soak up all the excess oil. It was terrible to be sure and gave rise to the modern environmental movement. No doubt individuals and corporations must be held accountable and liable to the fullest extent of the law.
However, it would seem legitimate tragedies which occur in society often result in more radical movements taking hold.
BLM and J-6 also comes to mind in terms of radicalization of the left, ie “never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Back when the environmental movement was mainly clean air and water and don't be a litter bug. What was not to like.
Then it slowly morphed into this draconian global micromanager, wealth redistribution scheme based entirely on unverifiable pseudo-science and even took over the entire K-12 educational agenda. Lessons learned.
Climate Change™ today is a hoax. Clean air, water and landscapes are still AOK, but it does not take endless tax dollars and intrusive government mandates to make us care about these reasonable common sense and measurable goals.
Yes, I remember the fun posters as a child “Give a hoot, don’t pollute.”
Today, the indoctrination of children is much more sinister. Introduction to Union activity at an early age, walking the picket lines for the benefit of teachers and continuing on to University level. The Union indoctrination continues into adulthood and goes hand in hand with Dem Party support. Environmentalism is yet another tentacle of indoctrination.
The architectural review board is composed of like tyrants. In order to permit a faux red tile roof made of metal I was required to kiss the feet of the board. The permit was denied pending board review. I was dragged before the body with my roofer and a physical sample of the roofing material to justify my affront to the character and beauty of Santa Barbara. While I agreed that red clay tile was true to the spirit of preserving Santa Barbara's historical character and that I was motivated by same, alas my home was not built to withstand the weight of a tile roof. I offered that the metal roof was very light, was completely fireproof and from curbside looked every bit the tile roof they sought. The board was unimpressed. The asked me to employ a structural engineer to confirm that indeed the structure was insufficient to support a tile roof and estimate the cost to reinforce. Obtaining an engineering opinion letter at considerable expense I showed that the structure was indeed insufficient to support a tile roof and that reinforcement would cost $50,000 (2014). Still unimpressed the board asked me to reappear with physical samples of the roofing material in other colors (swear). Reappearing with my roofer we offered samples in several colors. While still unimpressed, the board nevertheless approved the original permit while resolving to be less lenient in the future and admonishing me for playing fast and loose with Santa Bardara's architectural character.
While I usually disagree with many of the far right views of the articles here, I have also been a Santa Barbara business owner and have had to deal with the Coastal Commission and the SB architectural review board. They are impossible and make it hard for local mom and pop business (ie: making you hire a structural engineer to confirm your roof. That's ridiculous!).
I am 100% for all environmental protections and also for keeping the spirit of Santa Barbara's historical character, but tin roofs ARE fireproof and that should be taken into consideration in our fire prone area. The city also levees considerable fees for anything a business owner tries to do from the most mundane small change to the biggest things. This city is out of control and we will continue to see vacant commercial real estate causing blights to our city if we allow them to remain the way they are. Furthermore, all these excessive fees, rules and regulations for homeowners will ensure that only the very wealthy can afford to live here and fix up their homes.
Respectfully but candidly, you seem to frequently loathe the views of conservatives, ie small government, low taxes, reduced regulations, less overreach etc, UNTIL it affects you and your business personally.
A little teaspoon of hypocrisy served up with your morning coffee?
NO, LT, no hypocrisy at all! I may be a liberal, but I do not buy into government overreach, despite what you people love to say about liberals. I do NOT think that the city treated Jeff Barton fairly nor did they treat me fairly when I was trying to open my business. We jumped through hoops that were insane. I am no hypocrite. Nowhere did I say a single thing that was hypocritical. Check yourself. More right wing hate when I was actually leaving an agreeable comment.
Unbelievable how you feel the unhinged reaction to play the “hate”card when someone merely disagrees with you.
LT, c'mon. I've read enough comments on this site to know a lot of folks, myself included, react badly in our comments.
As we should, Danno. But they are thoughtful objections to obvious fallacies; not hate nor even bad reactions. But necessary course corrections to keep discussions fair and balanced. A novelty in this town. Glad you are still reading, you too S. Schroder.
Perhaps, Sheryl, in all due respect, it would have been better if you'd simply left out your preamble about the "far right views of the articles here" and just commenced with your comment which I have to say must have been no fun for you to go through. You seem to look on The Current readers as always your adversary. I would like to think most of us are folks that want to live our lives honestly and well without the tyranny of big government looming over us. I hope that is your stance as well and except for your initial comment, I appreciate what you writing in on this.
Um, I think you just did the same thing S Schroeder did. Even more so.
Really!? Sorry it offended you but hopefully Sheryl will take it as intended and not an insult.
I have no idea what “far right” or “liberal” means to Seibert or Schroeder. Or why they constantly mention the political niche they or anyone else belongs to. It's beyond tiresome, but it seems to be the only thing on their minds. It seems insanely important that they are liberal and not right wing like the people they see here. Don't you guys ever just drop the self identification and talk about issues? Without your identity intruding? I agree with people here on some issues and not at all on others. I don't care what they call themselves or what Seibert and Schroeder call them. Reading Seibert and Schroeder just makes me depressed.
The issue is ultimately: do we function by needing more Big Government(D), or can we continue functioning with only Limited Government (R).
All a responsible citizen can do is ignore harassing extortionists on local Boards. Seems now locals build, renovate, without permits; wait to be fined. The fine costs much less than the cost of going through the local elongated bureaucratic impossible process. My 3000sf home plans took 3 years of their redesigning into a 8800sf fortress that met their idiosyncrasies and EGOS. The City wants only the super wealthy to own a home here to pay high taxes for staff’s unreasonably high compensation packages. Eligibility test for applicants is ability to pay the cost of the process; or be a force like Ed St George or Space Force Brass! I applaud them!!
What can be done beyond a SCOTUS ruling in our totalitarian DEM controlled state? Government payrolled voters out number private sector.
As a nobody, all I can do is curse Gebhardt and his ABR peers of decades past whenever near City’s Garden Street planning office.
What a nightmare. Most likely a lot of stories out there like yours It's a shame when they stray from reality and common in such a way. Must be quite a power trip for them to have over the little peons.
Come January, President Trump will change how the Coastal Commission and other Federal agencies operate. Maybe they will even be a thing of the past.
You’re optimistic.
Realistic!
Unfortunately Trump has no control over a state agency like the CA Coastal Commission. Regardless of who wins in November the CCC will continue in their arrogant, overzealous and over reaching ways.
Great eye opening article, Mr. Stoker. It's good to see a powerful commission like the California Coastal Commission being put in their place. I will be anxious to hear the outcome of it.
I read this interesting article by Mr. Stoker titled "Coastal Commission Comeuppance"
Recently I sat down with Mr. Stoker and told him WHO was here in Santa Barbara and the MAJOR
problems that have been uncovered in our Community. Those "WHO" are senior agents of
the FBI, "WHO" are addressing serious problems in our Community, that is a MAJOR Public Corruption Investigation; just one of which Mr. Stoker informs us as follows and I quote .......
"Three weeks ago, Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) appeared before the Commission trying to cooperate with the Commission and work out ‘issues’ the Commission has with VSFB to be consistent with the California Coastal Plan for additional launches of Space X rockets. At the request of Space X, I also appeared in my capacity as President and CEO of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Advocacy Center (www.sbctac.org) to support VSFB and Space X. The Commission has imposed seven conditions on VSFB to be deemed consistent with the Coastal Plan. Currently, VSFB is in compliance with four of those conditions. The bottom question was what would happen if VSFB refused to comply with the other three."
Again I quote from Mr. Stoker "At the hearing, Deputy Vice Commander of VSFB Dorian Hatcher testified. In his comments, he made it clear that VSFB would not be complying with the other three conditions. Then, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen happen at a Coastal Commission took place. After concluding his comments, Vice-Commander Hatcher did a 180 pivot from the podium and started walking back to his seat. As he was walking, the Chair asked Hatcher to his back if it was true that neither he nor his staff would answer questions from the Commissioners. Vice-Commander Hatcher, did another 180 pivot and ever so slowly walked back to the podium, grabbed the mike, and said two simple words, “…That’s correct!”
Let me be very clear to everyone here, including Legal Counsel for the Santa Barbara County and also for the Santa Barbara City, when you hurt people in your community and violate thier Civil Rigths on a consistent basis then maybe just maybe you are going to have a MAJOR Response from the US Government and the Civil Rigths Dept. of the DOJ, who are here in Santa Barbara.
The New Title should read "Santa Barbara So-Called-Leaders Get thier Comeuppance"
and I will again post former FBI Executive Tom Parkers Article for those who have not read it >>>>
"Perceptions of Political Corruption Too Often the Harbingers of Stark Reality"
I quote from former FBI Executive Mr. Parker's NO BS Article as follows>>>>>
"Perceptions are too often the harbingers of stark reality. This is especially true when it comes to questioning the ethics or illicit acts of local government officials. While spending nearly 25 years in the FBI and convicting a number of local, state, and federal officials on corruption charges, it did not take long for my colleagues and I to learn how to spot those who had crossed the bright line into unethical, and sometimes corrupt, behavior. In most cases, worrisome perceptions had run rampant in the community that something was wrong. For those of you who may not have knowingly experienced such behavior in your own community, and for purposes of this article, let me give you a quick homegrown lesson in what that malfeasance smells like."
PS - I will add this. When you hurt our children, like sexual abuse, using them for financial gain, then you have the blood of our Children on your hands. That is EXACTLY why Kennedy has supported Trump as Kennedy said in his speech yesterday "The War Against Our Children"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifmuGQJ7lRo
Howard Walther, member of a Military Family
Thank you, Mike. Very clear report of the ongoing bullying the Coastal Commission does. Hilarious court moment by Hatcher - I wish my mom was still here to enjoy it. She hated the Coastal Commission. Like everyone else who ever had to deal with them.
After I read your column I took a look at their 2021-2025 “Final Strategic Plan” and I see they have a lot of diversity mandates (but of course) and are concerned about “climate change” affecting public access. So are they trying to use “climate change” to get their way with access - or are they planning to do something about climate change? The bloat of that agency makes it hard to understand anything past their flatulence, like what exactly do they think they have the right to do?
My pleasure Polly.
Thanks for this article, Mike.
I often wonder where ultimate authority comes from for things like forcing citizens to take an experimental drug, gas bans, plastic bag bans, wear masks, housing mandates, put signs in our own front yards…etc.
I have inquired and gone only so far up the chain until I get the proverbial “it’s the state” 🤷♂️
Its nice to know that it can be pushed back against and Goliath can be brought to heel.
"It's the state" = state Senator Monique Limon and Assemblyman Gregg Hart.
The state is the collective voice of our own elected representatives. Why keep re-electing them and moving them up the political food chain, when they so actively work against us?
Limon (D): school board to assembly to state senator.
Hart (D) : city council to county supervisor to state assemblyman.
Full disclosure: I am running for my local little Goleta city council, district 4 this year 😃
I ask this question and others like it all the time and can’t get a straight answer. If I didn’t know better, I’d say no one wants to accept responsibility for these edicts and boutique projects forced on the people. So we lose things everybody wants like fireworks on the 4th of July and we get $5M road restriping projects, stack&pack housing developments, and tens of millions spent on a train station only used by less than a hundred people…
Eric, Downside of the failed Democrat election-reform measure "term limits". No one needs to take responsibility any longer for their own actions or what damage they inflict during their own short term in office.
Serious issues just get kicked down the road to the next group of elected short-timers. Employee unions swooped into this power vacuum for their own interests, and now remain entrenched forever.
Guard your own independence is the best advice I can offer, once you understand where the hidden powers exist even in our local elections. Maintaining your own independent community network for re-election is your best defense against organized partisan and employee union opposition.
Does any future policy or program increase dependency on the government; or does it free dependency on the government? And that includes government spending only for Democrat-voting union projects. Spending tax dollars is the mother's milk, even in local politics. Needing to continually raise tax dollars is its curse. Advocating for balanced budgets is a heroic duty..
Federal or state grant money available for local infrastructure also drives project decisions - such as linking Santa Barbara Airport to the Goleta Amtrak station is a worthy future goal, but not yet a feasible option.
Understanding the limits of municipal finance along with understanding the many, many strings and restrictions now put on any "free money" is essential homework for anyone running for public office. League of Cities should offer you this necessary public finance information. Thank you for running. Wishing you the very best.
Thanks! Yeah it’s a long shot but gotta try. In the immortal words of the late great Ernest Borgnine: “I’m not trying to light the world on fire; I’m just trying to keep my nuts warm.” 😃
OMG...do these people ever stop coming up with ways to spend money they don't have on projects we don't need?? Not content with ramming a re-striping road project down old town goletians throats and knocking down small businesses there over 40%, now they want to borrow from Peter to pay Paul to build some Taj Mahal train station here for the 100 people or so who may or may not use it! It's so depressing watching children run amok with their parent's credit card! ;)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_RCXTOSKf4/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
Yes, I agree. These two specifically need to be targeted by Republicans for defeat. Through in Joan Hartman while you’re at it. Unfortunately, that will probably never happen because of ongoing election interference by the local public sector unions.
Bingo. You nailed it.
Wait, Gregg Hart was on the city council twice with some years in between. He was termed out, I can't remember what did for a while, (at some point before he was on the city Planning commission) then he ran again for council. All the while I found him to be condescending and self-aggrandizing.
His second lowest point was serving two separate term on the council. Who does that except someone who can get a job? But his lowest point, and I hope I never see others do this, was to serve one year on the council then bail. Because of district elections he ran unopposed and I think we all knew he had his eye on the county supervisor race. He could have dropped his city council nomination but he didn't. Meagan Harmon, with a few years of residency in the city was appointed to serve the rest of his term. And now we are stuck with her.
Gregg ran for his second city council term when it switched to district elections, knowing he would soon be moving on to the upcoming opening on the county board of supervisors. (Or was it his move to the Assembly after the in-house Democrat musical chairs left new openings to pursue.)
This future intended abandonment of office was not kept from the voters, who elected him anyway. (In our closed system partisan town) Then almost immediately he resigned from his second city council term to move on to the county board (state?), but not before dumping that restrictive "union labor agreement on all future city council operations. A politically shabby performance, for a man with a hundred dollar smile.
Thanks for your nice comments Eric. The CCC is appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Majority Leader. They each get 4 appointments. Since all three are far-left progressive Democrats the people they appoint are a reflection of themselves. And they have very little appreciation of the concept of private property rights. That is a completely foreign notion to them.
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a system of the larger disease...over-regulation, increasing government-overeach, and the ever-increasing power afforded the unelected bureaucracies, such as the CCC, RWQCB, CDFW, APCD, etc... I saw it firsthand with the wind farm development adjacent to VSFB. The developments' shared border with the CCC was considered the "electric third rail" never to be infringed upon.
The overall picture is very complex. On one hand, we need certain environmental protections in place. But when do these protections...or shall I say "arbiters" of the protection...become too powerful? There needs to be a balance. Unfortunately, it appears we are rapidly getting to a point (with decades of unchecked and accumulating power procured by the "machine"), where the balance has siphoned off the "power of the people" in favor of the authority bestowed to these regulatory agencies and various bureaucracies.
There needs to be a "great restructuring" of how these agencies can operate and the interaction/cooperation between said agencies and the general population. Without the proper "checks and balances" these agencies will turn into nothing short of "Gestapo-like" political machinery bent on absolute power and control not unlike a certain political Party that just concluded their "nomination" convention. And many of us think that point has already arrived.
One more reason not to support SBCC's pending half billion dollar Measure P bond issue is the college sits squarely within the Coastal Commission area of authority. Consequently, how many dollars from that bond issue will be siphoned off simply to support Coastal Commission detailed scrutiny of each and every SBCC proposed new projects?
As just one example among many past SBCC tangles with the Coastal Commission, a review of historic photographs was part of the Coastal Commission invetigation in order to install the donor-gifted Winslow Maxwell Overlook site on an unused portion of the campus. It was then discovered there were a few missing eucalyptus trees in that area, when compared to arial photographs of this site from many decades prior.
No one had present knowledge of when, where or how those trees had been lost. There was hell to pay to remediate this finding, which materially delayed the project and greatly increased additional project costs in response this minute degree of required Coastal Commission scrutiny.
Bravo VSFB!!!
Launch baby Launch.
Yes, it would seem that law abiding, taxpayers are being victimized by the regulatory state. That’s right, shake people down over fees and denying property rights. This, while bureaucrats enjoy high salaries, bloated pensions, all protected by the unions. Come election time, their candidates are re-elected simply because they outnumber us!
Don't even get me started on the City Tree Tzar and required policies and permits.
Congratulations to Mr. Stoker for exposing this cabal of lefty, environmental lunacy. Clearly, this appointed, non-elected board is the most powerful body in our state government. Their reach includes over 1,100 miles of our coast line and extends some 5 miles inland. The board make up is overwhelming from San Francisco with little or no representation from Central or Southern California. Yes, the make up is that of radical environmentalists, no doubt hand picked by the Democratic Industrial Complex which also decides everything of consequence in this state. Groups such as the EDC, Surfrider and the Sierra Club also have strong influence with the CCC in terms of board make up, policy and outcomes!
Kudos to the US Space Force for putting these bureaucratic bullies in their place!
The CCC seems to decide EVERYTHING that involves our treasured coast from space launches to home improvement to giving permission for a wedding ceremony! This is yet another prime example of how the deep state works…the proverbial tail wagging the dog.
That’s right, unelected zealots who have NO accountability to the voters, which decides the use of OUR coastline!
I used the analogy a few weeks ago; what if the US is under nuclear attack? Does the US military have to ask the CCC for permission to respond? It seems like a ridiculous question, but don’t put it past these extremists.
A interesting conflict seems to now exist between the CCC and housing rights advocates. Yes, the “housing for all folks” are now at odds over high density housing development on our coastline…go figure!
At the same time, the CCC has had an history of trying to extort private property in the form of public easements from property owners in exchange for remodeling a privately owned home! At least until a Judge saw otherwise!
Yes, it’s high time the citizens of our state takes back our coast and stands up against these appointed environmental radicals!
We as taxpayers and voters need to do what the USSF did, turning our backs on these power hungry bureaucrats and DEMAND reforms!
Reminder: Our local Coastal Commission representative is Meghan Harmon, the downtown city council member also responsible for the State Street mess, the proliferation of massive high-rise housing projects, the current city budget short-fall, and the city takeover by the aggressive bike lobby. What is next in her political future?
What’s next for Rep Meghan Harmon? I’m hoping full-time mothering of her children off of any Dias or decision making Board. How she was reelected escapes me: I can’t recall the vote count. Initially, Harmon was the SBDNC’s groomed and handpicked, puppet candidate.
Totally agree, and the vote wasn't that close. She was reelected because incumbents usually win unless like Jason Dominguez they under estimate their opponent.
She ran against Nina Johnson who was way more qualified. Nina worked for the city for decades while Meagan had only lived here for less than ten years. Also, do you remember the quote from Ed St. George on the Josh Molina podcast. He said she shouldn't run and should spend these precious years with her two little kids. Now she as an infant! Ed was crucified locally but it was Josh's #1 podcast for a number of years. The thing is, Ed was right.
Love this, Mike. You are spot on, as usual.
I’m sorry but I can’t sugar coat this.
The people on this commission are pathetic.
Hopefully they will come to their senses at some point.
Cheers
Good Article & Great to hear that a military space force commander waive the flying fickle finger of fate in the face of the California Costal Commission — another governmental body that has overreached to the extent that is now losing authority, much like the loss of authority in all of our other institutions. Be it our government — the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the congressional branch — authority is being lost on all fronts. The ongoing breakdown of authority continues to occur in all of our aspects of our lives, be it our electoral system, health systems, education systems, media & information systems, policing systems, etc. Most all can now easily see that authority is breaking down around us as we suffer the consequences. This was expected.
I know a fellow who developed a large language model (AI) back in the 1990s that can somewhat predict the future. Some of the predictions are quite amazing, including foreseeing the 9/11 event, the financial crash starting 2007-2008, Trump's victory in 2016, and the COVID-19 event of 2019, to name a few of the bigger events that have manifested. The model is now predicting ever increasing building tension and release tension events within the social order over the coming months. If interested, have a listen to Clif's report of today, which is based on recent measures of our collective consciousness leading up to this point in time.
https://clifhigh.substack.com/p/release-the-psoas?utm_source=podcast-email%2Csubstack&publication_id=681568&post_id=148078948&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_medium=email&r=rej2s&triedRedirect=true