October 5, 2000


Mr. Phillip M. Demery
Public Works Department
County of Santa Barbara
123 East Anapamu Street
Santa Barbara, California 93101


Dear Phil:

Re: September 19th Workshop Meeting

Thank you for your memorandum of September 21st. As we expressed during the September 19, 2000 workshop meeting, the University believes it would be premature at this time for the County to begin the preparation of an environmental impact report for its implementation of Route 217 infrastructure improvements. The University is committed to working collaboratively with County staff and its consultants to identify a set of improvements that would help facilitate development in the Old Town Goleta area while addressing the State's long-term interest in maintaining important access-links to all of the campuses of the University system. We hope to be able to recommend, along with the County and other stakeholders, that this set of improvements be considered by the California Transportation Commission, the lead agency charged with decision-making under Highway Code Section 517.1, as the project for the environmental impact report to be prepared by the Commission.

Several important issues have not been resolved in our workshop process. A written copy of the adopted County policy for traffic forecasting analysis has not yet been transmitted by the County to UCSB. More significantly, County staff has not yet presented information to explain the apparent inaccuracies in the County's traffic planning assumptions. These inaccuracies suggest that the intersection and signal improvements identified by the County on Route 217 will not have a benefit to area circulation which could not otherwise be achieved through alternative, less costly and less disruptive mitigations. In addition, the County staff has not yet supplied factual data to enable assessment of the feasibility of introducing roundabout intersections on a major-highway. Finally, County staff has not allowed time for meaningful collaboration to identify a solution that might successfully balance local and State interests.

During the September 19th workshop, County staff indicated that the desire to move forward in advance of identifying a compromise solution arises from the needs of a private development project which is currently in the preliminary planning stages. We do not believe that short-term private development considerations should be placed ahead of good planning principles, and believe that adequate time should be taken to jointly identify a project which would also preserve the State's investment in Route 217 and the State's long-term need for an unimpaired highway connection to the University. Further, County staff's desire to move forward primarily to facilitate an individual private project reinforces the negative impression that serious consideration is not being given to alternatives which might maintain unimpaired flow on Route 217 over the long-term. Thus, there appears to be a need for objective independent review of State relinquishment issues that should not be preempted by the County and should be exercised by the Transportation Commission.

On Friday, September 29th we met with Caltrans District 5 staff to discuss the University's significant concerns with what has occurred to date. Caltrans has proposed to convene a meeting with all interested parties to gain a better understanding of the perspectives and issues involved. We welcome the opportunity to also involve the private project developers with whom the County has been working in our effort to collaborate to identify area improvements that will benefit the community, the people of California, and other stakeholders over the long-term. We believe that the process of implementing these improvements could be best expedited in the interest of all parties by refraining from premature activities and taking the time to develop a thoughtful joint recommendation for the California Transportation Commission's environmental review and consideration.

Sincerely,



Robert W. Kuntz
Assistant Chancellor


cc: Chancellor Henry T. Yang
R. Gregg Albright (Caltrans)
Commissioner Colleen Beall
Mark Chaconas
Matt Dobberteen
Scott Cooper
William F. Derrick (SBCAG)
Harry Nelson
Highway 217 Review Committee Members