Greetings from the More Mesa Preservation Coalition (MMPC) Board of Directors. For more than 35 years, the MMPC has been highly successful in lobbying the County, Coastal Commission, and other agencies to turn away several large development proposals that would have destroyed many of the values that make More Mesa such a special place. We have also carefully monitored smaller developments around the periphery of More Mesa to protect its open space, recreation, and habitat values.
However, after more than 35 years of activism, our Board President Valerie Olson is “aging out” and needs to step back from the level of work required to protect and preserve More Mesa forever. As we consider how best to continue the fight of the MMPC to protect More Mesa into the future, we wanted to reach out to our almost 700 supporters to determine if there are folks who are interested in stepping forward to participate more actively in protecting More Mesa and continuing our good work. Typical time commitments are 2 hours or less per month depending on tasks undertaken, although more effort may be needed if important issues arise.
While there are currently no pending development proposals for More Mesa, the more than 260 acres of More Mesa currently under private ownership by a Saudi Arabian sheikh have been subject to two major development proposals over the past decade, along with pressure on MMPC to accede to such development. We refused, and these proposals were withdrawn. The regulations of the California Coastal Act, which underpin the County’s Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan, currently protect more than 220 acres of privately owned land as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat (ESH) that cannot be developed. These regulations also closely govern and restrict allowable development on 40 acres of private land adjacent to Hope Ranch to a maximum of 70 units (less than 2 units per acre).
However, the Coastal Act and other environmental regulations are under scrutiny in the State Legislature, with several amendments recently proposed or approved to weaken Coastal Act protections to ease housing development. If this trend continues, as seems likely, the MMPC Board of Directors is deeply concerned that More Mesa may be proposed for housing development during the County’s upcoming Housing Element within the next several years. You may recall that the 2024 Housing Element required the Board of Supervisors to approve more than 4,000 units of high-density housing development on almost all of our treasured Goleta urban agricultural lands in the South Patterson and San Marcos/Hollister areas, leaving limited urban area land to meet future state mandates for yet more housing development.
As the largest piece of undeveloped private land remaining in the Eastern Goleta Valley urban area, More Mesa could be a primary target for such high-density housing development, especially if Coastal Act regulations continue to be weakened. This could include actions such as approving high-density housing development of 20 or more units per acre in the 40 acres already allowed for development next to Hope Ranch, or even undoing some of the ESH regulations that protect most of More Mesa as open space, potentially allowing even more high-density housing development.
In order to monitor and respond forcefully to such potential threats, we need to maintain a strong and active MMPC. This is why we are actively requesting that some of our supporters step forward to consider becoming more active members in protecting More Mesa, or simply donate to the MMPC at this link. Thank you for considering this request! If you are interested, please contact our Vice President, Dan Gira, at 805-284-5080 or at dangira@msn.com. We will continue to keep interested supporters informed of issues which may impact More Mesa.
Thank you!
Dan Gira, Vice President
Valerie Olson, President Emeritus