In its regular meeting on Tuesday, the Goleta City Council unanimously voted to establish temporary resident-only on-street parking restrictions related to the 2021 Isla Vista Deltopia Event.
Deltopia isn’t anticipated to take place until April 2 through April 4, but city staff reported that over the past several years, the implemented parking restrictions have been successful.
Thousands of people have passed through Goleta in the past for the unsanctioned party. City officials reported issues such as parking overflow, disturbances in the late evening and early morning hours and noise.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic complicates the parking issue associated with this year’s Deltopia, but staff still recommend restrictions as businesses reopen,” the staff report read. “Staff have coordinated with the Isla Vista and UCSB communities, who will also be implementing restrictions this year.”
USCB is expected to bring in additional police officers from other UC campuses for Deltopia to implement the restrictions and dissuade partygoers from parking in the Goleta neighborhoods closest to Isla Vista.
The parking restrictions will run from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, depending on when the event is held. Staff is prepared to implement the same restrictions the following week, should the event take place later.
Boundaries of the restrictions are Cannon Green Drive to the west, Hollister Avenue to the north, Stroke Road to the east and Whittier Drive to the south. This area includes an estimated 1,250 dwelling units representing approximately 4,000 residents.
Parking permits will be required to be taped to the inside of the vehicle’s driver’s side window during the restricted hours, and the affected streets will be posted in advance to allow towing consistent with the California Vehicle Code. Four electronic message boards will also be deployed in several entrances to the university neighborhoods.
In addition, there will be outreach from the city including notifications, emails and texts. Households will be mailed two parking permits.
Vehicles not adhering to the restrictions will be subject to ticketing and/or towing.
Raquel Zick, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, told the News-Press that it will be monitoring the situation as needed.
“We have scalable plans in place to respond accordingly,” she said. “And of course, the public health order remains in effect, so we will be consistent with our COVID enforcement response, which has been aimed primarily at gaining voluntary compliance through education. However, we do have enforcement options.”
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
