Heads butted last night at a community meeting concerning the preservation of Goleta Beach, a local landmark slowly being washed away by the ocean’s current and El Ni–o’s winter storms.

Concerned members of the community spilled out of the doors of the Goleta Valley Community Center dining hall as district representatives, scientists, engineers and members of environmental organizations voiced their opinions on how best to save the public beach and the area’s natural coast line.

“I’ve enjoyed the park and beach for 13 years, and now the park is in jeopardy,” Nancy Graham, founder of the Friends of Goleta Beach and Park Organization, said.

All those who gathered for the meeting agreed that action was necessary to protect the area, yet the correct action to be taken was up for debate. Some community members held that the rock revetment - which was removed in December 2000 after protests from the Surfrider Foundation about its long-term environmental effect - should be replaced until a more effective solution can be found. They argued that it would help maintain the manmade park for the time being, allowing the community to continue to enjoy its recreational facilities.

In December 2002, the county applied for an emergency permit from the California Coastal Commission and hauled in hundreds of rocks to protect the beach from erosion by forming a revetment on the west end of Goleta Beach. The conditions of the permit require the removal of the rocks by May 15.

Members of the Surfrider Foundation and their supporters argue that rock revetments, as well as other proposed solutions such as seawalls, jetties and groins, not only breach the California Coastal Act but also serve to increase the beach’s erosion and destroy the natural coastline.

“Because Goleta Beach is located at the mouth of a slough, the sands are always shifting. The permanent structures should be moved to let the beach erode and fill back in the summer,” Tom Phillips, a member of the Surfrider Foundation said

The meeting was hosted by 2nd District Supervisor Susan Rose, who welcomed the community and expressed her pleasure in seeing such a large group of concerned citizens there to participate in the conference. Santa Barbara County Parks Director Terry Maus-Nisich described the beach’s history and the efforts to develop and maintain the park, informing those attending of the primary issues involved.

Susan Tonkin of Moffat and Nichol Engineers- the company contracted by the county to provide solutions to protect and enhance the park - reviewed the approved long term plan and options, which includes beach nourishment, a process by which sand is artificially replenished by bringing it in from other locations.

A panel of four speakers representing Friends of Goleta Beach, Surfrider Foundation, UCSB and Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment were allowed five minutes each to present their position concerning the issue.

Edward Keller, a professor in UCSB’s environmental studies department, said the issue was both a question of science and a question of values. He emphasized the distinction between the park, which includes the lawns, parking lots and facilities like bathrooms and picnic areas, and the sandy shoreline.

Keller said if Goleta residents are looking to save Goleta Beach Park, then short-term solutions would do the job. On the other hand, if the community is concerned with saving the beach and the sandy coastline, then more long-term, environmentally safe solutions are necessary.

“The community must make a choice and its conclusion will decide between the hard solutions and the soft solutions,” Keller said.

Phillips expressed his concerns with the long-term environmental effects of rock revetments and seawalls, proposing instead a process termed “managed retreat,” in which the existing park structures would be moved back, away from the diminishing shoreline. Other community members argued that parking would then be limited, making access to the beach more difficult.

More than 35 members of the community stood up to express their own concerns and ideas following the panel speakers. Lifelong Goleta residents as well as UCSB students and faculty were given two minutes to react to the meeting. Both sides of the issue were discussed further, but a divide among the community remained apparent.

The purpose of the meeting was to gain community feedback, and it is now up to the county to make a decision as to the fate of Goleta Beach Park and the coastline.

- Nexus reporter Kelli Thalman contributed to this story.