Goleta Valley Vision

The Goleta Valley Vision has been the Chamber’s information synthesis and policy recommendation project for providing input on the City of Goleta’s General Plan. Begun in April ’04, our Chamber-appointed Task Force gathered information from our members asking, “Who do we want to be as a community?” Utilizing feedback from membership meetings, letters, luncheons, and surveys the Chamber established a long-range, broad-based vision for the Goleta Valley documented in a report and two land-use maps. Click here to download the Goleta Valley Vision.

The audience for this information includes our regional partners, area stakeholders, the community-at-large, and, particularly, the City of Goleta – to whom the plan was presented in September ’04.
In January ’05 the City released its draft of the General Plan. Click here to visit the City of Goleta's website - choose 'General Plan' from the main menu and 'Link to Discussion Draft General Plan Text' to view the latest Draft General Plan. The Chamber’s Task Force, Board of Directors and staff compared the City’s draft to the Chamber’s Vision and found few similarities. Click here to view the Chamber's study guide and map comparison.

One possible reason for the lack of similarity between the desire of Goleta's citizens and the Draft General Plan could be the process by which the General Plan has been written. State policies define with a great amount of detail both the necessary content of a General Plan, and the process by which it is formulated. At numerous points along the way the City of Goleta, through the City Council, has deviated from those mandates. Click here to see a timeline of the General Plan and the Goleta Valley Vision processes along with missing key elements in the City's process.

All residents, business owners, and concerned citizens are encouraged to participate in the City's General Plan process. For more information on how to get involved, or to find out let your elected officials know what's important to you click here.

Click here to read news clippings on both the Goleta Valley Vision and the City's General Plan.