Airport and Goleta Slough Coastal Land Use Plan

The Airport Segment is unique in that it is defined by two distinct land uses: a commercial service airport and a coastal wetland estuary. The City of Santa Barbara General Plan designates all land in the Airport Segment as either “Major Public and Institutional” for airport functions or “Open Space” for the Goleta Slough.

The Coastal Act requires new development to be located in or near existing developed areas with adequate public services and facilities; accordingly, future development is limited to the “Major Public and Institutional” land use area.

The Airport and Goleta Slough Coastal LUP provides a framework for accommodating development while protecting coastal resources and avoiding or mitigating hazards.

All future projects must be consistent with LCP policies and provisions, the Airport Master Plans, and require a Goleta Slough Coastal Development Permit.

One of the fundamental goals of the Coastal Act is to provide maximum public access to the shoreline regions and to public recreation areas. The Airport and Goleta Slough Coastal LUP aims to facilitate public access through the maintenance and improvement of existing vertical and lateral shoreline access. Furthermore, the LUP intends to promote new public access where feasible to the edge of the Airport Segment that connects with the coast. This includes an emphasis on sustainable transportation to these coastal areas such as public transit, bicycle access and pedestrian access. Ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in order to accommodate people with special needs is also a focus. 

The Coastal Act addresses key coastal resources, including biological resources, water quality, scenic and visual character, and cultural resources.

• The Goleta Slough and surrounding areas support a wide range of biological resources. The Coastal Act sets strong protections for wetlands and environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHAs). The Airport and Goleta Slough Coastal LUP supports these protections by establishing ways to identify ESHAs and wetlands, requiring buffers around important habitats, limiting uses near sensitive areas, and applying development standards and management practices that avoid or minimize impacts.
• The Act also requires new development to protect the productivity and quality of coastal waters, streams, wetlands, estuaries, and lakes. The LUP advances these goals by identifying impaired water bodies and sources of water quality issues, outlining Airport planning efforts that protect water quality, and setting standards and practices that reduce runoff and prevent pollution from reaching coastal waters.
• Scenic and visual quality is another priority. The Coastal Act calls for protecting coastal views, minimizing changes to natural landforms, and improving visually degraded areas. The LUP addresses this by documenting scenic resources and public views, requiring visual impact analysis, reducing or avoiding visual impacts, and setting development standards that limit future effects.
• The LUP also protects archaeological and paleontological resources. This includes identifying significant sites, evaluating potential development impacts, consulting with Native American tribes, and requiring reasonable mitigation when impacts cannot be avoided.

Because the entire Airport Segment sits on a low-lying coastal plain, it is highly vulnerable to coastal flooding, sea-level rise, high tides, extreme rainfall and runoff, creek discharge, and sediment deposition. It is also exposed to earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic hazards.

Under the Coastal Act, development must minimize risk, ensure stability and structural integrity, and avoid contributing to erosion or shoreline alteration. The Airport and Goleta Slough Coastal LUP identifies and maps areas potentially affected by these hazards and establishes procedures for evaluating development in these risk areas.

These procedures emphasize community resilience and education, compliance with the Citywide Emergency Management Plan and Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, and adherence to Airport and City directives such as the Tsunami Response Plan, Storm Water Management Program, and the 2025 Santa Barbara Airport Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Risk Evaluation (2025 SBA CVA). They also include coordination with agencies such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Coastal Act requires the Coastal Zone to be protected from the impacts of public works and energy facility development and operations.

Future development in the Airport Segment will primarily consist of redevelopment and infill projects within already developed areas of the Santa Barbara Airport. To protect coastal resources, public works facilities in the Coastal Zone are designed and limited to serve development and uses permitted in the area.

Water is supplied by the Goleta Water District, and wastewater is managed by the Goleta West Sanitary District and Goleta Sanitary District, all of which maintain utilities within the Airport Segment. The Airport receives electricity from Southern California Edison and natural gas from the La Goleta Natural Gas Storage Facility; however, no major power plants or transmission facilities are located within the Airport Segment.

Renewable energy is also a priority. The City of Santa Barbara has adopted goals of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2035.