Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle sided with Montecito homeowners on Tuesday in the dispute over parking access to the Montecito Hot Springs.
Anderle ruled that Santa Barbara County and its legal counsel violated a preliminary injunction by placing notices in front of 11 homes in Montecito, ordering the residents to remove their encroachments in the public right of way.
“The letters undisputedly violate both the letter and spirit of the preliminary injunction,” Anderle ruled. ”
By June 29, 2022, county is ordered to notify homeowners who received the letters that it is withdrawing the letters, and that they do not have to comply with the letters’ directive.”
“The letters were the executive branch thumbing its nose at the judicial branch, a breakdown of the very foundation our legal system is built on,” said David Cousineau, a partner at Cappello & Noël LLP of Santa Barbara who represents four of the homeowners in the litigation against the county.
“Ultimately, the letters only demonstrated the county’s ham-fisted approach to Hot Springs and increased our attorney fees, which the county may have to pay.”
The county counsel does not comment ongoing litigation.
County Public Works Department employees placed signs at 11 properties on East Mountain Drive threatening fines and jail time if the residents do not remove rocks, boulders or other “unpermitted” obstructions — including a bank of mailboxes — in the public right of way, within 10 days.
The county installed the notices on June 22.
The county claims some neighborhood residents have placed no-parking signs, boulders and obstructions in the public rights of way to prevent people from parking near the trailhead.
The problem for the county, however, is that on May 6, Superior Court Judge Donna Geck issued an injunction blocking the county from moving forward. Homeowners challenged the project, contending the county did not properly consider the environmental and emergency evacuation impacts.
Long a local attraction, the Hot Springs Trail and its namesake hot springs have become a social media-fueled regional destination during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county currently provides eight parking spaces at the base of the trail on East Mountain Drive, near the top of Riven Rock Road. But the demand for parking is much greater, with hundreds of people driving to the area daily, and finding parking anywhere they can.
The Montecito homeowners and one of their legal representatives, private attorney Joe Cole, have expressed unhappiness with First District County Supervisor Das Williams’ handling of the situation.
Williams was not immediately available for comment.
Cole noted that Rep. Salud Carbajal’s office negotiated a meeting with stakeholders to help bring a compromise.
“Everyone, including the community, Congressman Carbajal, and Montecito Fire, is working together to find solutions that will benefit everyone,” Cole said. “Das has, unfortunately, decided to disrupt this crucial stakeholder process and strong-arm residents to bend to his will, going so far as to violate a clear court order.
“We are relieved Judge Anderle put an end to this approach, and we can return to finding solutions.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
Published June 28, 2022, Santa Barbara Noozhawk
Photo: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk
