Goleta Groups Unite for Hollister Avenue Sprucing

Santa Barbara Newsroom
By Barney McManigal
June 16, 2007

Hoping to curb graffiti along Hollister Avenue, Goleta Valley residents will join forces today to plant trees and vines, and make other landscaping improvements to a wall that often serves as a “canvas” for taggers.

Members and volunteers from Goleta Valley Beautiful, Rotaract and the Coalition for Sensible Planning will meet at 9 a.m. with Supervisor Janet Wolf, who helped organize the collaborative project funded by a $10,000 grant from Homeowners Defense Fund.

The event will last into the afternoon, organizers said.

It all started when residents wanted to do something about the 900-foot stretch of barren and frequently defaced wall on the South side of Hollister between Evonshire and San Marcos Road.

Coalition for Sensible Planning member Gary Earle helped secure the grant, but when he and Goleta Valley Beautiful member Ken Knight faced red tape at the county, they called Wolf.

The first term supervisor from the 2nd district worked with county staff and helped find a landscape architect to draw up a detailed improvement plan for the site.

“It’s a wonderful example of what can happen when community members, local businesses, non-profits, volunteers and a public agency come together to make our community safer and more beautiful than ever,” said Wolf, who thanked participants.

Ms. Wolf will begin the day with a news conference at the corner of Hollister Avenue at Evonshire Road.