County officials alert Montecito homeowners that they face prosecution, including daily fines of $850 if stones are not removed
Montecito, California, is known for being home to Oprah, a former royal family, and a stunning stretch of coastline. It’s also home to miles of trails, some of which are being blocked by residents hoping to stop people from accessing public hot springs.
Santa Barbara county has been watching encroachments on East Mountain Drive and Riven Rock Road in Montecito since at least 2022, when they sent letters to residents warning them to remove large stones.
Last month, county officials sent letters again to at least six homes alerting residents to remove the stones by 28 March or face civil or criminal prosecution, including daily fines of $850. The county insists that these roads are a public right of way.
The issue seems to be with parking at the trailhead, where a tiny lot allows for just eight vehicles. When that fills up, hikers have to park on roadsides. The hot springs contain six bright blue pools that are located 1.3 miles from the trailhead in the San Padres Forest, surrounded by a deep forest and rocky hills. It became popular during the pandemic when hiking surged in the area, and has also taken off on social media as a destination.
$850/day to someone who owns a house worth an average of $7.2m really isn’t much. These people are wealthy beyond belief and can easily pay that penalty. If the punishment for bad behavior is only a fine, then the bad behavior is effectively legal for the rich.
~ $26K/month, $312K/year.
Oprah could pay that annually by herself and not even notice the expense.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Oprah is too powerful and, honestly, I bet she has nukes.
I’m wondering if she would though, as it might affect her profit-making, if the politics of it went bad.
Then again, she could probably buy California at this point.
I’m fine with the $850/ day fine for 10 days as long as on the 11th day the public is allowed to attach one of their boulders to a helicopter and drop it on their house.
Pretty good money for the town though.