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.
And here I thought letting people know about neat new places to visit/hike would be a good thing.
Popularity is not the problem, at least not directly. The problem is the state has to engineer that area to handle the traffic, and seems to not want to, hence the residents trying to take matters into their own hands.
Reminds me of stories I’ve read in the past of residences in an area with a lot of speeding traffic, and their city doesn’t want to do anything about it, so the residents themselves try to fix the problem by constructing their own speed bumps.