Subscriber Comments for
Give 'em Your 2 Cents

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 297374P	2012-07-13 10:36 PM
Hey beach fans- pass this on to your friends and neighbors- let the county hear loud and clear what you think!
COMMENT 297381P	2012-07-14 12:28 AM
The beach parking has always been free, to change that due to the fact the County and State cannot manage their own house is wrong. The elected officials locally and at the state level bought into the hype of the real estate boom and overspent even though there was ample warnings to be cautious of the artificial market. They are no better than the execs at Countrywide and WAMU to take the right to free parking which has existed for generations due to their mismanagement is criminal they need to clean up their house before coming to the public on this.
GILBERT	2012-07-14 03:11 AM
Once a fee is instituted , then the raising of that fee has no public input factor . They will systematically raise it (again with no public review or input) . Many folks are surprised when they learn that day use at Jalama has been raised to $10. At Jalama the no parking signs along the road begin at first sight of water( couple miles from park entrance). You can expect similar action near these proposed entry fee parks. We need to stop this boondoggle now before the county wrests beach access away from us. Don't forget they will limit our entry times as part of this lousy deal.
COMMENT 297387P	2012-07-14 05:17 AM
I would hope that the County would be distributing hard copies of this survey at the beaches for those that don't have internet access.
COMMENT 297398	2012-07-14 07:06 AM
Just another way to make us pay for something that is already ours..... I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the rents collected from the commercial endeavors present at some of the beaches were originally meant to offset the maintenance of the parking lots.... I'm not sure what rent is paid, for instance the Boathouse at Hendry's, but I am willing to bet it is substantial! Litter patrol looks like a Community service program.... Time to start looking at the people that come up with these schemes... Fire them and budget issue is resolved!
COMMENT 297405	2012-07-14 07:23 AM
The survey is written to provide numbers in support of the fees. Don't take the survey! I don't want amenities, I don't even want asphalt to park on, just leave it alone!
COMMENT 297414	2012-07-14 07:39 AM
First they make us pay to park in the mountains, now the beach too. What's next, a fee to walk out my front door?
COMMENT 297421P	2012-07-14 07:55 AM
297405: Don't boycott the survey! Take it and if you oppose parking fees answer that question that way, when given the choice of what you are willing to pay. A silence says nothing, except to give greater weight to those indicating they are willing to pay some fees.
COMMENT 297423	2012-07-14 07:58 AM
All I knows is I doesn't likes payins for whats me uses.
COMMENT 297374P	2012-07-14 08:38 AM
Boathouse and the other restaurant at Goleta beach bring in lots of revenue yet it seems it gets sent up to take care of north county and cuyama parks. Too bad we didnt do the county split when we had the chance. And now they want us to pay MORE to cover the other parks?? Uhhh noooooo.
COMMENT 297454	2012-07-14 09:01 AM
I took the survey and voiced my opinion that a user fee/tax would be damaging to the Boathouse business and a hassle for both users and the County alike to administer and enforce considering it would be a small fee. Maintenance should be taken from the normal tax base as it is now.
COMMENT 297470	2012-07-14 09:35 AM
I agree with 405. The survey seems to be designed to find out which beaches we use, how often we go, what we do there and how much we would pay. Sounds like they want to know how important the beaches are to people and figure out the max amount of money they can extract from us. I just wrote a comment at the bottom and gave my zip code. All they need to know is that people don't support this fee and won't re-elect those who do.
BECKY	2012-07-14 10:30 AM
It's a poorly designed survey. For ex., I get to the beach by walking, biking, or car, yet they only gave me one choice on that question. They also don't give you the choice of $0 for how much you're willing to pay, so I just didn't answer that question, because $0 is my answer. Then I reinforced that in the comments at the end. Take the survey. If most of those answering it refuse to answer their bogus question about how much you're willing to pay, and put NOTHING, FREE, or $0 in the comments, they'll get the message. We already pay for access to the beach and mountains through out higher rents and mortgages. Enough! Downsize govt if needed, but I'll be damned if I'll pay a fee to walk on the beach!
COMMENT 297566P	2012-07-14 12:55 PM
There are very few public beaches. Most beaches in Santa Barbara are slowly becoming private . Haskels has become private, padero lane is all private. Sandy land is all private. From Hobsons almost to emmet wood is all campers, you cannot park and go to those beaches. And especially if you are in a wheel chair. The county beaches are the only beaches where people, all people rich and poor can go. Ten or twelve dollars may not seem much to you, but it is for a lot of people. With all the taxes that we pay you would think that at least we can go to the beach without paying a fee. Sorry but this is just wrong. It's actually sickening, the mismanagement of our government . Excuse me while I puke.
COMMENT 297569P	2012-07-14 12:59 PM
i don't know how it would play out if ratified but i honestly like the paid parking at surfer's point near the fairgrounds in ventura. i will often travel south when the waves are too small to surf in town (8 months out of the year). for those who haven't been down there they have two lots for beach access. one is free and the other costs $2 for all day access. i opt for the paid lot most of the time because it's less crowded, much cleaner, free of vagrants in RV's and people sitting in their cars using drugs/alcohol. the pay lot is a much nicer place to change into my wetsuit without having to stand in piles broken glass and cigarette butts, the trash bins aren't overflowing and people don't pack into the lot like sardines and ding up my truck with their car doors. it's also nice to stop and chat with the parking attendant, a friendly and familiar face who earns a living wage because some folks are willing to pay for their peace of mind. just my .02
COMMENT 297566P	2012-07-14 02:19 PM
If you think the fee will be $2.00 you are living in la la land. Do not let these people get away with this. Our county beaches are always clean. Most people pick up their trash. I myself will always pick up any trash I see.
GILBERT	2012-07-15 04:43 AM
Take the survey , dont fill in the $ amt. on the question about fee but add comment under the question . Tell them NO ! If you oppose these beach access fees , PEASE ATTEND THE HEARINGS AND LET OUR SUPERVISORS KNOW WE ARENT HAPPY. It is not a done deal and we can stop it.
COMMENT 298146	2012-07-16 03:11 PM
Sorry I hate the idea, but hate the vagrant, screwed up people that inhabit Goleta beach now. Like the guy in the van selling beers to the homeless, or the dirt crew hooting and hollering behind the fence or the list seems endless or Dale who is on Meagans list
COMMENT 298678	2012-07-17 07:52 PM
@414 Love your comment. Pretty funny. I always avoided paying fees to use Los Padres. Somehow people never got it that it wasn't a mandatory fee. What a waste of park rangers' energy and taxpayers' money.

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