Muristek
The Santa Barbara County Community Services Department has announced that the beaches at Isla Vista will be closed due to the potential of a large, unsanctioned event commonly known as “Deltopia” this weekend.
The closure is for the purpose of preventing the recurrence of conditions from a 2009 unsanctioned event, resulting in damage to the environment and the community of Isla Vista. This event was then known as “Floatopia.” The Santa Barbara County Code (Section 26-11) authorizes the Community Services Department to close any County recreation area including beaches if conditions are warranted.
After the “Floatopia” event of 2009, the beaches of Isla Vista were left strewn with trash and debris including human waste. The large-scale event with thousands of participants had no provision for the health and well-being of the public, including no facilities for human sanitation or refuse collection. So Santa Barbara County has closed the Isla Vista beaches for similar events since 2010 in order to prevent harm to the environment.
No permits were approved for this weekend’s “Deltopia” event. As such, the County Community Services Department will post the Isla Vista beaches as closed to public entry to protect public health and safety and to protect the beach from excessive waste and litter, according to a news release.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department will enforce the closure.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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