County closes Goleta Beach Pier due to erosion

The Santa Barbara County Parks Division hired crews to build a rock wall along the Goleta Beach bank in order to protect it from further erosion.

The emergency project is in coordination with the Coastal Commission. Initial inspections done by the parks division found there was damage to the pier’s base, but not the pilings. Structural engineers will be on site to evaluate the situation on Tuesday and will help determine a more permanent fix.

Last week’s storm brought relief to the state’s water crisis issue, but left Santa Barbara County with a lot to clean up.

“The beach was getting a lot of action. Huge swell, a lot of surge. So the waves were breaking a lot of the sand off the shore,” said Garrett Kababick, one of the owners of Paddle Sports Center.

Kababick was at Goleta Beach Saturday, the day after the big storm. The strong waves and erosion caused most of the damage in the area, and it’s also taking a toll on Kababick’s business.

“The season before 2015, we were running around all year round, but the beach was so eroded last season that i was a 10 foot drop as it is now to get from where we have the kayaks staged to the water’s edge,”s aid Kababick.

However, he still remains positive and thankful for all the rain.

Near the pier, the big waves are actually giving Beachside Bar-Cafe a boost in business.

“We were a little scared that we were not going to be busy at all, people would be scared to come here, but it’s actually been the opposite. So that’s been really nice to have people coming in and watching the storm roll in and watch all the action happen,” said Janelle Hristov, Beachside Bar-Cafe.

A couple years ago, high swells damaged the restaurant.

In the meantime, crews spent this President’s Day holiday working in the area. The pier will re-open, but a date has not been released.