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.
This reminds me of cities after the Civil Rights Act getting rid of their public pools rather than being forced to integrate them.
“It’s either just for me or no one can have it” is such a weird attitude.
People with wealth that want privacy also want cool things near them. You can’t have both unless you’re mega wealthy.
Like Oprah?
Yeah, but this is here pre-megawealth home.
Her megawealth home that satisfies this is in Hawaii.
Zuck’s Hawaii estate (and its beach blocking wall) also comes to mind here.
I mean the most obvious malicious compliance here would be to make a bus line that runs to the tiny little parking lot at the entrance. Nothing the wealthy hate more than public transportation in their backyard.
I like the way you think.
a park with a ski hill near where I used to live did this during ski season because the ski hill terminated near the access road. Imo even if they just ran the shuttle on weekends it would probably be cheaper than a lawsuit.
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.
County officials plan to create 62 new parking spots near the trailhead – which caused four homeowners to sue in protest in 2022.
They can go get bent.
which caused four homeowners to sue in protest in 2022.
So this is what rich people do with their excess wealth.
They use it to further oppress poor people!
Remember this whenever anyone says “they’re a business and they need to make money.”
In
front ofin front ofon Oprah's houseWhy not in Oprah? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
It’s not clear if the stones have been cleared.
🤡
More like, “we just got paid to not do anything about it”. If they wanted those stones cleared they would have brought a fucking excavator, got shit done, and fined the people responsible over $10,000 for the cost of moving them.
Roll the stone into their house and then fine them for creating a hazard that damaged a house.
That’s actually exactly what is happening, the courts have ordered them to remove the rocks or be fined.
Those are not the same. In one, the right-of-way is cleared and they are fined… but while that plays out, it’s usable.
I’m the other. They’re paying a price to keep people out. If you’re wealthy enough, then it’s just a thing. Like paying the yard guy.
I don’t really understand what you’re saying, they’re ordered to remove the boulders and are being fined $850 a day AND risk further prosecution which are likely to be much more severe. Not OR. They don’t get to keep paying $850 forever, they have to remove the boulders.
I think the capitalization should be on the word “RISK in that phrase. There are lots of delaying tactics. Let’s presume they’re going to have to pay. So why not spend the money (and then charge interest until they pay) and fix it now, rather than waiting weeks/months++? It’s in their best interests to delay as long as possible.
Yeah and I hope they do, I want to see them pay larger fines more than I want the stones moved.
It is April 10th, and they say “remove the stones by 28 March or face civil or criminal prosecution”. I didn’t read anything about real repercussions, did you?
According to the article above us, they’re being forced to pay daily fines of $850 and may face prosecution. Given that the article is getting attention, the “may” part seems very much likely.
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I hope they don’t, I want to see them pay fines with more zeroes. I want them to get charged so much that the potholes get fixed and school lunches become free. I want a new wing at the hospital funded by them but with somebody else’s name on the plaque. I hope they try to fight this for months so that they pay the $850 a day, their legal fees, and much larger fines on top of it.
IDGAF about 10 people sitting in each blue water crevice.
$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.
$850/day to someone who owns a house worth an average of $7.2m really isn’t much.
~ $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.
Oprah could pay that annually by herself and not even notice the expense.
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.
Montecito has so much money and influence that any freeway construction in the area has to avoid Montecito because they hate the noise and traffic. They are also used to getting their way. They want to be a small town of multimillionaires but the problem is that they are between a big city and a national park.
And a small but significant private liberal arts college (Westmont)
Wow. This is like those homeowners that were sued for blocking access to the beach in Malibu.
Rich people seem to like to buy expensive property near nice natural resources and then try to keep those filthy poor away.
You don’t own the beach and you don’t own the hot springs, you rich fucks!
They’re practicing for climate change resource scarcity, they will keep us away from the potable water.
They’re too poor to afford buying the beach? Pathetic.
It became popular during the pandemic when hiking surged in the area, and has also taken off on social media as a destination.
On one hand, fuck those rich people who live there. On the other hand, fuck those assholes that ruin places like this because they want to take pictures for social media.
Or … And just hear me out… People actually like walking through scenic nature and visiting hot springs because they simply enjoy it
It’s become a problem in the past few years. Hopefully the trend will taper off.
https://consumerenergyalliance.org/2022/02/too-many-people-tale-national-parks
If it were just people naturally finding these places, that’s one thing, but social media seems to fix its gaze like the Eye of Sauron on specific places and suddenly they explode in popularity. The Eye inevitably shifts its gaze elsewhere, and the orcs follow. What’s left behind is usually for the locals to clean up.
Idk, it seems like every time there’s a patch of flowers near trails I use that eventually some idiot is going to trample all over it looking for a nice photoshoot. If it were simply people visiting these things for enjoyment, there wouldn’t be so much destruction left in their wake.
I live here. No one is driving across country to visit our hot springs because they saw it on social media, and even if they did, more power to them. These are locals that want to visit our public spaces. There are supposed to be 20+ parking spots at the trailhead. The people that live in the area eliminated over half of the spots with planters and rocks.
I sympathize with the notion that human activity can ruin an area, but I will not endorse the idea that public space is only for certain members of the public. We have trails and signage in this area. It is meant for public use. Whether or not it is popular is not the point. The point is that we all decide how to use it through our local government, not through the lawless actions of a few rich people.
Oh, I should have clarified my message, I especially dislike the fact that the rich people nearby think it’s ok to close off public places. I just felt the need to point out that, while they chose the wrong way to react to it, the problem they’re reacting to is a legitimate one.
It’s like the Reddit hug of death. Someone share’s something, it goes viral, suddenly a business used to handling 50 costumers a week is trying to support 10000 and can’t.
I would never advocate for allowing rich people to do whatever they want because their motivations are undoubtedly “filthy poors”. What you’re saying makes it very clear that they were just being selfish. Especially with the added mention that there was no social media push, and it is effectively just locals being blocked.
Edit: that being said, human beings are dirty. Take care of the spaces you occupy.
It is a difficult issue for sure, but California has a sore history with individuals or small groups cutting off access to public spaces.
Personally, I think the solution lies in infrastructure and other investments that increase access while protecting the natural wonders around us. This particular location is not exactly pristine wilds; it lies among several sprawling estates in the foothills.
What I want to resist is the notion that some ‘others’ are the problem when a good location becomes popular. All too often when you ask someone “Who should not be allowed?” the answer is “Someone else, but not me!”
I’m right there with you, 100%.
An area near my home was blocked off by assholes with massive fallen tree trunks. A popular swimming hole was completely blocked off by the rich assholes who live along the river.
Same thing, it’s not like it was ever pristine, but it just so happens that it’s right next to rich people’s land.
but social media seems to fix its gaze like the Eye of Sauron on specific places and suddenly they explode in popularity.
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.
The courts agreed they have to remove the barriers.
Of course, they didn’t have the right to do that, and everyone has the right to visit the place. The problem is that when too many people visit somewhere, then it ruins the experience. It leads the place getting destroyed or permit lotteries.
Public places are for everyone… If the rich don’t like it, they shouldn’t have bought a house near a public area. Just like when our neighbors complain about airplane noise, I remind them that they bought the home near the airport.
Public places being for everyone ≠ public places are for everyone to destroy.
That being said, another person commented that there was no push on social media or anything and that these people were locals. If the locals were trashing the place there are any number of ways they could have gone about stopping it besides infringing on others rights. How the rich people went about doing this was absolutely wrong.
That sounds like a problem that would solve itself. The local area could invest in amenities and staff to keep it clean if they cared that much, probably be cheaper than the $850 daily fines plus future prosecutions on top of legal fees.
Fuck rich people.
Every last one of them is a scummy, scammy piece of garbage.
I remember when people realized it was dumb to generalize an entire group of people. I guess we’re past that now.
Yup, we are. I know I am.
Fuck yeah we are! Eat Billionaires!
You always have exception to rules. It’s even how you do good science. Riches are a giant piece of shit, and charity is enslavement.
What is it with you humans and your insistence that nothing matters unless you can keep it away from those who need it most?
While I agree with the sentiment, I don’t think it really applies in this case.
That said, people shouldn’t be blocking access to a public area just because they’re upset about something
How not, they hate that poor people are using the hot spring
How is a hot spring something that people NEED to use? You’re acting like it’s a necessity of life to go use it. It’s not. And the people using it are poor? That’s a pretty damn big generalization you’re making there to try and further your point.
They still should NOT be blocking people’s access to anything, but don’t turn this into something it’s not. The destination and their wealth aren’t what matters here. They’re pissed that there are more people around and trying to do something about it. This is a common theme with any tourism heavy area.
Money sure seems to bring out the moronic meanness of people dont it
just waiting for the “non-local resident drags massive boulder down road after locals block entrance” news article to pop up now
Or you might wanna take a look at the big yellow double arch natural stone carving McDonald’s stone ad! Para pa pa pa! I’m loving it!.. Drink responsibility…come frutas y verduras. For every one minute you stare at the rock, McDonald’s will donate 1 mcflurry to a homeless person nearby. All you have to do is scan the code at the bottom of the rock, attach your GPS coordinates and heading angle, pitch and jaw, then fill in the form with your name and address, print it out, sign it, and mail it to 1800 Elm St. Zaragoza California 92322. Then just wait two to three weeks and invite your favorite homeless person. You’ll need proof of purchase and a print out of your form that you’ll need to sign once more. They may have to as you the form questions again, but don’t worry, they are used to doing that, they worked for the DMV before. Enjoy the outdoors and give a homeless a helping hand! And don’t forget this form too after you’re done with the quickie! He’ll enjoy knowing there’s someone who cares, and you’ll enjoy knowing you cared! Because who cares? You cares!
what a fucking comment
Thanks! I do do my best.
idk that i would describe that as the best, but it’s definitely something.
I do do!
if you say so.
There needs to be hefty fines, with a time component, accumulating since the first notice
Great… now I got to do a side quest to get to the hot springs.
