While increased police presence successfully prevented the occurence of a possible Floatopia this past weekend, the county may decide to prevent beach access again this weekend.
[/media-credit]Law enforcement thwart the annual I.V. celebration by blocking beach entrances.Officials sought to prevent damages like those incurred during the 2009 event.
The Santa Barbara County Parks Dept. declared the closure last week an effort to protect the coastline from the level of damage caused by the 2009 Floatopia festivities.
According to IVFP Lt. Ray Vuillemainroy, the police presence did deter students from celebrating on the beaches.
“People were expecting the closure, so we had very few violators and people were respectful of law enforcement,” Vuillemainroy said. “I appreciate the student support and that residents respected the barricade.”
In 2009, pollution from the celebration created widespread environmental damage and cost the county over $20,000 to clean up. Vuillemainroy said officials will enforce similar blockades throughout the quarter if the event is rescheduled for a later date.
“As long as they say there is going to be a Floatopia, then we will take the appropriate measures,” Vuillemainroy said.
—Staff Report
California state law REQUIRES there be public access to every beach. The Coastal Commission is the enforcing body for this law. The police simply CANNOT close the beach arbitrarily because they don’t like the event, as long as it is not criminal. You have the upper hand as long as you learn the ropes in this game. The Coastal Commission’s MANDATE is to ensure public access to the beach. See the Coastal Act here: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/coastact.pdf Section 30001.5 of the Public Resources Code mandates the goals of the Coastal Commission: “(c) Maximize public access to and along the coast and maximize… Read more »
Hey Kevin,
Its yur old buddy Chris here. Peep the event we got goin on. Big ups to you my man, for helping cultivate the idea.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=177638268955132
YES!!! I’ll be there! Bring Floatopia to THEM!! What do they hate about young people playing in the sun? Are they jealous because they are old?
Move “Floatopia” to the lagoon!
Great Story and all, But this one is way more interesting! http://art7andrea.blogspot.com/2011/04/breaking-news.html In further attempts to immortalize himself, Kanye West has been spotted at various Cryonics Preservation Labs around California discussing the topic of freezing his body after death for preservation purposes. The rapper has been documented saying “The only sure thing in life is death.” and it seems that Kanye West wants to preserve his glorious body forever. The preservation process is a long one that first started with the replacement of his front teeth with diamond encrusted veneers. He has said that he feels that by the end… Read more »
Kanye West is a f***ing boss. Literally, he is the tyrannasaurus rex of rap. All these other p**sy rapper are like lil velociraptors and Kanye is like NAW N***A RAAAWWR and then bites their faces off. Back to my thesis: Kanye being a boss. Aside from working TaySwift, Kanye continues to run train on the music industry. Literally, its single after single slappin beats and meats on America’s ears. F*ck year America! If you dont like Kanye, youre a terrorist.
PS: George Bush doesnt care about black people
<3<3<3 Chris Par. Derrrp —-(]====8 <3<3<3
http://checkmatehoohaha.blogspot.com/2011/04/breaking-news-protest-not-to-miss.html VPP Fights Back!!! As most local Isla Vistans know, Floatopia (the annual, epic, not to mention, INSANE) “beach party” is planned to take place during the month of April. In past years, the beach has been completely trashed, ending up lined with beer cans, cigarette buds, and other pollution related commodities. In preparation for this years celebration of the greatest party school on Earth, the police took extra precaution and lined the street this past weekend, of April 3, 2011. About forty extra officers were employed to be on duty and be on the look out for Floatopia related… Read more »
I wonder how much those 40 extra officers, “barricades”, etc… cost the county?
Sounds like a lot cheaper than when it actually happened in 2009… “During its peak hours, Floatopia attracted a dozen Foot Patrol officers, Goleta deputies, and officers from the UCSB police department, 4 county fire engines, 2 ambulances, a search and rescue crew, and a helicopter. Lt. Brian Olmstead of the Isla Vista Foot Patrol stated that about 20 county firefighters were assigned to the event. The main problem was that Floatopia required so many officials to be present that it caused a redistribution of safety personnel. Olmstead stated,”this event had an impact on the county as a whole.” The… Read more »
The popular UCSB Floatopia event has been rescheduled for the weekend of April 16th 2011. The event which was to take place on April 9, 2011 was cancelled due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions. As originally reported in the Daily Nexus, “In 2009, pollution from the celebration created widespread environmental damage and cost the county over $20,000 to clean up.” (http://www.dailynexus.com/2011-04-04/police-barricades-capsize-floatopia/). Concerns over environmental and financial impact forced the county to act and preemptively close the beaches in preparation for the event. The immense popularity of Floatopia was not lost on potential sponsors (the Facebook page has 1,761 members as… Read more »
Check here for the real reasons behind the closure: http://seven-eighths.blogspot.com/2011/04/beach-barred-killer-dunes-for-real.html
Excerpt: “Many students at the University of California Santa Barbara have been “disappointed” by the Santa Barbara police department’s presence in order to stop Floatopia.
They say that it is to protect the students and the environment, and this is true, but they have no idea how right they really are. Voluminous amounts of trash and changed ph values due to human urine are bad, but they pale in comparison to what is really out there.”
SB Parks just announced they’ll close the beaches again this weekend. Seriously, can someone just get Chris Par to cancel the Facebook event so that we can at least use our beaches again. The crotchety old man in me has reached the point where I’m somehow okay with not having masses of out-of-towners raging in my town if it means I get to enjoy my own space.
sucks, no one can walk on the beach, even those that just want to walk. a little heavy handed to get fined for a stroll..