The county recently proposed an amendment to the Isla Vista Bluff Policy, requiring property owners to track and report bluff erosion within 20 feet of their property twice a year.
The new policy would allow the county to get more precise measurements of eroding bluffs to protect residents more effectively.
"A lot of freshmen come here, and they don’t know the stories," said UCSB student Taylor Ramos.
Ramos said she has witnessed the dangers of the bluff firsthand.
"We just watched a girl fall off the bluff right here," continues Ramos. "She tried to jump from that house to this house and she was climbing over, and she slipped."
The student was rescued by firefighters with minimal injuries according to Ramos, who adds when her balcony collapsed earlier this year, repairs and fencing were delayed.
"[The fence] went up like a month after the bluff fell," Ramos said. "So, we were staring at it — just no fence, no nothing — like a half a fallen fence for a while."
Richard West manages the property next door and tells KSBY he is working to install a 6-foot fence at 6761 Del Playa Dr. but adds that it’s been challenging.
"It’s not as easy as hiring a contractor and having them go!" said West.
West said the homeowner has hired architects and a general contractor, but permitting is an issue.
"If the city would have just said, 'Yes, go ahead, build it, have a licensed contractor build it.' It would have been done by now," explained West.
West says they submitted the first round of permits in April.
"We submitted the form, and it got kicked back," he said. "We're in the process of submitting again right now."
KSBY spoke with Santa Barbara County Planning & Development and was told once a completed coast development permit is submitted, approval should take no more than 8 weeks. In the meantime, Ramos says fences won’t solve the problem.
"I just don’t think 6 feet is gonna do it. There just isn’t enough being done," explained Ramos. "I think personally, through the school, through the city, on educating people on why you can't get so close."
