Environmental controls are on the table once more in the city of Goleta with proposed Track 3 General Plan amendments under review.

The deadline for comment was extended from March 16 to 5 p.m. April 6 after several citizens complained of inadequate notice for last week’s hearing, which was attended by fewer than a dozen people.

Also, a second public hearing has been scheduled at city hall on March 16 at 6 p.m.

Last week’s hearing was not televised, something that Goleta resident George Relles suggested should be done to improve public awareness of proposed changes affecting land use, open space, setbacks from environmentally sensitive areas and conservation elements being considered.

He also urged the city to consider publishing notices in more than one local newspaper, and in Web-based news sources, as well.

Many say that, if approved, the proposed changes would substantially diminish environmental protections established in the original General Plan in 2006.

Several speakers voiced passionate criticism of weakening of controls.

Residents who have opposed most of the proposed changes to the General Plan since the beginning of the process two years ago took issue with what they saw as a weakening of the environmental standards set forth in the original plan.

Coastal access, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, wetlands, creeks and trees are all included in the document.

“This is not what the community of Goleta wants,” said Barbara Massey, a local activist.

“It is far less protection, with a reduction of buffers from creeks and other sensitive habitat, than is in place now.

“We wish you would stop wasting our dollars on this.”

The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan political organization that works to impact public policies through advocacy and citizen education, has expressed serious concerns about the Track 3 amendments put forward.

“We have had concerns about the Track 3 amendments since they were presented,” said Connie Hannah, speaking for the league. She suggested the work program be reopened to reassess the amendments.

Gary Vandeman questioned how the city could be evaluating proposed changes to the plan before a habitat management plan is in place.

And Cecilia Brown, a member of the city’s design review board, was critical of the process leading up to the hearing.

“There are more city members here than members of the public,” Brown said. “This is not a good situation.”

Brown also said the amendments lacked detail related to climate change, that there needed to be current information on the water district’s groundwater basin, including a clear map, and that environmental impacts of bridge footings in creeks were not addressed.

Anne Wells, hearing officer and advance planner for the city, responded to the criticism, saying she believed Goleta had done as much as possible to keep the public in the loop in the amendment process, with several workshops and meetings during the last two years.

The amendments under consideration originated soon after council members Eric Onnen and Michael Bennett were sworn in, and many were put forward by the Bacara Resort and Spa, which has plans to build condominiums on its property, and other development interests.

The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the Track 3 General Plan Amendments is available for review in several locations: online at the city of Goleta’s website at www.cityofgoleta.org; at City Hall; at 130 Cremona Dr.; at the Goleta Library; Goleta Valley Community Center; and at the UCSB Library.