A large part of the open space on the Ellwood Mesa will soon be called the Sperling Preserve, as a resolution passed unanimously by the Goleta City Council this week acknowledged a forthcoming $5 million gift from Peter and Stephanie Sperling. The Sperlings pledged the money in June.

As of last week, there was less than $1 million still to be raised for the purchase of 137 acres of blufftop land; those involved seem certain that it will occur.

The donation will go to the Trust for Public Land (TPL) towards the $10 million purchase of the land, which would otherwise have been subject to residential development.

On completion of the broader Ellwood-Devereux project, which involves the county and UCSB as well as Goleta, TPL will transfer ownership of the land to the city of Goleta to be held "in perpetuity for open space, coastal access, and passive recreation."

With this donation, nearly all of the money required for the project has now been raised.

The Sperling family operates several businesses, the best known of which is the University of Phoenix. Peter Sperling, UCSB graduate, is the founder and president of CallWave, a local software and telecommunications company.

At Monday’s Goleta City Council meeting, when the renaming of the preserve was made official, there was a chorus of thanks from members of the public.

Not only the Sperlings were being acknowledged. Neighbors and environmentalists and ordinary citizens were also thanking the council for helping put the deal together, and thanking developer Bob Comstock, whose 62-unit Ali d’Oro project is still going in, but at a smaller size and in a less environmentally sensitive area than had been approved by the County several years ago.

"I hope Mr. Comstock makes a fortune," said Kevin Barthel, president of the Friends of the Ellwood Coast.

Monday was the last of a long series of public hearings on environmental documents and management plans for the city’s portion of the huge proposal often called the Ellwood/Devereux Land Swap. When completed, the arrangement will result in more than 600 acres of coastal open space that will reach from Isla Vista to the Sandpiper Golf Course, nearly two miles to the west.

The Comstock Homes portion of the project, which will put 62 new homes just off Hollister Avenue at the western end of the mesa, still has some hurdles to pass. The city has approved the plans so far, with some restrictions. The developer must allow continued public access through the property, and he must pay for substantial traffic mitigations, including improvements along Hollister Avenue and at the already-crowded intersection of Storke Road and Hollister Avenue. There are also restrictions on activities and future expansion within the development.

The residential project must still get past Goleta’s Design Review Board, which has already approved earlier versions, and the California Coastal Commission.

The city must also get Coastal Commission approval for construction of a parking lot to serve the new park land. The Open Space and Habitat Management Plan for the newly preserved property will also go to the Coastal Commission for approval.

UCSB and Santa Barbara County are also working to complete their portions

of the proposal, which, after nearly , 10 years of difficult negotiations, is in its final stages.

Photo credit: John Bury

Caption: Chris Lange, who has been active for years in the effort to preserve butterfly habitats in Ellwood, displays an image of a Monarch Butterfly at Monday’s Goleta City Council Meeting. "Without the Sperling donation to preserve the groves, this butterfly would have only one wing," she said.