One of the most appealing aspects of attending UCSB is the opportunity to live only feet away from the Pacific Ocean. Only in Isla Vista (IV) can a group of twenty-somethings enjoy sweeping views of the coast from their oceanside bedroom. However, this privilege comes at a cost — and it isn’t just the five roommates you have to share the view with.
Winter quarter is coming to a close, which marks the end of a fairly turbulent season in Isla Vista. UCSB students could be seen tanning outside one day and the next be without power amidst flooding in areas of Santa Barbara. While some may chalk it up to a quintessential California winter, this kind of erratic climate is concerning. This chaotic changing weather continues to be a worry as dangerous cliff erosion is beginning to affect the homesteads of Gauchos living on Del Playa Drive (DP).
Year after year, the picturesque cliffside of DP erodes away, causing trouble for IV landowners, student renters, and the greater Santa Barbara environment. In the last 35 years, over 15 ft worth of cliffside has eroded from environmental degradation and sea level rise. This erosion is caused primarily from rainfall runoff and waves hitting the cliffside which gradually wears away at the sediment. As climate change leads to more sporadic and intense storms, the process of erosion becomes more severe and therefore more dangerous.
The most recent incident resulting from this erosion was the evacuation of students from their home on the 67 block of DP this February. The iconic photo of the collapsed deck of this home — shared on Instagram among UCSB students — depicts the frightening image of the fence hanging off the side of the DP cliffside.
This is neither the first nor the last evacuations to take place along DP, disrupting the lives of the students living in these homes. In 2017, several apartments on the 66 block of DP had to be scaled back in order to accommodate the dangerous potential of collapse. County safety inspectors routinely survey IV properties and give recommendations to landowners. Between 2004 and 2017 alone, inspectors ordered cutbacks to 15 different buildings.
These incidents are concerning for multiple reasons. First and foremost, erosion puts students in harm’s way. The potential for an entire house collapsing becomes more precarious every year. Furthermore, the lives of students are disrupted in these instances. Evacuating one’s home renders them incapable of attending class, going to work, or completing assignments which are all essential parts of a college student’s life.
This erosion is unsettling to students of course due to safety and livelihood concerns, but also for reasons pertaining to environmental well-being and the maintenance of our beautiful seaside community in IV. Coastal towns and cities are most susceptible to the effects of climate change and if we want to preserve these areas it is imperative that sustainable change is made. The erosion of the cliffside is only picking up pace, in the next 20 years the entire oceanside block of DP could be unlivable. Storms like the ones Gauchos experienced this quarter are compounding the problem of erosion and should serve as a warning to the UCSB community that our home is at risk.