Staff Report

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is seeking grant funding to provide more patrols and enforcement of areas where illegal off-road vehicles are being used.

The department has received a number of complaints about people on ATVs, primarily in the Santa Ynez River bed and surrounding areas bordering Lompoc, who are damaging private property and the environment as well as violating a number of other state and county ordinances.

The Sheriff’s Office submitted an application March 4 to the California Parks and Recreation Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. As part of the multi-step application process, public comment and feedback will be taken before the final application is due on May 6.  Until April 1, the public can view the on-line grant application and submit comments. 

To view the application, go to the California OHMV Grants and Cooperative Agreements program at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov. To make comments on the application, click on “Grants” and then on “On Line Grants Application (OLGA).” Then follow the directions on the menu bar on the left side of the screen.

This is the fifth year that the Sheriff’s Office has applied for the grant funding.