CPA Board of Directors

CPA Issue Committees

COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING COMMITTEE

Meets 12-1:30pm on the 4th Monday of each month in Santa Barbara.

Examines such issues as population growth, housing affordability, jobs/housing balance, density and sprawl, the preservation of open space and agriculture, community plans, and traffic and congestion issues. Provides input to decision makers regarding these issues.

SOUTH COAST LAND USE COMMITTEE

Meets 11:30am-1:30pm on the 1st Monday of each month in Downtown Santa Barbara & the 3rd Monday of each month in Goleta.

Looks at specific development projects, studies policies, Community Plans and General Plans as they affect land use planning on the South Coast. Provides input to decision makers regarding specific land use projects.

NORTH COUNTY LAND USE COMMITTEE

Meets 7-9pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month in Lompoc.

Looks at specific development projects, studies policies, Community Plans and General Plans as they affect land use planning in the North County. Provides input to decision makers regarding specific land use projects.

WATERSHEDS COMMITTEE

Meets on an as-scheduled basis.

Evaluates issues of our waterfront & watersheds from a total watershed perspective, addresses these issues in the context that the remnant coastal aquatic features are part of the total watershed. Provides input to decision makers.

WATER COMMITTEE

We are currently working to re-institute this committee. If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact us.

Addresses issues of State Water Projects, water conservation, creek and ocean pollution, and looks at specific development projects throughout the County for which water supply is of concern. Provides input to decision makers regarding these issues.

Interested in any of these committees or want to learn more?

For more information or to become a member of any of these committees,
please email info@citizensplanning.org or call (805) 966-3979.

CPA Board Member Bio's

Louise Boucher
Louise has lived in Santa Barbara almost all of her life. She is a graduate of Marymount School and UCSB. She has worked for many years, especially in Santa Barbara issues, beginning with the Board of the Eucalyptus Hill Association and the UCSB Art Affiliates. She has cared for preservation of the quality of life in her beloved city through her involvement with many important organizations and committees, including (but not limited to): member of the Landmarks Committee (later the Historic Landmarks Commission) from the 1970’s until 2003 (with a mere 2 year hiatus in the middle); former and current member of the Board of CPA (serving as past and current President); board member of CPF (formerly serving as Treasurer, and past and current Vice President); founding member and current board member of the Pearl Chase Society; former member of the SB City Sign Committee (she helped write the City Sign ordinance) (you will note that there are no pole signs in Santa Barbara); member of the SB Museum of Art and former volunteer there; member of Lotusland. Her greatest commitments have been to the Historic Landmarks Commission and CPA & CPF.

Louise has been the recipient of three distinguished awards: the Pearl Chase Historic and Conservation Award; the Pearl Chase Award from the Architectural Board of Review and the Historic Landmarks Commission, given by the City Council; and the UCSB Environmental Studies Program's Outstanding Community Service Award.

Cynthia Brock
(Secretary)
Cynthia has a BA in Communications Design from the University of Illinois. After moving to Goleta in 1980 she worked as a technical illustrator, graphic designer, and publications manager. She is a past president of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication and served on the international board of the Society. Cynthia became actively involved in land use issues in the late 90's when she was president of the Santa Barbara Shores Homeowners Association and the nearby Ellwood Mesa was threatened by development. She joined CPA and participated in the Land Use Committee where she obtained a crash education in the public planning process. She later became a CPA board member and chair of the LUC.

Cynthia gained experience in a variety of planning issues as a Third District appointee to Highway 101 Design Review Team, a member of the Goleta West Sanitary District Citizens Advisory Committee, and a participant in the Community Housing Action Group. Cynthia was a founding board member of Friends of the Ellwood Coast, the group that partnered with the Trust for Public Land and the City of Goleta to acquire and protect the Sperling Preserve on the Ellwood Mesa.

After exploring the possibilities of governance for the Goleta area through participation in Common Ground 2000 and the Goleta Roundtable, she became a founding member of the GoletaNow! Cityhood Committee that worked to bring a successful proposal for self-governance to the voters of Goleta. Cynthia was elected to the Goleta City Council in the initial 2001 cityhood election and served as Mayor, 2004-2005. During her term on the council, she represented Goleta on the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District board and the Santa Barbara County Community Action Commission board.

Cynthia's continuing interests include safeguarding the environmental, aesthetic, and recreational assets of the Ellwood coast, including the Monarch butterfly. A long-time participant in community supported agriculture; she is especially interested in preserving agricultural resources and supporting local food production.

Marell Brooks
(Vice President)
Marell Brooks has lived in Vandenberg Village since 1978 where she and her husband have been teachers at the local high schools and where they raised three children. She served on the Vandenberg Village Association for several years during the early 1980's. She has been active in the American Association of University Women for more than 20 years, serving several terms as co-president and board member. She also serves on the Lompoc Library Foundation Board and, following her retirement after 34 years of teaching, volunteered to serve on the Santa Barbara Commission for Women. She has a keen interest in preserving the beauty of Santa Barbara County, is encouraging the update of the Community Plan for the Lompoc Valley, and co-chairs CPA's North County Land Use Committee.

Scott Bull
Scott Bull completed a BA in Environmental Science Degree from UCSB in 1996 and MA Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Ecology in 2002. While an undergraduate at UCSB, Scott co-founded the Isla Vista Chapter Surfrider Foundation and led a campus-wide ballot initiative that established the Shoreline Preservation Fund (SPF), which raises $180,000 per year to be distributed in grants for local coastal enhancement.

Scott is a member of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy (GCC) Board of Directors and continues to play an important and active role within the Santa Barbara and Isla Vista Chapters of the Surfrider Foundation. He continues to participate on Common Ground to collaborate bi-weekly with local landowners for strategies to protect the Gaviota Coast as well as the Goleta Beach Working Group, a similar stakeholder process.

Scott is currently working part-time for the City of Santa Barbara in the Public Works Water Conservation Division leading the creek water quality monitoring efforts. His full-time employment is with UCSB as the Shoreline Preservation Fund Grants Manager and Student Affairs Advisor for environmental organizations within Associated Students. He has served on CPA’s Board since 2003.

Peter Burgess
Peter D. Burgess, a building contractor, has been a resident of Santa Barbara for over 40 years. He has been a board member of the Mountain Drive Community Association and has been active in their Volunteer Fire Department for over 15 years, as well as a board member of the Citizens Planning Association and the Wildlands Residents Association of San Marcos Pass/Painted Cave. Peter is a member of the Environmental Defense Center, Land Trust of Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Casa del Herrero Foundation, Lotusland, Pearl Chase Society, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Direct Relief International and the Citizens Planning Association, among other organizations.

Mary Louise Days
Mary Louise is a native Santa Barbaran and a fifth generation Californian. She is a current (and longtime) board member of CPA, and has been associated with CPA since March, 1961, when she began employment with the City of Santa Barbara Planning Department. She helped with preparation of the City's General Plan, was secretary to the Planning Commission and the department, then worked in zoning administration and case processing. She was also involved with the City's Comprehensive Population Impact Study which resulted in zoning changes to lower the maximum allowed number of dwelling units. In the mid-1970s, when the department was combined into the Community Development Department, she was assigned to the City's Advisory Landmark Committee, helping to create a new preservation ordinance and then supervising the architectural and historical resource surveys. In the 1990s she wrote an amendment to include the Historic Landmarks Commission and El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District in the City Charter. She continued to handle Planning Commission cases.

Mary Louise received degrees from SBCC (history) and from UCSB (history, minor in architectural history). She retired from City employment in December 1996. A registered professional historian, she has written on local history subjects, including the book "Park Histories, City of Santa Barbara." Active in the Santa Barbara Presidio project since 1967, she is a past president and an honorary life trustee of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. She is a current board member of the Trust for Historic Preservation and several other organizations, a founder of the Pearl Chase Society, an honorary member of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and Historian for the Native Daughters of the Golden West. She is a recipient of SB City's St. Barbara Award and has received other awards. She frequently gives historical/architectural tours in Santa Barbara.

Gerry DeWitt
(South County Vice President)
Gerry has degrees in Economics and Sociology from UCSB. During 1974 & 1975, he helped to write the landmark urban planning study Santa Barbara: The Impacts Of Growth. He became active in local planning issues, and served on the CPA Board, chairing its Comprehensive Planning Committee, until his appointment to the City Planning Commission in 1979. His involvement with CPA has continued since then, and he is currently serving as South County Vice President.

Gerry served on the Planning Commission from 1979 until his election to the City Council in 1981. On the City Council, he assumed a leadership role on planning issues ranging from the Central City Redevelopment Project to the creation of the public process leading to the voter-approved Measure E, which sought to bring the Citys commercial buildout potential into line with its housing supply. His work on the Council resulted in widespread and bi-partisan support in the community. He was chosen Best Elected Official or Best Local Politician six times in local newspaper polls (until the category was eliminated from the poll!). He was supported for reelection by labor, environmental and progressive organizations, as well as by the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Organization and others - the widest spectrum of political groups ever joined behind a single political candidate in our community. He was re-elected to the Council by large majorities in 1985 & 1989.

Professionally, Gerry has worked as a journalist, broadcaster and administrator in the Santa Barbara area since 1975. He served as News Director at KTYD-FM from 1976-1981, and as Program Director at KTMS-AM from 1993-1994. He created, hosted and produced The Sixties Revisited, a staple of SB radio from 1976-2001, and currently co-hosts Head To Head, a political debate program which began as a radio program is now on Public Access Ch. 17 in the SB area.

Lansing Duncan
Lansing has been a Santa Barbara County resident for more than 40 years and has resided in the Santa Ynez Valley for 16 years. He served on the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission for over five years, including one year as its chairperson. He represented the Third District prior to Goleta's incorporation.

As a Commissioner, Lansing participated in many milestone projects, including: the Agricultural Element Phase II, Guidelines for Telecommunications Sites, the Residential Agricultural Unit Program, the Agricultural Clustered Development Program, the Lompoc Area Development Guidelines, the DR Project Design Guidelines, the Highway 101 Corridor Design Guidelines, the Safety Element Hazardous Materials and Impact Thresholds Amendments, Goleta Old Town Revitalization, the Toro Canyon Plan, the Orcutt Community Plan, Monarch Point, Bridleridge, the Camino Real Shopping Center, Windermere, Gaviota Marine Terminal Revisions, and the approval of over 12 wineries in the north county.

Although known for his attention to detail, he maintained a “big picture” perspective of cumulative county development and an appreciation of public participation in the decision making process. In 2001, the County Board of Supervisors commended Lansing for his dedication and conscientiousness, raising the bar for accuracy and thoroughness on the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission.

Lansing served five years on the Santa Ynez Valley General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC), including two years as chairman during the GPAC's consideration of the Valley's first Community Plan. In addition to currently serving on CPA’s Board, Lansing is an active member of CPA’s Comprehensive Planning Committee.

Steve Dunn
(President)
Steve is a native of Santa Barbara. Professionally, he has worked in ocean related industries since 1968, as well as in surfboard and commercial fishing boat manufacturing from 1972 to 1991. Steve has been a community activist for many years. His community activities throughout the years include involvement with many groups/issues, including: the Coastal Zone Initiative; Hammonds Reef; LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas); Commercial Fishing; Environmental Coalition (liaison to local fisher groups); Joint Oil-Fisheries Committee (Trap Fisheries Representative and Fisheries Caucus Chair); liaison between fisheries and SB County APCD Innovative Technologies Groups marine diesel clean air retrofit program; Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara County, Inc. (including steering committee member for area crab fishery, developing and implementing new mandated resource management plans); Downtown/Waterfront Vision Committee; Committee for Santa Barbara (wetland advocate); Committee for Santa Barbaras Waterfront (wetland advocate); Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper (board member and current Vice President); CPA and CPF.

Steve has been involved with CPA and CPF for several years now, serving as past and current Executive Vice President of CPA, past Vice President and current President of CPF. Additionally, he has chaired CPAs Nominating Committee for the past 5 years, and has been and continues to be an active member in CPAs Comprehensive Planning Committee, Watersheds Committee, Water Committee and CPA & CPF’s Outreach & Development Committee.

Michael Gray
A resident of Santa Barbara since 1975, Michael is an attorney. During the 1980’s he served on the Santa Barbara City Planning Commission for 7 years, including serving as its Chair. Following his service on the Planning Commission, he joined the CPA board, on which he served until 2001, and served as its president for 2 terms.

Eddie Harris
(Watersheds Committee Chair)
Eddie has lived in Santa Barbara for 34 years. He has an AA degree in Math and Science from Santa Monica College, and is a retired fire captain. He has studied local watersheds from the fire protection perspective since coming to the south coast in 1971. Over the past decade, his interest in watersheds has shifted to an environmental focus, and he returned to school at Santa Barbara City College to learn how hydrologic function can be restored within streams and coastal aquatic systems of this region. Through involvement as an advocate for sound planning for environmental protections on the south coast, he has become increasingly aware of the need for broad community based support for planning that is based on sustainable land use practices.

Eddie’s involvement with CPA is motivated by a desire to stem environmental resource depletion that takes place when human activities are conducted within our watersheds. He is currently chair of CPA’s Watersheds Committee, and for the past several years has been involved with other non-profits, such as the Urban Creeks Council, of which he is currently Board President.

Paul Hernadi
(Comprehensive Planning Committee Co-Chair)
Paul was born in Budapest, Hungary, and is Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Having received doctorates in history of the theater (University of Vienna) and comparative literature (Yale), he has published numerous books and articles in both fields. Between 1984 and his retirement in 2001, he taught at UCSB and also served as Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts for three years.

Increasingly concerned with neighborhood preservation issues, Paul began speaking at public hearings, writing letters to the News-Press, and joined CPA's Land Use Committee. He is currently treasurer of the Allied Neighborhoods Association, and was appointed midyear this past year to the CPA Board of Directors and appointed co-chair of CPA’s Comprehensive Planning Committee. He was elected to the CPF board last year, but has decided to resign from that board to devote his attention to CPA’s Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Committees.

Kalon Kelley
(Treasurer & Comprehensive Planning Committee Co-Chair))
Kalon has a BA from Harvard and a PhD from UCLA. He grew up in Santa Barbara and has lived here (with years away for schooling) since the 1940s. He is a self-employed computer software developer, and has been active in a variety of environmental organizations over the years. He has served on two County committees: the Petroleum Ordinance Committee and the County Riding and Hiking Trails Advisory Committee. He has been a member of CPA for about 30 years, and a CPA board member for the last 4 years. He previously served as CPAs Land Use Committee Secretary, and is currently co-chair of CPAs Comprehensive Planning Committee.

John Lengsfelder
John moved to Santa Barbara in 1980 where he raised his family, managed property and made film & videos. He has been a member of CPA for about 23 years. He first became involved with CPA when he was very involved with the preservation of the Wilcox Property. The creation of the Monarch Butterfly Preserve resulted from a settlement of a developer lawsuit against him and five other neighbors who were trying to save the property. Other organizations with which he is or has been involved include: the Family Therapy Institute (current board member), Small Wilderness Areas Preserve (SWAP) (member), City Cable TV Committee (past Chair), Joseph Campbell Library (board member). He has created video installations at both annual Funk Zone Festivals, which help bring citywide attention to our unique artist neighborhood. He started and is currently organizing/planning CPA/CPF's annual Sandcastle & Sculpting Festival at East Beach. He has begun a video documentary chronicling CPA's impact/full history.

Sheila Lodge
Sheila was born in California and has lived in the state all her life except from 1947 – 1950 when she taught elementary school and did social sork in Maryland. She moved to Santa Barbara in 1952.

She is a former SB City Planning Commissioner and served on the SB City Council from 1975 – 1981. In 1981 she was elected the first woman mayor of Santa Barbara and served 3 terms until 1993 (at which point the term limits law took effect). She’s been a CPA board member for the last 3 years. Involved in the adoption of numerous innovative community planning measures while on the City Council, she cares deeply about Santa Barbara and the Preservation of its high quality of life.

An active volunteer since leaving office, she is currently a docent at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

Lee Moldaver
Lee Moldaver is a long-time Santa Barbara resident. He is also a longtime CPA board member, as well as a past CPA president. He serves on numerous non-profit, civic, charitable, business boards, task forces and committees. He is also a member of various regional and professional societies, with numerous articles and publications to his credit. Lee’s professional work is oriented toward tech sector new-product development in the western states, and beyond.

Carol Nash
(North County Vice President)
Carol has a degree in Biology fromTulane University. She moved to Lompoc in 1961. Since then she has served on the Fourth District Gerneral Plan Advisory Committee; as Alternate Public Member of LAFCO; on the Planning Commission (appointed by Supervisory Bob Hedlund); on Fourth District (Lompoc Valley) until Commssion went from 10 to 5 members (at which point she resigned); and on Vandenberg Village Community Service District (serving for 6-1/2 years).

Carol chaired the SB County Interbrand Council, during which time they sponsored a county-wide Land Use Workshop. In 1970, she put together the first Lompoc Water Forum with City and County hydrologists. In the 1980’s she participated in a state-wide AAUW study on the State Water Project with six other women from Northern CA to San Diego.

Carol became involved with CPA years ago, after reading about CPA in the newspaper. She had land-use concerns and was very impressed by how much CPA knew about the Lompoc area. She later became a board member of CPA, and over the years she has served on our Water, Land Use, and North County Land Use (NCLUC) committees, as well as helping with fundraisers whenever possible. She is currently (and has previously served as) CPA’s North County Vice President. She has previously served as CPA’s NCLUC Chair, and currently co-chairs the committee.

Beatrice Rosales
Beatrice was born in Santa Barbara and has lived here all her life. She loves her Santa Barbara and will do all she can to keep it the lovely place it is. She attended City schools here, graduated from Santa Barbara High in 1940 and went on to what became UCSB, where she graduated in 1944 with a BA in Biology and a teaching credential. She did graduate work at UCSB and USC. She taught biology and Spanish at Santa Barbara Junior High School and Santa Barbara High School for 30 years.

She currently belongs to the Daughters of Spain (her parents being from that country), the League of Women Voters, and is on the board of the Cacique Street Homeless Shelter. Through the past many years, Beatrice has been an active CPA member, Land Use Committee member, Water Committee member, Comprehensive Planning Committee member, and board member of CPA. She is particularly concerned with the design and quality of the buildings that are going up in Santa Barbara, that they maintain the classic Spanish architecture that has been Santa Barbara’s tradition. Her motto is “if you’re going to do it, do it right!”

Selma Rubin
Selma has lived in Santa Barbara for over 40 years. She has been on some 35 boards. During her active working career, she was in the accounting field. She has served as the treasurer for many groups, including CPA. She has a major interest in the environment, civil liberties, peace, health, women's issues, elimination of nuclear weapons, and politics.

Arve Sjovold
Arve has a deep knowledge of water supply planning issues. From 1967-1970 he was a member of the Water Commission of the City of Santa Barbara; from 1975-1982 he served on the Santa Barbara County Water Advisory Committee. Arve first joined CPA’s board in 1991, and has served as co-chair and chair of CPA’s Water Committee. He was awarded ”Volunteer of the Year” in 1993 for his efforts on water issues.

Arve retired from his career as a research scientist and cost analysis specialist in 1996. Since then, he has been even more active in community affairs. He has served on the board of the Community Environmental Council and as Vice President of the Scenic Shoreline Preservation Council, and he has served as Treasurer of Water For California, an independent nonprofit dedicated to better water planning in California, which came into being due to CPA's efforts with the Monterey lawsuit.

Misty Williams
Misty's education consists of a BS in Hydrological Science with an emphasis in Geography (GIS) from UCSB and a Master of Environmental Science and Management with specialization in Water Resources Management from the Bren School. Throughout her education she held positions with the National Park Service, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, SB County Flood Control, the City of Santa Barbara Water Supply Management, SB County Air Pollution Control District, and CEC's South Coast Watershed Resource Center. Misty has been involved with the South Coast Watershed Alliance since 1998 and is currently the Water Conservation Specialist for the Goleta Water District.

Keith Zandona
Keith is a native Santa Barbaran. He is a home builder and President of the SB County Archaelogical Society. He was a founder and steering committee member of Save Our Coast, an organization in which he was active from 1987-1995. From 1995-2002 Keith was Chair of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation

Naomi Kovacs
(Executive Director)
Naomi Kovacs has worked in the nonprofit world for more than 15 years. She has been Executive Director of CPA & CPF since 2001.

Naomi began her career as a Residential Counselor & Program Coordinator for developmentally disabled and dually-diagnosed clients at the Devereux Foundation in Santa Barbara. She moved on to work in International Operations with the University of California’s Education Abroad Program, at the administrative headquarters for all UC campuses and numerous study centers abroad.
Naomi then joined the Peace Corps and served as a Community Development Extension Agent in Cameroon, Africa, primarily focusing her work on water & sanitation education and projects, as well as the formation and legalization of community groups. She later returned to Cameroon as a Technical Trainer for the Peace Corps’ Water and Sanitation Project.

Following her return to the States, Naomi pursued a graduate degree at the University of Southern California, during which time she completed an internship with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles in Section 8 Administration, as well as an internship with the Office of Development and External Relations at USC’s School of Policy, Planning, and Development. She also served as a research assistant for the USC’s Neighborhood Participation Project.

Naomi’s main interests have been in grassroots planning and community development. As Executive Director of CPA & CPF, she has been able to combine these interests with her master’s degree focus in nonprofit management.

Naomi holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and French from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She spent a year studying at the Université Paul Valèry in Montpellier, France. Her master’s degree is in Public Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the University of Southern California.

Naomi has served on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Peace Corps Association since 2002, sitting for 2 terms as President and currently as Secretary. She served on the Board of the USC Graduate Policy & Administration Community, and was an Ambassador to the USC Masters of Public Administration program. She has been a member of the USC Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration; Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society; and Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society for Public Affairs & Administration.

Naomi also volunteers when possible for a number of local nonprofit organizations, and was formerly an active Special Olympics coach.

Kamron Sockolov
(Outreach and Development Coordinator)
Kamron moved to the Central Coast to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies and Physics at UCSB. While a student, Kamron volunteered with numerous campus organizations including Environmental Affairs Board and Associated Student’s BIKES committee. While serving as a co-chair, the BIKES committee completed the Broida Bike Path and resurfaced the Goleta Beach Bike Path – two significant facets in campus and coastal bicycle infrastructure.

Upon graduating UCSB, Kamron chose to make the Central Coast his home. He worked as an engineer in Goleta and concurrently volunteered with Save Naples – a coalition consisting of several local organizations including Citizen’s Planning Association. In 2007 he accepted the Outreach and Development Coordinator position with Citizen’s Planning Foundation.