Tag archives: TPRC

Update from The Project for Resilient Communities
By Pat McElroy and Brett Matthews   |   November 14, 2023

We have been getting several phone calls, emails, and questions regarding the decision to pull the six Ring Nets out of three canyons above Montecito. This week has been an extremely critical one for TPRC’s project. We are proud to be a part of a community that rose to the occasion to keep our community […]

Ring Nets Removal Response
By Montecito Journal   |   November 14, 2023

Regarding the “Ring Nets” installed in the canyons above Montecito in response to the disastrous mudslide of January 9, 2018: As the Executive Director of an environmental organization in Santa Barbara, I joined the Board of The Project for Resilient Communities (TPRC) to watch the proceedings from an environmental point of view. The Ring Nets […]

Debris Nets Cleaned and Ready for County Decision
By Pat McElroy   |   October 31, 2023

Dear TPRC Supporters, I want to update you on “the Nets” and our progress, and challenges, as we rapidly approach the termination of our five-year emergency permits on December 21. We have given the county a deadline of next week to commit to the nets becoming a permanent part of the Flood Control System.  First, […]

Montecito Planning Commission 
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   September 26, 2023

Last week the Montecito Planning Commission (MPC) received an annual maintenance report on the Debris Flow Mitigation Project.  Pat McElroy, a rep for the citizen-led group The Project for Resilient Communities (TPRC), which spearheaded the installation of the six steel debris flow nets that were placed in the canyons above Montecito in 2018, told the […]

TPRC Ring Net Update
By Pat McElroy   |   September 19, 2023

The Project for Resilient Communities (TPRC) and our contractors and permitting team have had a few very busy weeks. After a several months long process, we are within days of securing our final permit to begin clean out of the Debris Net filled in Upper San Ysidro Canyon. The Net was filled during the January […]

The Nets: Fiscal irresponsibility and why it’s now the County’s turn!
By Jeff Giordano   |   September 5, 2023

Pat McElroy is the executive director of The Project for Resilient Communities(TPRC), and his recent MJ article was both moving and telling. It spoke to what intellectual curiosity, determination, and private citizens can do when they engage. Now, I don’t know Pat, but I do know co-founder Brett Matthews from another, more eastern-centric life, which […]

Ring Nets Support: Help Keep the Ring Nets in for the Next Five
By Pat McElroy   |   August 29, 2023

Our hearts sank when on the 5th year anniversary of the 1/9/2018 Debris Flow, we had another event. And I know we were all concerned about the level of rain potentially coming down in Montecito with tropical storm Hilary. Studies have shown the debris flow events in our community can occur much more frequently than […]

Montecito’s Watershed Moment
By Les Firestein   |   January 31, 2023

Exactly five years ago on this day, I was working with The Partnership for Resilient Communities (TPRC) to help develop a plan to contain Montecito’s occasional debris flows. Since a lot of folks are relatively new to Montecito, now is a particularly poignant time to look back at where we’ve come from, what’s been achieved […]

TPRC Wins National Award for Ring Net Project But Work to Shield Montecito from Future Disaster Has Only Begun
By Jerry Roberts   |   March 22, 2022

In a bittersweet ceremony, Montecito’s The Project for Resilient Communities (TPRC) on Sunday received a prestigious national award for the private-public project that installed protective ring nets in canyons where deadly torrents surged down in the 1/9 disaster. Three leaders of the Virginia-based ReadyCommunities Partnership, which spotlights and supports efforts across the nation demonstrating “resiliency […]

The Future We Fear is Here
By Gwyn Lurie   |   March 19, 2022

Remember the 2018 devastating debris flow that changed Montecito forever? Those of us who lived here at the time do. Like it happened yesterday, with all the pain and loss and destruction it brought. But for those who made Montecito their home post-debris flow (or PDF as I like to call it), the knowledge of […]

Montecito Planning Commission Approves Plan to Keep Debris Nets Up For Next Three Years
By Nick Schou   |   December 3, 2020

In a unanimous vote last week, the Montecito Planning Commission extended the permits for several Swiss-built flexible steel debris nets that were installed above town after the tragic mudslides that occurred in the wake of the Thomas Fire nearly three years ago. Thanks to a multi-million-dollar fundraising effort by The Partnership for Resilient Communities (TPRC), […]

A Net Benefit
By Nick Schou   |   December 12, 2019

In the wake of the devastating debris flows of January 9, 2018 that killed 23 people in Montecito, local residents gathered together to brainstorm a safety solution that could prevent a similar tragedy. The Partnership for Resilient Communities (TPRC) raised millions of dollars to purchase state-of-the-art steel nets – high-tensile ring nets designed by the […]

High Net Worth
By Gwyn Lurie   |   December 12, 2019

For all of us who live or work in Montecito, the rainy season brings up a still fresh mix of emotions. We’re grateful for the hydration of our mountains as they continue to recover and revegetate. We’re thankful to no longer be in an active drought. But still we struggle with the residual trauma from […]

A Blueprint for Public Service… The Partnership for Resilient Communities
By Bob Hazard   |   November 14, 2019

Two weeks ago at the Montecito Association’s 34th Annual Beautification Day, the Partnership for Resilient Communities (TPRC) was selected as the 2019 recipient of the “Citizen of the Year” honors. The ceremony included last year’s winner Abe Powell of Bucket Brigade fame and 1st District County Supervisor Das Williams, along with MA officials. Who Are […]

Swiss Nets in the Works
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   November 22, 2018

At last week’s Montecito Association (MA) board meeting, Brett Matthews with the Partnership for Resilient Communities reported that his group has filed an emergency permit to install 15 temporary steel nets for five canyons in Montecito; the MA board voted unanimously to support the group’s permit application, agreeing to send a letter to the director […]