For a second straight year, the massive Isla Vista beach party— which caused a major stir in 2009—was successfully thwarted by the preventative measures of local government and law enforcement.
On March 30, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department announced it would be stepping up patrols in the student neighborhood of Isla Vista in Goleta over the weekend following the discovery of a Facebook page advertising a 2011 “Floatopia” event.
Similarly, the county Parks and Recreation Department announced the closure of sections of the coastline surrounding Isla Vista, which were set to reopen on April 4.
The local Floatopia event—a weekend party associated with a legion of sunbathers, a ready supply of cheap beer, and an armada of inflatable rafts bobbing up and down in the surf—has come to be associated with the beginning of UC Santa Barbara’s spring quarter.
This year, however, with the exception of a few additional foot patrols, the weekend passed as any other, assisted by the weather, which was gray and drizzly—hardly prime weather to attract large crowds from out of town.
The event gained notoriety after more than 10,000 people squeezed onto the Isla Vista shoreline in 2009. According to the Sheriff’s Department, more than 33 people were taken to local emergency rooms for alcohol poisoning, dehydration, lacerations from broken bottles, and falls from the unstable bluffs. Also that year, more than 70 citations were handed out for alcohol-related offenses, and 13 people were arrested.
The beaches were left littered with beer bottles and other garbage—as well as human waste—because of the lack of any planning for sanitation.
Officials attributed the massive turnout in 2009 to an invitation sent out on Facebook and other social networking websites. This year, a similar page popped up on Facebook, and as of March 30, more than 14,000 people had signed up to attend, according to the department.
The page had been removed as of press time.
In 2010, law enforcement officials reported no major incidents following a similar proactive beach closure.
The Sheriff’s Department said in a press release that staff adjusted work schedules to avoid paying overtime during the increased patrols.
This article appears in Apr 7-14, 2011.
