By Marc Chytilo
Goodbye, friend: GCC Board Director Ed Easton
Ed Easton had a long and illustrious career with the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation on the East Coast prior to his “retirement” to the South Coast in 2000. Ed was active with numerous local organizations and causes, serving on the Goleta Design Review Board, Planning Commission and then City Council, including a term as mayor in 2012. He also joined the Board of Directors with Gaviota Coast Conservancy in January 2004.
Over the past 15 years, Ed served on GCC’s Land Use Committee, and played a leading role in shaping the Conservancy’s responses to design issues for virtually every building project proposed on the Gaviota Coast. Ed made dozens of appearances before the County’s Board of Architectural Review, Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. He met with innumerable applicants and counseled them on how to design their projects to fit into the Gaviota Coast’s natural landscape, rather than being imposed upon it.
Ed served on a number of GCC’s committees, and last year chaired the Land Use Committee. He was an active participant in GCC’s programs and an important voice in GCC’s decision to hire its first Executive Director earlier this year. The GCC family offers its deepest condolences to Ed’s wife Kai and two sons, and expresses its utmost appreciation for Ed’s many years of committed and effective service to the Gaviota Coast and our community. Goodbye to a respected friend and colleague.
Independent: Former Goleta Mayor Ed Easton Dies