imported and is contained in concrete planting boxes built on top of the 

 rock revetment. 



Normally the island is closed to the public and access is only 

 granted to authorized visitors. In 1971, however, an open house was ob- 

 served, and visitors were allowed access to it, having to walk the 2,700- 

 foot causeway to and from the island. Nevertheless, about 1,500 people 

 were interested enough to make the walk. The visiting group was of course 

 biased, in that they had enough initial interest to make the visit, and 

 their reaction to the island was reported as being universally favorable. 



The effectiveness of the owner's efforts to provide an aesthetically 

 pleasing appearance was not determined in a rigorous manner, and so this 

 discussion of the subject is somewhat general in nature. The neighborhood 

 response to the island's presence is judged to be satisfactory. Two dis- 

 tinct neighborhoods are considered: Santa Barbara and Ventura. 



In the Santa Barbara area, response to the island can be considered 

 favorable only in a negative way. That is, it has not noticeably contri- 

 buted to the prevailing general opinion that all offshore developments in 

 the Santa Barbara Channel are bad. To a large extent this may be because 

 the island is in Ventura County rather than Santa Barbara County. The 

 Ventura area was an oil-producing area long before the island was built, 

 and general public opposition to offshore oil developments has not devel- 

 oped here as it has in Santa Barbara. 



11. Precast Armor Versus Quarry Rock 



Relative economy is always dependent on a specific site and an 

 available construction plant. For Rincon Island, two factors prevailed 

 and made precast armor units more economical : 



(1) The quarry site required a haul over public roads, and the 

 Class A quarry rock would have greatly exceeded legal highway loads. 

 Although such loads can be hauled over public roads, haul costs are much 

 greater than for legal loads. 



[2) The contractor had available a construction plant which could 

 handle and place the Class A precast armor, but would have had to rent or 

 acquire heavier equipment to handle the heavier Class A quarry rock. 



12. Construction Methods 



The contractor's construction methods were basically sound, and the 

 following discussion is in no sense an attempt to question the wisdom of 

 his choices. 



An initial choice of construction technique, especially because an 

 onshore quarry was used, was whether to use a floating construction plant, 

 or whether to build with shore-based equipment from a work trestle. The 

 owner's initial decision not to include a permanent causeway was 



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