Oprah’s neighbors worry new wall will send floods their way

Call it the mystery in Montecito.

No one knows if Oprah Winfrey authorized it or not, but a boulder wall installed along San Ysidro Creek to protect Winfrey’s estate from flooding and erosion is worrying neighbors who wonder if it was properly permitted – and if it will send floodwaters their way.

Jimenez Nursery, a Carpinteria, California-based company, applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using Winfrey’s Montecito address on Santa Rosa Lane, in the posh Ennisbrook neighborhood, local news outlet Noozhawk reported.

Some residents say the wall could reroute water and affect other properties and are concerned about if it could stand during the next rainstorm.

Video reviewed by Noozhawk showed the boulders being lowered by crane into the creek from Winfrey’s estate.

A band of officials converged on the creek Tuesday to examine the wall and figure out what happened.

Jimenez Nursery obtained the permit on Feb. 1 for a “like-for-like” reconstruction of the creek bank after a Jan. 9 downpour that swamped the swanky neighborhood. The permit request also sought to “place boulders along creek side that have eroded and washed away.”

Montecito residents have dealt with the devastating impacts of floods for years – especially a 2018 debris flow that took the lives of 23 people. January’s storm was also deadly, killing 14 in the region.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fish & Wildlife have been processing many permit requests for fixes.

Sharon Byrne, executive director of the Montecito Association, told Noozhawk that Winfrey’s neighbors contacted her and raised concerns about how the wall might push water onto their properties and if this boulder wall goes too far.

Byrne said the situation is delicate, but that she hopes it can be fixed.