What to Know
Katy Perry and her sister, Angela Lerche, are in the process of building their own youth camp in the Goleta Valley in California, but their plans could be halted if a petition to keep them from opening continues to grow.
Hundreds of people who live near the 110-acre property Katy plans to build on are fighting back, claiming that they have serious concerns about what will happen when a giant camp opens in their quiet neighborhood. They’re happy that Katy wants to help the community, but it sounds like they wish they’d do it in a way that didn’t disturb their peace.
Katy’s youth camp is called Gratitude Canyon.
Backed by Katy’s Firework Foundation, Gratitude Canyon would be a permanent home for her Camp Firework, which has been operating for several summers. According to its website, the camp “combines arts, nature, leadership and relationship-building for young people who may not otherwise have access to immersive camp experiences.”
Local Santa Barbara outlet Noozhawk reported that Katy and her team have already submitted documents including their plans for the property, which include “eight cabins, tennis courts, counselor housing, a gymnasium, a dining hall, a pool and a recording studio.”
But even with all of that construction, the organization claims that the majority of the space owned by the camp would remain as open landscape.
Neighbors are concerned about the disturbances that will happen to their peaceful community.
The next step for Gratitude Canyon to move forward is approval from both the County Planning Commission and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors sometime in 2027, per the New York Post, but if neighbors to the property have their way, it won’t even get that far.
A petition against the construction of Camp Gratitude has already received nearly 400 signatures (and counting).
Not only are people worried about the noise and traffic it will bring to the area, but those trying to stop construction claim that since there is only one street to get in and out of the neighborhood, there’s the potential for danger if a fire is in the area and people need to evacuate.
It doesn’t help that part of the plans for Gratitude Canyon include using it as an event space when camp isn’t in session, either.
Katy’s Firework Foundation has already responded to some of their concerns.
In the FAQ of the Gratitude Canyon website, the organization has addressed some of the neighbor’s concerns, insisting that they’re all nonissues.
“Outdoor sound would be limited to normal Camp activities, such as brief PA use, singing or skits. Acoustic modeling found anticipated sound at the nearest property boundary remained well below the County benchmark used in the analysis,” they wrote.
And as for the fire concerns? “Measures include defensible space, vegetation management, emergency access, onsite water, hardened structures, evacuation planning, emergency communications and 24-hour staffing while campers are onsite.”
Whether or not the neighbors speaking out will be enough to keep the project from moving forward remains to be seen, but it really does seem like people are fighting hard to make sure Gratitude Canyon doesn’t happen.
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