SANTA BARBARA COUNCIL & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS: APR 10-14

By an edhat reader

Week of April 10-15, 2023: SB City Council and Advisory Commission meetings

A long-time Edhat subscriber, hoping for more public participation in our local government, thought it would be helpful and interesting for the community to have a weekly listing of selected meetings, those of city-wide interest. We agreed. Please tell us what you think. There have been requests for coverage of other jurisdictions; volunteers to do that, please contact info@edhat.com. If we’ve mis-posted an address or there’s a meeting that we failed to list, please note the correction in the Comments section below. Thanks!

Santa Barbara has a City Calendar of meetings, click for April. (NB: City Calendar is a guide to many public meetings, not just government ones.) City TV covers many of the meetings and has reruns. However, Consent Calendar meetings are not televised.

Common acronyms, abbreviations: hybrid or Hyflex, meeting access is both in person and via Zoom or other webinar; PDA, Project Design Approval; FA, Final Approval; CAR, Council Agenda Report. Agenda item descriptions are generally direct quotes from the agendas, sometimes edited.

Meeting locations: City Council chambers upstairs at City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street; David Gebhard Room (DGR), 630 Garden Street; Westside Neighborhood Center, 423 W. Victoria St., or where noted. Noted also for some Council and Advisory Committee meetings are non-public addresses; these are addresses for those public servants who choose to attend the meetings at home or elsewhere.

MONDAY, 4/10

Single Family Design Board, 11:00 A.M., DGR, in person: Consent agenda: cancelled, with the next meeting tentatively scheduled for 4/17.

Architectural Board of Review, 1 P.M., DGR, in person, Consent Calendar agenda: cancelled; the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for 4/17.

ABR: Architectural drawings, etc., link.

City Council, Special meeting, site visit: 1:30 p.m., Agenda: Appeal to be held on Tuesday, 4/11, item 23: 1269 Ferrelo Rd, no live stream or video recording.

Single Family Design Board, 3 P.M., regular meeting, DGR, in person, Agenda:

1. 3855 CALLE CITA, concept review, cont. item; Proposal to construct a new 2,351-square-foot two-story residence with a 432-square-foot garage on a 10,000-square-foot vacant lot with an existing creek/drainage area. Project requests front setback and interior setback Modification approvals from the Staff Hearing Office. … No final appealable decision will take place at this hearing. Neighborhood Preservation Findings will be required when the project is reviewed for Project Design Approval. Project was last reviewed on March 27, 2023.
2. 1215 HIGH RIDGE LANE, Concept Review, New Item, David Watkins Design …Proposal to construct a 5,708-square-foot, one-story, single-unit residence, with an 840-square-foot attached three-car garage, and a 270-square-foot pool cabana, located in the Hillside Design District. Project includes associated site improvements … The existing residence and garage/storage space will be demolished. … No final appealable decision will take place at this hearing. Neighborhood Preservation Findings and Grading Findings will be required when the project is reviewed for PDA.

SFDB: Architectural drawings, etc., link

Neighborhood Advisory Council, 6 p.m., Westside Neighborhood Center, Agenda: election of chair/vice chair; neighborhood updates, for information only.

TUESDAY, 4/11

City Council Finance Committee, 12:00 p.m., DGR, hyflex, Agenda:

• Subject: Loan Forgiveness for Transition House Homeless Families Shelter Located at 434 East Ortega Street …
• Subject: Proposed Updates to Solid Waste Rates A. Receive a presentation on proposed solid waste rates for Fiscal Year 2024; and B. Set a public hearing date of June 13, 2023, at 2:00 p.m,

City Council: Regular meeting, 2:00 p.m., Council Chambers, Hyflex, Agenda:

16 items on the Consent Calendar, including a set of 6 Minutes 3/7-21, after which there will be Public Comment, perhaps both General Public Comment and comments specific to the Consent Calendar; this will be followed by councilmember committee assignment reports, plus administrative/attorney reports.

• Item 20: Interviews for the SFDB. Listed are 6 applicants for the two vacancies, 4 licensed architects and two public-at-large applicants. Appointment to be made later in the meeting, agenda item 24.
• Item 21, Sustainability and Resilience: public hearing to grant and exclusive franchise to Marborg Industries for citywide solid waste collection and disposal;
• Item 22: Public Works: Updating of undergrounding program, estimated cost of $1 million, on the 800 block of Jimeno Road;
• Item 23: quasi-judicial hearing of Appeal of decision of the SFDB decision re 1269 Ferrelo Road.
• Item 24: appointments to the SFDB.
• Item 25: closed session, re pending litigation, SB Apartment Association, inc., et al v. COSB et al.

Agenda Packet for these two Council meetings: link, 1,596 pages.

Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Show, a subsection of Parks and Rec., regular monthly meeting, 6 p.m, Palm Park Beach House, 236 E. Cabrillo Blvd., in person – no video, although there is reference to videos on the home page.

Agenda: General Business, lists 7 emails and 1 letter, but none are posted to the website; old business, space sharing, 4 Saturday shows, “minor updates” to procedures; new business: proposed 5% fee increase.

WEDNESDAY, 4/12

Historic Landmarks Commission, 11 a.m., in person, DGR, Consent Calendar Agenda: Cancelled.

Historic Landmarks Commission, 1:30 p.m., regular meeting, hyflex, DGR, Agenda:

1. 236 E COTA ST, Structure of Merit designation; Owner: Church Of God/Christ/Santa Barbara Inc. Staff: Nicole Hernandez, Architectural Historian; Historic Significance Report.
2. 427 E MICHELTORENA ST D; Structure of Merit designation; Staff: Nicole Hernandez, Architectural Historian (Request to adopt resolution 2023-05 designating the 1919 Craftsman style bungalow, an integral part of a bungalow court, a historic Structure of Merit.) Historic Significance Report.
3. 820 CIMA LINDA; Staff: Nicole Hernandez, Architectural Historian: Request to adopt resolution 2023-06 designating the 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival house by Carlton Winslow, FAIA, a historic Structure of Merit; Historic Significance Report.
4. 414 CHAPALA ST, Review after Final Approval:  Owner: Pacifica Real Estate Santa Barbara Applicant: The Cearnal Collective, LLP Laura Benard, Representative Member The project is adjacent to 14 W Gutierrez St, a historic Structure of Merit, and 428 Chapala St, a historic Structure of Merit. Proposal to demolish an existing one-story, 3,533 square foot commercial building…, and construct 21 rental units on a 14,919 square foot parcel. The residential component is being developed under the Average Unit Density (AUD) program and proposes a unit mix … with an average unit size of 844 square feet. There will be a total of 25 parking spaces located within a ground-floor garage. … Project must demonstrate substantial conformance to the plans that received Project Design Approval on November 2, 2016. 14 W Gutierrez St Historic Significance Report* 428 Chapala St Historic Significance Report.
5. 301 E YANONALI St., new item, Concept Review; Owner: Yanonali Street Holdings… Proposal to construct approximately 45,150 square feet of one- and two-story nonresidential buildings, outdoor decks/dining patios and 190 parking spaces (161 below grade spaces and 29 surface spaces) including 11 accessible spaces and 27 bicycle parking spaces. The development would be a mix of one- and two-story buildings with a below grade parking structure. The 3.04-acre property is located within the appealable jurisdiction of the Coastal Zone and in the M-1/SP-2 (Light Manufacturing/Cabrillo Plaza Specific Plan) Zones with a Coastal Land Use Designation of Industrial. The property is currently being operated as an open yard and contractor supply and storage company. … No final appealable action will take place at this meeting. Project Compatibility Findings will be required for Project Design Approval.
6. OAK PARK, 638 W JUNIPERO St. archaeological report; Owner: City of Santa Barbara Applicant: Tim Burgess, City of Santa Barbara (Listed on the Historic Resources Inventory, constructed in 1904 and site of the 1940 Juneteenth Celebration. Proposal to restore a 1,800 linear foot reach of Mission Creek. Project includes creek bank restoration and planting of over 5,000 native riparian trees, shrubs, and herbs. The Creeks Division is seeking CEQA review for the creek restoration activities.) Request for acceptance of a Phase 1 Archaeological Resources Report prepared for the project by Christopher Duran of Rincon Consultants, Inc. The report has been reviewed by Dr. Glassow who agrees with its conclusions and recommendations.
7. OAK PARK, 638 W JUNIPERO ST, New item, Concept Review:  As Item 6. …The Creeks Division is seeking CEQA review for the creek restoration activities.) No final appealable action will take place at this meeting. Project Compatibility Findings and Minor Alterations Findings will be required for Project Design Approval. Historic Significance Report available.

Architectural Drawings, staff reports/Historic Significance reports, and, as of Sunday, one public comment: link.

THURSDAY, 4/13

Planning Commission, 1 P. M., City Council Chambers, hyflex, Agenda: 1617 and 1621 Anacapa St, New Item:  the project site is currently developed with the Bright Start Child Development Center (Bright Start), two residential units, and two residential parking spaces. The project consists of the conversion of an existing 400-square-foot accessory structure located at the rear of the 1621 Anacapa St. lot to a classroom, an increase in enrollment from 60 to 75 children, and an increase in staff from 5 to 7 members for Bright Start. … The discretionary applications under the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission at this hearing are: A. Amendment to the Conditional Use Permit to convert the accessory structure to a classroom, increase the enrollment from 60 to 75 children, and increase staff from 5 to 7 members in the O-R and R-M Zones and B. Determine that the project is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA guidelines.

Staff reports and architectural drawings: link.

FRIDAY, 4/14

CLOSED – City Administrative Offices

Of general interest:

City Advisory Commissions are listed with their duties and powers described in the Charter of the City of Santa Barbara, See: Article Vlll, Appointive Boards and Commissions, pg; 25 et seg. Other commissions may be formed by the City Council for certain issues of public concern.  Santa Barbara Municipal Code. The City Council meets at 2 p.m., Tuesdays, except for these holidays: January 3, January 17, February 21, March 28, April 4, May 30, June 20, July 4, July 11, August 8, August 15, September 5, November 14, November 21, November 28, December 19, and December 26, 2023. The regular Council meetings are sometimes preceded by their Finance and Ordinance committees whose agendas are part of the regular council meeting agenda; the Council also has a Legislative Committee and a Sustainability Committee, each of which meets irregularly.

AIA-Santa Barbara, August 2020,  State Street Promenade and housing community survey results, more than 4,800 responses, linked here. Civic groups concerned about city government: Allied Neighborhoods Association, Citizens Planning Association, League of Women Voters – Santa Barbara, Pearl Chase Society, and various hyperlocal Santa Barbara city neighborhood associations.

City of Santa Barbara says it emphasizes transparency: https://santabarbaraca.gov/government-transparency. Listed under city transparency is a link to the Ralph M. Brown Act (“Brown Act“), “In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.”