Anonymous
By an edhat reader
Week of February 6-10, 2023: Council and advisory committee meetings of Santa Barbara City
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; for February: https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/cals/. (NB: City Calendar is a guide to many public meetings.) City TV covers many of the meetings and has reruns. However, Consent Calendar meetings are not televised. Our new city website design is a mixed blessing, prettier-looking but with some information harder to find if it exists at all.
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. Meeting locations: City Council chambers upstairs at City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street; David Gebhard Room (DGR), 630 Garden Street; 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, 2/6
Single Family Design Board, 11:00 A.M., DGR, in person: Consent Agenda: Cont Item,:
- • A. Concept Review: 3508 MADRONA DR: Proposal for a 900 square foot second-story Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) above a 798 square foot addition to an existing 1,002 square foot, single-unit residence. … Project requires a Modification to allow the new ADU to exceed 50% of the existing floor area. … 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.
- • B. New Item: PDA & FA: 221 LEE DR … Neighborhood Preservation Findings and Minor Zoning Exception Findings are required.
- • C. Cont. Item: FA: 507 ALAN RD … relocation of existing driveway and curb cut, landscape/hardscape improvements, and removal of one 6-inch citrus tree, one 24-inch pomegranate tree, and one 24-inch elm tree. The proposed total of 2,922 square feet on an 8,496 square foot lot is 88% of the maximum required floor-to-lot area ratio (FAR).) Project requires substantial conformance to the plans that received Project Design Approval on October 3, 2022, which is when the project was last reviewed. Architectural drawings and public comments, link.
Architectural Board of Review, 1 P.M., DGR, in person, Consent Calendar: New Item: PDA & FA: 407 Alameda Padre Serra: Proposal for a 296 square foot interior remodel of the upper unit…
City Council Site Visit: 1:30 p.m., 2315 Edgewater Way. See Tuesday’s regular Council meeting.
Architectural Board of Review, regular meeting, 3 P.M., DGR, hyflex, Agenda:
- • 1. Final Approval: 219 E HALEY ST: “The project has been revised to a larger building of 25,224 square feet (vs. 26,835 square feet) with an average unit size of 741 square feet (vs. 725 square feet) and the building is proposed to be 48 feet tall vs. 45 feet tall. Project also added private rooftop decks … The proposal is for a new mixed-use development using the Average Unit-Size Density (AUD) Program. The proposal includes the demolition of seven existing structures housing eight residential units and the construction of a four-story, 34 unit, mixed-use development. … Project requires compliance with the plans granted Project Design Approval on April 18, 2022.
- • 2. New item, Concept Review: 712 E COTA ST Owner: Habitat For Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County, Inc The project consists of three-story, three-unit condominium building with three parking spaces (one space per unit) on the 5,000 square foot lot. …The existing 1,462 square foot residence will be demolished. The units are proposed to be deed restricted with affordability covenants. … a Parking Modification to provide less than the required two parking spaces per unit, a Front Setback Modification to allow the entry porch to encroach into the required front setback, and an Interior Setback Modification to allow the trash enclosures to encroach into the required interior setback. Note that a similar proposal for development of the adjacent property at 710 E. Cota St.also owned by Habitat for Humanity is being review simultaneously and both projects are shown on the project plans.
- • 3. New item, Concept Review: 710 E COTA ST Assessor’s Parcel Number: 031-231-002 Zone: C-G Application Number: PLN2022-00277 Owner: Habitat For Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County, Inc The project consists of three-story, three-unit condominium building with three parking spaces (one space per unit) on the 5,000 square foot lot. … The existing 1,910 square foot residence will be demolished. The units are proposed to be deed restricted with affordability covenants. …a Parking Modification to provide less than the required two parking spaces per unit and a Front Setback Modification to allow the entry porch to encroach into the required front setback.
- • 4. Cont. item, Concept Review: 311 W MONTECITO ST Owner: Edward St George Applicant: Lonnie Roy, ON Design Architects (Proposal for a new two-story, 3,852-square-foot hotel containing three units. Each hotel unit would include a kitchenette, living room, two bedrooms, and outdoor space. …Hotel amenities would be provided at 302 W. Montecito St., the primary hotel location. … Project was last reviewed August 8, 2022.
TUESDAY, 2/7
Sign Committee, 9 A.M., in person, DGR, Agenda: 1. New Item, Concept Review: 401 W CARRILLO ST ; 2. 21 E SOLA ST NEW ITEM: CONCEPT REVIEW ; 3. Concept Review: 3441 STATE STREET ; 4. Review after Final Approval: 424 STATE ST. Project plans must demonstrate substantial conformance to the plans that received Final Approval on November 15, 2022. Project was continued to the Full Committee from Conforming Review on January 26, 2023. Architectural drawings: link and also public comment re alleged illegal signs at 129 E. Anapamu.
City Council Special Meeting, 11 a.m., Council Chamber, closed session to discuss existing, pending, and anticipated litigation.
City Council, regular meeting, 2:00 p.m., Council Chambers, Hyflex, 2 P.M., access info at the Agenda; including the Consent Calendar; Item 9, annual and 3-year water supply reports; appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of 2315 Edgewater Way development, issues, among others, re building on the bluffs. (Site visit was on Monday.)
WEDNESDAY, 2/8
Staff Hearing Officer, 9 A.M. Meeting cancelled.
THURSDAY, 2/9
Downtown Parking Committee, 7:30 a.m, in person, DGR, Agenda: items:
8. Bike Share pilot program update recommendation: that the committee receive an update on the bike share pilot program.
9. Budget and Operations update recommendation: that the committee receive an update on parking operations and trends in revenues and expenditures.
10. State Street Promenade interim operations update recommendation: that the committee receive an update on interim operations of the state street promenade.
Planning Commission regular meeting, 1 p.m, Council Chambers; agenda – meeting cancelled.
FRIDAY, 2/10
Special City Council meeting, 9 a.m., Chase Palm Park Beach House, in person only: Council Workshop format: Agenda:
ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Subject: Council 2023 Priorities and Update to Procedures, and Legislative Updates Recommendation: In a workshop format, Council will consider and set Council priorities for FY 2023, explore Council and staff roles to respond effectively to the policy direction from the Council and accomplish the work by City staff, review changes to the Brown Act and changes to Campaign Finance rules, and other matters regarding Council Procedures. 2. Subject: Council Retreat
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, and various hyperlocal neighborhood associations.
City of Santa Barbara says it emphasizes transparency: https://santabarbaraca.gov/government-transparency. Not 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.”
