Montecito Planning Commission - 10/19/26 - Special Hearing

The October 19, 2026, special hearing of the Montecito Planning Commission (County of Santa Barbara) continued consideration of countywide permitting and land-use ordinance amendments, with a focus on Montecito. No procurement, contract awards, vendor selections, or spending decisions were identified. Commissioners discussed proposed exemptions from planning and design review, permit pathways for residential and commercial development, historic-resource safeguards, and coordination with special districts. Public commenters raised concerns about neighborhood character, historic properties, notice and appeal rights, and ensuring districts receive project plans early enough to identify conflicts with easements and infrastructure; supporters emphasized reducing time and costs for smaller projects while retaining other review requirements.

The commission made a motion, seconded, recommending that the County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors advance the amendments with revisions; the transcript does not include a formal vote tally. Recommendations included retaining planning permits for pools, requiring design review for new or remodeled homes rather than exempting homes up to 2,500 square feet, and limiting the detached-accessory-structure design-review exemption to 500 square feet with architectural-style matching. The commission also recommended retaining conditional use permits for theaters, cultural institutions, and mixed-use projects with residential components; limiting changes to commercial permit thresholds; and refining historic-resource criteria. The package was to proceed for consideration by the County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, including a recommendation that the amendments be found exempt from CEQA.