Design board grants project design approval for Loma Media Road second‑story addition

The Santa Barbara Single Family Design Board voted Feb. 9 to grant Project Design Approval (PDA) for a proposed second‑story addition at 1359 Loma Media Road, finding the project consistent with hillside and neighborhood preservation standards.

At the hearing the board heard a description of the proposal: a 1,359-square-foot second story, a new 748-square-foot three‑car attached garage with a partially underground 292-square-foot gym, and associated exterior work. Staff noted the project qualifies for an exemption from additional environmental review under the cited municipal provision for existing facilities and reminded the board the Project Streamlining Act deadline for decision is March 6, leaving two remaining hearing dates.

Project manager Phaedra Gage of Sherry and Associates Architects reviewed revisions requested at the prior hearing: a refined color and materials palette (muted taupe plaster with a charcoal standing‑seam metal roof), updated renderings and a neighborhood study, and modified window configurations. Gage said the proposal retains existing screening and adds a new oak tree to increase privacy; she added, “This project will be fully engineered in terms of drainage, civil, structural.”

Board members probed details including lower‑elevation perspectives, transom and slider configurations, chimney/spark arrestor details, fascia materials for cantilevered decks, and exact setback dimensions. The applicant provided setback figures during the presentation (for example, a proposed 24-foot‑11 interior setback on the west with approximately 30 feet to the nearest neighboring residence, and about 49 feet‑10 to the residence on the east) and agreed to provide structural‑level details for final review.

On motion, the board found the development consistent with scenic and neighborhood character, compatible in size, bulk and scale, and supported a mitigation approach to the proposed tree removals (three native cedar trees and one black locust proposed for removal, with three coast live oaks and one Japanese maple proposed to be maintained and one new oak proposed). The motion to grant PDA (including a direction to study overhangs and eaves and to include necessary final details at consent) was seconded and passed on roll call. Staff announced a 10‑day appeal period for the action.

Next steps: the applicant must provide the final engineering and the details already discussed (window and door post locations, overhang/eave studies, and final drainage and foundation engineering) for the consent calendar and final approval, and the decision is subject to any timely appeal.

Votes and procedural note: the maker and seconder were recorded on the transcript; Chair Sherry read a sole practitioner disclosure at the start of the meeting and did not participate in the vote on her office’s project. The board recorded the affirmative votes to pass the PDA motion and then amended the record to continue the item to the consent calendar for final approval scheduling.