Buellton planning commission reviews preliminary plans for San Ynez Valley Children’s Museum

The Buellton City Planning Commission on March 7 reviewed revised preliminary plans for the San Ynez Valley Children’s Museum, a proposed outdoor discovery campus on the Willingham property at 202 Dairyland Road.

Jillian Knight, an operations consultant and board member for the museum, told the commission the revisions shift the concept to an outdoor STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) campus aligned with California education standards and designed to be financially sustainable through targeted grants and sponsorships. “By refining the project in this way, we're also creating a more financially sustainable model,” Knight said.

The project team said the plan repurposes several existing buildings on the site, including a large shipping-container structure, and organizes the site into themed zones — water/earth science, sustainability and ecology, air-quality displays, geology and paleontology, human-powered technology, garden and an outdoor classroom. Architect Michael Holliday said the team has completed a site survey and point-cloud scan and will conduct structural and code analyses before determining how the container building can be reused. “We got a full survey now. We’ve got a point cloud scan of all the buildings,” Holliday said.

Staff flagged several items the commission should consider in its comment letter: the proposed trash enclosure’s proximity to the historic barn and potential conflicts with future barn plans; the lower parcel’s location partly within the 100‑year floodplain and riparian outfall to the San Ynez River; requirements for colored elevations, an exterior lighting plan, fencing details and fire‑department review; and the need to coordinate the project area with the city draft license/lease agreement. Staff also noted two accessible (ADA) spaces have been provided adjacent to the Hundred Hills School that would serve both uses.

Public commenters urged action to protect nearby open space. Larry Bishop asked the commission to zone the Williamson Green area around the library as recreational or open space to keep it integrated with the park and to prevent future parcelization or sale after a time‑limited lease. “I would like to see that the entire area be zoned as soon as possible to recreational or open space,” Bishop said. Judith Dale likewise urged the commission to reserve the land for public use when temporary leases expire.

Commissioners and the project team discussed operations and programming, including hours (the applicant anticipates school visits by appointment Monday–Wednesday and public hours Thursday–Sunday), school transportation costs, potential fees, and private rentals such as birthday parties. Knight said many schools’ transportation budgets make visits expensive and that targeted grants or consortium support could offset those costs.

The applicant said illustrations shown were inspirational and that detailed dimensions and colored elevations will be provided as the design advances; portable toilets and other lower‑parcel features that were shown will be removed from the current revised materials because of riparian constraints and feasibility concerns.

Staff explained environmental review will follow submission of a complete application. The project team and staff indicated that a previous initial study and mitigated negative declaration for the Willingham property may cover some environmental issues but that a formal determination must be made after the application is complete. The draft license agreement with the city has not yet gone to City Council and lease terms remain under negotiation.

The commission did not take action; it will forward its written comments to the applicant as part of the preliminary‑review process and will consider the project again during subsequent hearings once formal applications and environmental determinations are completed.

Next steps: applicants said they will refine design drawings (including colored elevations, details on the trash enclosure and fencing), complete structural and fire‑safety reviews for reused buildings, and coordinate the license/lease language with city staff and City Council review before a public hearing on the CUP or other required permits.