Two renovation projects that have been in the works for years made stops at the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission on Wednesday.
One would add extra recreational facilities and spruce up landscaping aesthetics at the Cabrillo ball field, while the other would renovate many of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s facilities and brings them better in line with accessibility codes.
The ball field’s renovations would include accessibility and landscaping improvements, a new walking circuit along the perimeter, redesigned entries in the southeast corner, exterior lighting for restrooms, and turf and irrigation renovations on the field itself.
The plan also lays out a new home-run fence and a new basketball court and outdoor fitness equipment stations in the southern half of the park
“We’ve done a lot of work to get to you today,” said Parks and Recreation director Jill Zachary.
She added that a “solution” to the park, which currently has a faulty irrigation system and is prone to flooding, has been sought for six years.
What ended up being by far the most controversial component to the plan, and the part that drew strong opposition from a string of public-comment speakers, was the basketball court.
The critics, which included a couple neighbors, several nearby hotel owners, and even City Councilman Jason Dominguez, primarily complained that the court would generate too much noise from players shouting and from the ball constantly bouncing.
“I’m 150 percent in favor of 90 percent of this,” said Dominguez, the council’s liaison to the commission, adding that he believed there were other, better Eastside locations for courts.
In order to complete the work, nine trees would have to be removed, with one relocated and 12 more planted.
The improvements in sidewalk accessibility would require the removal of three on-street parking spaces on Calle Puerto Vallarta, which is immediately north of the park.
By the end of the hearing, the commission had come to a consensus against the basketball court.
The panel also came down against the home-run fence, wanting the view from the restrooms behind home plate in the northern corner of the park to be unobstructed toward the ocean beyond.
The commission voted to continue reviewing the project. The renovations require a coastal development permit, an environmental assessment, and further review from the Planning Commission.
The city-owned ball field, located at 800 E. Cabrillo Blvd. at the city’s East Beach, has been a ball park since Santa Barbara acquired the land in the late 1920s, and is the home field for the city’s adult Major League Softball team.
The Museum of Natural History’s renovations were subject to a project design review from the commission.
A new butterfly pavilion is in the works, as well as restorations to the museum’s native habitats and bioswale system. Repairs to the interiors of various buildings are also on deck.
The museum also plans pedestrian and right-of-way improvements around Puesto del Sol — the road on which the museum is located — along with Americans with Disabilities Act improvements; new fencing, lighting, and mechanical equipment; and trash and recycling enclosures.
Suzanne Elledge, whose eponymously named planning and permitting services company is the applicant, said that the project team expects to have the plans ready for final commission approval next month.
Overall, the commission was impressed with the plans, especially the progress made since the project’s last visit to the commission in March.
The primary sticking point for the commissioners, however, was a welcome archway to the renovated butterfly pavilion. The stonework and design, commissioners said, was too sophisticated for the entryway.
Primarily because of that, the project is slated to be back at the commission in two weeks. The commission also heard a separate item addressing 370 square feet of proposed signage throughout the museum campus.
Founded 100 years ago as the Museum of Comparative Oology, it received its current name in 1922 and is a designated “structure of merit,” meaning it has historic, architectural, archaeological, cultural, or aesthetic significance to the city.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.