The Bellosguardo Foundation has sued Santa Barbara County, asking a judge to find that the Santa Barbara Clark Estate is exempt from property taxes and return $1.1 million, plus interest, in already-paid property taxes for two recent years.
In a lawsuit filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court last week, the foundation says it operates the estate at 1407 E. Cabrillo Blvd. “exclusively” as a public museum that is “open and accessible to all members of the public.”
Properties owned by eligible nonprofit organizations and used for religious, hospital and charitable purposes can qualify for a welfare exemption, which would exempt them from property taxes, according to the state.
They must obtain an Organizational Clearance Certificate from the California State Board of Equalization, which the foundation says it has.
Court documents show the county in March denied the foundation’s request to refund property tax payments for $586,728.12 in 2023 and $597,539.96 in 2024.
Jeremy Lindaman, the foundation’s director, stated in the foundation’s 2023 and 2024 refund claim letter that “the property taxes for the 2023 and 2024 tax years were erroneously and illegally collected from the Taxpayer because the assessor failed to apply the welfare exemption to the Property for those tax years even though the Taxpayer was using the Property for an exempt purpose.”
County spokeswoman Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta told Noozhawk that the county does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The case is scheduled for a management conference in January in Superior Court.
The county has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court.
Gregory Broege, a lawyer for the foundation, told Noozhawk that the organization also filed refund requests for other taxable years before 2023, which he said “have not been denied or approved” by the county.
He did not have those specific dates on hand and said he didn’t immediately know whether the foundation had filed an exemption request for the 2025 tax year.
The Bellosguardo Foundation took over the estate following the death of heiress Huguette Clark roughly 15 years ago. Public records show that the foundation has paid upwards of $450,000 annually in property taxes since 2012.
The estate, a city landmark, was built by the Clark family in the 1930s and owned by Clark until she died in 2011 at age 104. She bequeathed the property to a nonprofit foundation to foster the arts, along with a valuable doll collection and millions of dollars in cash.
On the large property is a mansion, a cottage, a carriage house and gardens. It was actively used for only about 15 months since it was built, and Clark herself reportedly had not visited the Santa Barbara estate since the 1950s.
The foundation held some private events on the property in the years following the ownership transfer and started opening it for small, docent-led public tours in late 2022.
Those initial tours were technically held without city permits, but the Santa Barbara Planning Commission approved permits for estate tours in late 2025. Those tours typically cost $100 per person.
The Planning Commission’s approvals came with conditions for the foundation to return in two years with participation in Museums for All or an equivalent, to offer less-expensive access to the property.
The foundation also hosts special ticketed events, such as dance and musical performances and the upcoming Drinking Wine in Ancient Greece event when, for $125, the foundation will offer visitors a self-guided tour of the estate and a talk from UC Santa Barbara professor John W.I. Lee.
