The long-running saga of the closure and construction of the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara may finally have an end in sight.
On Thursday, the Montecito Board of Architectural Review granted final design approval with conditions. The Biltmore design team was told to reduce the size of the family pool complex for better wheelchair accessibility around the pool, improve planting areas, and improve landscape screening for privacy.
The review board briefly discussed the project on Thursday as part of its consent agenda after members delayed approval on Oct. 31 so that the team behind the Biltmore design could submit more detailed plans.
Board members Robert Fowler and Stacey Isaac, the subcommittee consulting with the Biltmore team, wrote to their fellow board members on Tuesday recommending final approval on the condition that the accessibility and landscape improvements be made.
“As landscape architects with nearly 65 years of combined experience, including resort-style projects, we feel compelled to note that the design — particularly around the pool area — seems overly ambitious for the available space,” the letter stated. “The layout, which includes separate children’s and tranquil pool areas along with circulation, seating and lounge zones, appears too constrained, resulting in compromised hardscape areas, circulation routes, and unresolved ADA access issues.”
The letter from Fowler and Isaac also raised concerns around the project’s water usage because of the pool and water fixtures; however, the water usage was already approved by the Montecito Planning Commission.
The board did request that the Biltmore team send it documentation from the Montecito Water District on approved water usage.
The Biltmore received preliminary design approval from the Montecito Planning Commission on Oct. 16, meaning the review board had to limit its comments to smaller design issues and not major concepts of the design.
The hotel, at 1260 Channel Drive, closed in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and furloughed about 650 employees, which resulted in a lengthy legal battle between the Biltmore and the workers.
Hotel owner Ty Warner decided to update the property a few years into the closure.
Changes to the iconic hotel include a new family pool complex, new bungalows, renovated guest rooms, new retail space and new back-of-house facilities.
The next step is to get zoning clearance and building approval for permits, which Chip Wullbrandt, a land use attorney for the Biltmore, expects to get in the next couple of days with construction on the pool area and retail space to begin in a few weeks.
The design team will work with the planning department to resolve accessibility around the pool and improve landscaping.
If all goes as planned, the Biltmore would open by next summer, according to Wullbrandt.
