Pop star Katy Perry and her sister Angela Lerche’s proposed youth camp for the Goleta Valley moved forward last week. 

The Santa Barbara County South Board of Architectural Review supported the revised plans and visited the proposed site for the camp, Gratitude Canyon, at 183 Winchester Canyon Road.

The board took no vote since it was reviewing the project’s conceptual plans following suggestions that members made to the project team in May. 

The sister duo’s nonprofit Firework Foundation has been planning the youth sleep-away camp for about 2½ years, Noozhawk reported.

Currently on the property are residential, agricultural and accessory structures, according to the board report.

Gratitude Canyon would offer arts and nature programming for underserved middle-school-age youths from the local community and surrounding region.

The site would include several amenities within about 15.8 acres of the property, according to Ken Radtkey, founder of Blackbird Architects. 

Amenities would include eight cabins, tennis and pickleball courts, outdoor recreation areas, counselor housing, a gymnasium, a dining hall, a pool, a director’s residence, a recording studio, an archery area and an amphitheater.

“I think this is going to be a really good project. I think it is going to be the least impactful to the neighborhood and the community in many ways,” board member Jerry Rocci said.

The foundation has another sleep-away camp called Camp Firework, offering similar programming in Southern California.

Lerche told the board in May that creating Gratitude Canyon was a dream.

Steve Welton of SEPPS Land Use Consulting said the project team made “minor” revisions to the project plans since the last hearing.

Some of the structure’s designs, such as the cabins and the recording studio, were revised to resemble the larger structures’ agricultural aesthetic, according to Radtkey.

That came after the board made comments that the structures seemed to be following two different design styles.

“They are very modest in their form, and they are really just a backdrop to the nature,” Radtkey said.

Board member Valerie Frosche said she appreciated the new design of the arts and music building. 

“(They) are really, really beautiful buildings,” she said.

Rocci added that there were still unanswered questions about some project components, including the entryway design and traffic flow.

Board members wanted to see what the camp entryways would look like and urged the project team to show it in their plans. 

The project team shared on Friday that they hope to push the camp’s presence away from the road. 

Some neighboring residents also spoke on Friday in opposition to the proposed youth camp, citing noise and traffic concerns. 

Resident Celia Estrella said she attended one of the neighborhood meetings that the project team hosted and left concerned after hearing that the space might be rented out to other groups.

Her husband, George Estrella, was also concerned about the noise level the camp would generate. 

“We support youth activities and camps, but I don’t believe this is the site for it,” he said. 

Lawrence Vasquez agreed, adding that noise in the canyon travels far.

Vasquez also wanted more clarity on who would be attending the camp, specifically about the underrepresented youths the camp proposes to serve.

While the board’s purview is architectural design, board members suggested that concerned residents attend future project meetings, as the project still has multiple stops before approval. 

Frosche added that the proposed camp is “quite likely the most low-key impact” that neighboring residents would “ever get.”

She said if the site were to be filled with housing, there would be far more impact and less of a unique use. 

The board will see the project again for a preliminary review at a later date.