The Buellton City Council meeting on Thursday lasted nearly five hours, with the bulk of the time involving the Hundred Hills School request to create install yurts for the campus on city-owned property along Dairyland Road. Pictured are council members Hudson Hornick, left, and Elysia Lewis plus Mayor David Silva.
The Buellton City Council meeting on Thursday lasted nearly five hours, with the bulk of the time involving the Hundred Hills School request to create install yurts for the campus on city-owned property along Dairyland Road. Pictured are council members Hudson Hornick, left, and Elysia Lewis plus Mayor David Silva. Credit: Contributed photo

A private school seeking to open in the Santa Ynez Valley can use city-owned land to create a campus of yurts for the next five years, the Buellton City Council has decided. 

After hearing from neighbors opposed to the plan and people favoring it, the Buellton City Council voted Thursday night in favor of the Hundred Hills School request during a five-hour meeting where the topics included land-use matters plus the lease for the site.

Hundred Hills School, led by applicants Whitney Chanana and Sundeep Chanana, intends to install six yurts, or California Round House structures, on the city-owned land formerly known as the Willemsen Dairy. 

The city’s land would serve as an incubator for the privately funded school, which intends to find a permanent home at another location in the city.

“This not just a vote on a parcel of land. It’s a choice about our values, our vision, our legacy, and let’s be the kind of town that says yes to something meaningful,” founder Whitney Chanana told the council.

The item attracted more than 50 speakers, including supporters of the new school and neighbors opposed because of traffic and other concerns centered on the site, not the educational opportunity.

The council voted 3-1 to approve the conditional use permit, with Mayor David Silva as the lone opponent. 

“This is an amazing opportunity for the city of Buellton,” Councilwoman Elysia Lewis said. “It sucks that it’s not the greatest location. I wish that we could have found that location or that they could have found that location that would have been the one, the long-term location.”

However, Buellton will benefit from having the private school rooted in the community, Lewis added, noting the site will serve as a temporary home for five years. 

“I think this is a good thing for the town,” Councilman John Sanchez said. 

The Hundred Hills School would use yurts, or California Round House structures, for classrooms, restrooms and an administration building in the 200 block of Dairy Road in Buellton.
The Hundred Hills School would use yurts, or California Round House structures, for classrooms, restrooms and an administration building. Credit: Courtesy rendering

Regarding comments about the tuition being too high for many local families, Sanchez said people can’t afford diamonds but Buellton still has a jewelry store.

The mayor noted the divisive nature of the item, saying it’s the most torn between two sides for him, with some saying the community needed the education program while neighbors opposed the location.

“My concern and where I sit with this is struggling with the needs and the issues that were brought before us,” Silva said.

While he voted for the items, Councilman Hudson Hornick noted residents’ complaints about drivers speeding on Sycamore Drive.

“We do need to address that, I think,” Hornick said, echoing a concern he raised at a previous meeting and suggesting adding traffic-calming measures. 

In the second item related to Hundred Hills, the council voted 4-0 to approve a license, or lease, for the school to use the Dairyland Road property. 

The school will pay $1,750 monthly, or $21,000 annually, for the land for five years with no extension allowed. The agreement also spells out insurance requirements and parking restrictions for the school. 

The yurt structures would serve as classrooms, an administration building and restrooms. The campus would be surrounded by a fence with one gate for entry. A plaza with a flagpole also would be installed.

Inspired by the Waldorf School philosophy of developing students’ intellectual, artistic, and practical skills, Hundred Hills would begin with preschool and kindergarten classes, adding another grade annually. In total the school would have a maximum of 50 students at the site.

Plans call for the school to operate from the city-owned land for five years and then relocate to another location to add other grades. 

Parent Jessica Hyldahl shared about her child’s experience with bullying and attacks in public school, contending that Hundred Hills would focus on compassion and growth, not punishment or labeling.

“For five years, let’s give our kids a place to thrive, create and collaborate. Let’s be on the right side of change,” Hyldahl said.

Most of the speakers pushed the council to deny permit.

“I’m not opposed to the school. I’m not opposed to education. I’m not opposed to growth, but make it suitable for our community,” said Lucy Padilla, a lifelong Santa Ynez Valley resident with most of it being in Buellton.

Hundred Hills School says it is accepting enrollment for preschoolers and kindergartners for the 2025-26 session.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.