Ambassador Park in Santa Barbara is headed for a major redevelopment to honor the Chumash people.

The city’s Parks & Recreation Department is working on a proposal to transform the mostly grass and palm trees into a cultural heritage site, with new landscaping, hardscaping, and a gathering area for educational events, Chumash ceremonies and storytelling.

The park, at 100 W. Cabrillo St., across the street from the waterfront, also would include multilingual interpretative signage.

“I support it for my family, and for those who are really Chumash and from there,” said Ernestine Ygnacio-Desoto, whose great-great-grandmother Maria Ygnacia was the last survivor of those born at the park, which was a Chumash ancestral village, Syuxtun. “It has to happen for education.”

The project recently went before the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission for a consultation on the design.

The members of the HLC were in support of the proposal.

“I think this is just an amazing project,” Commissioner Cass Ensberg said. “I look to and completely trust whatever the Chumash have to say about this.”

The city has worked with members of the Chumash community on the design.

Ensberg stressed the importance of simplicity in the design. She noted that the early drawings suggest concrete paths and that decomposed granite or other materials might work better.

She said the three worst materials for the planet are concrete, steel and aluminum, so “the less we could use of those materials, the better.”

Some of the commissioners also suggested that the palm trees that line the park be removed. The landscape architect on the project said they are about 100 years old and that they live to about 150.

Palm trees were not native to the site.

“If palm trees were to go off to the great heavens, maybe there would be oaks or something in keeping with the original landscape,” Ensberg said.

Devin Hibler, a Santa Barbara resident, was walking his friend’s dog, Kash, a border collie, in the park on Wednesday. He said he loves the park and that he supports a redesign to honor the Chumash.

“I think it’s a great idea to recognize the first people who were here,” Hibler said. “It’s a cool thing. I am looking forward to seeing changes.”