Orange is the new whack.

A proposal to install orange benches and chairs in the Santa Barbara Library Plaza collapsed at a recent Historic Landmarks Commission.

“The orange just screams at you,” said HLC member Sheila Lodge. “It is so contemporary and plastic. I can’t support it. It just doesn’t belong there.”

And then there were the not-so-subtle comments of Commissioner Keith Butler.

“I just think it is an architectural mistake,” Butler said. “It doesn’t fit in.”

Acting Library Director Brandon Beaudette took a proposal for outdoor furniture to the HLC on July 30, and it didn’t go well.

Beaudette presented three scenarios that included orange, teal, and traditional picnic benches for the Library Plaza. He took inspiration from libraries in Arizona, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

“We wanted to create a welcoming space that created both interest and discovery,” Beaudette said. 

He said the proposal was meant to discourage people from lingering.

“We wanted something welcoming for short-term use, but not too loungey that would encourage more long-term, more overnight guests,” Beaudette said.

The library plaza has a history with a few plot twists. The cost to renovate the plaza was $13 million, which happened alongside an elevator and library interior renovation.

The total cost of the project, including design/engineering, regulatory fees, and construction, plaza, elevator, and interior renovations, was approximately $13 million, according to the city.

It re-opened in 2024 after a two-year closure that was extended multiple times. During that period, the city experienced turmoil among its library management and saw two top administrators exit from the city under hush-hush circumstances.

Some of the HLC members said that the city should commission individual outdoor furniture pieces that match Santa Barbara.

“This is a place that you could use more imaginative, whimsical, figurative kinds of pieces even if that is furniture that has to be commissioned,” said Commissioner Dennis Doordan.

Commissioner Michael Drury said: “I find it very difficult to support the architecture of the chairs and tables and benches. They seem to be so saturated that they take on a life of their own.”

The city expected to return to the HLC with a revised plan in late August or early fall.

Commissioner Cass Ensberg suggested furniture that could be pushed together to create a larger space. She too opposed the colors, saying they take away from the library murals. She said the outdoor furniture should work with the overall design of the library.

“I feel like this is calling too much attention to itself,” Ensberg said.