Declining a staff recommendation to reject the proposal, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission on Thursday agreed to allow the development of a senior center near the eastern entrance to Old Town Orcutt.
The Luis OASIS Senior Center — it stands for Orcutt Area Seniors In Service — has proposed a 15,000-square-foot facility on five vacant acres between the South Point neighborhood and Clark Avenue.
Approximately 50 people attended the Planning Commission’s meeting Thursday morning in Santa Maria.
The unanimous action means the staff can now process a General Plan amendment to alter the Orcutt Community Plan and other matters related to the project.
Commissioner Dan Blough of Santa Maria noted the 82 letters of support for the project.
“I know of no one that’s not in favor of this project,” Blough said.
The senior center currently operates from modular buildings on Orcutt Union School District land on Soares Avenue in Old Orcutt.
“It is not good. It is not handicapped friendly. It is not senior friendly,” Blough said.
Staff noted the project is proposed for land labeled as open space for Key Site 18 in the Orcutt Community Plan and expressed concerns it wasn’t appropriate for the entrance to Old Town.
But proponents say the project would only be a positive addition for the area.
“I think this becomes a great gateway for the community of Orcutt, and it doesn’t affect visual aesthetics at all,” said architect Vivek Harris, who also is a local resident.
Harris told commissioners the senior center would fulfill the recreational requirement since the facility will host assorted classes such as yoga. Additionally, adjacent trails will enhance recreational options in the area for the land which now has “no trespassing” signs.
The metal building actually will be set off Clark Avenue, with future commercial buildings planned along that section of the street.
The vast array of groups they met with were overwhelmingly in support of the project, Harris said.
“We want to make sure it makes sense for the community and we think it does,” Harris added.
The OASIS Senior Center has more than 900 members, making it one of the largest organizations in the Santa Maria Valley, Executive Director Doug Dougherty.
The center holds more than 50 weekly programs but also hosts numerous other groups in Orcutt. Most importantly, it connects the aging population to essential community services, Dougherty said. The facility also serves hot lunch daily.
“OASIS connects the aging population to vital services,” Dougherty said.
In 2008, OASIS representatives were told the school district plans to develop the land. Plans to relocate to a county site near Foster Road fell through, forcing OASIS to seek another home.
“We have very little time left to move,” Dougherty said, adding the LeBard family donated the two parcels for the proposed new home.
Mark Steller, president of the Old Orcutt Merchants Association, said the members support the proposed location.
“I really can’t see any kind of down side to this thing,” Steller said, adding cyclists often ask where they can stop for a picnic in Old Orcutt.
Additionally, the community is starving for parking space, which the new senior center would bring, he added.
Orcutt resident Laurie Tamura, who also is president of Urban Planning Concepts, served on the Orcutt Community Plan Advisory Committee that worked to develop the 550-page document in the early 1990s.
“No project can be consistent with everything in that document,” she said, adding the document does mention potential development on the site.
She also noted the center looked for many sites before picking the proposed location.
“The real concern that they had is they want to stay in Old Town Orcutt,” Tamura said. “That’s where their heart and soul is, is in Old Town Orcutt, so please acknowledge this and move with the application.”
— 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.