Ed Lenvik, a member of the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission, was shaking as he spoke. De la Guerra Plaza is a special, historic place, he said, and he doesn’t like the direction of the city’s latest proposal.

“Right now, I don’t see a real cohesive design to the plaza,” Lenvik said. “That’s what bothers me. I don’t agree with any of my colleagues on the plaza,” sticking an open hand out at his colleagues. “To me, you are not going in the right direction.”

Lenvik was unsuccessful in his attempt to persuade the city and Santa Barbara-architectural firm RRM Design Group to make changes to the De la Guerra redesign project.

As it stands now, keeping the grass is not likely. A bubbler water feature is still proposed. Vehicles and parking spaces will be gone, in favor of a flattened area, with hardscape. A pavilion with a stage is proposed, along with bathrooms through the paseo that connects State Street to De la Guerra Plaza.

Despite Lenvik’s concerns, for the first time after years of discussion, a growing consensus seems to be emerging among activists and city planners that the future of De la Guerra Plaza should include no grass to create a more active area, similar to the types of city squares in Spain or Italy.

The goal is to activate the area and create a space that welcomes tourists and locals of all generations to enjoy Santa Barbara just a block off of State Street.

The City of Santa Barbara has hired RRM Design Group to design the project, which has undergone scrutiny and review for several years. The Historic Landmarks Commission voted 9-0 to support the final design, but Lenvik and Commissioners Cass Ensberg, Michael Drury and Charles McClure strongly opposed a pavilion and stage that border the City Hall parking lot.

The rest of the board members, chair Anthony Grumbine and members Steve Hausz, Keith Butler, Robert Ooley and Dennis Doordan all supported the full project.

Lenvik too support the overall design, but couldn’t get past the design of the pavilion.

“In some ways, this building challenges City Hall and the News-Press building,” Lenvik said. “This structure has interjected itself into the plaza design, and that is unfortunate.”

He compared it to the Ralphs grocery store at the corner of Carrillo and De la Vina streets.

“When the Ralphs market was built, there were many people who said, ‘Is this the county courthouse?'” he said.

He also said the pavilion blocked the tower at the former Santa Barbara News-Press building, calling it “offensive.”

Commissioner Ensberg urged the city and the panel to keep the grass, adding that she has two granddaughters who would enjoy it.

“They would love to be rolling around on the lawn,” Ensberg said. “They are not going to roll around on concrete and pavement.”

Taking a big-picture view, Ensberg said city leaders are designing a plaza that will last for another 100 years.

“Santa Barbara is this authentic place,” Ensberg said. “It’s like nowhere else. Once you take something away, it’s really hard to get it back. What we have, nobody has.”

Both Lenvik and Ensberg also expressed concerns about proposed bathrooms in the paseo.

“I just keep seeing the outside of Marshall’s,” Ensberg said.

Lief McKay, principal at RRM Design Group, said the grass in the plaza must go.

“Lawn just isn’t sustainable,” McKay said. “It isn’t accessible, and it is virtually impossible to maintain in a pristine condition.”

Despite the concerns raised about some of the design features, the commission agreed to support the current project, which still has several steps to go in the planning and review process. The City Council ultimately will decide on the fate of the project.

The plaza was previously Santa Barbara’s town square but now is mostly a location frequented by the city’s unhoused population, except for during the Old Spanish Days Fiesta celebration. The city has held dozens of meetings about the design of the project.

“This space should be a place that unifies the community, so we want to avoid anything that creates friction,” board member Dennis Doordan said.

At the end of the nearly three-hour meeting, Lenvik urged the city and the architect to rethink its design.

“They are going to live with their name on this for a lot of years, and I hope that they think they are giving us the best thing we can have,” Lenvik said. “I rely on Detty (Peikert, founder of RRM Design Group) and the integrity of his firm to give us the best we can get. It concerns me to no end that we do the best we can for that plaza.”