An equestrian area for agritourism events is coming to the Santa Ynez Valley.
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission unanimously approved the plans for 3715 Baseline Ave. at its Aug. 26 meeting.
The project from Hayden Landon will include a new 45,000-square-foot enclosed building. It is the first to be approved under the county’s Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance (AEO).
The ordinance, which became effective in January 2025, allows farmers and ranchers to operate a variety of agritourism uses — including short-term rentals, education workshops and recreational activities like fishing or horseback riding — on their properties to increase revenue.
The new equestrian arena is intended to hold up to 12 events per year. Events can include weddings, dinners and educational workshops, according to staff.
Since the arena will be 29.5 feet tall and stand out in the rural area, the applicant must plant tall trees to help it blend in, according to county Land Use Planner Steve Conner.
The Planning Commission praised the project. Commissioner Vincent Martinez called it “the kind of project that was envisioned” for the Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance.
Commissioner John Parke also said the project fits the ordinance’s intent.
“Big picture, if we designed a project in a property to fit what the AEO is all about, it’d be hard to come up with a better one than this,” Parke said.
Planning & Development staff said the county has received about 20 applications under the new ordinance so far.
The applications have been for a variety of uses. The majority have requested farmstays, educational experiences, small-scale special events, low-impact camping and farm stands, said Travis Seawards, deputy director of the Development Review Division.
The project also faced questions about its alignment with regional land preservation under the Williamson Act contract, which mandates contracted land be dedicated to active agricultural production.
The California Department of Conservation submitted a formal letter on the project citing concerns about the land being converted to not permit agricultural use.
In order to resolve the concerns, Conner, the land use planner, said the applicant plans to retain and stockpile all farmland topsoil disturbed in the area during development to mix in with soil in other areas for feed grass and pasture cultivation.
