Hooray for the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission’s measured criticism of the pink mixed-use project at 813 Garden St., as reported in the Dec. 17 article, “Santa Barbara Commission Deems Proposed Project Too Pink, ‘Too Whimsical’.”
While commissioners found the project generally acceptable for the neighborhood and El Pueblo Viejo Historic District standards of mass, bulk and scale, they were concerned by the combined exuberance of the building’s ornamentation and color.
I agree wholeheartedly, especially on the shades-of-pink color issue.
The proposed project would be partly a boutique hotel and there are other hotel facilities nearby. I worry the starkly unusual color among the compliant whites of all other nearby buildings is an intentional commercial attempt to attract customers, in addition to being out of neighborhood character.
The HLC’s longstanding “El Pueblo Viejo Design Guidelines” addresses acceptable colors within the district; it emphasizes “white is the preferred color.” Another city document, “A Guide to Painting Buildings” is more specific and includes color samples. Bold pink is not on the list.
Developers are known to trumpet incremental changes. Will another neighborhood hotel want to use an even crazier color on that rationale? Where will it end?
Several commissioners referenced the parcel being outside the “core” of EPV, for which there might be some relaxed design standards.
I disagree. The project is entirely within EPV, not on some distant boundary street.
It merits adherence to the same design standards as any project on downtown State Street. To do otherwise, is to invite standards creep. Again, where would it stop?
A couple of decades ago, an applicant/architect received harsh criticism from HLC on his proposed contemporary design within EPV. His angry rejoinder was that the commissioners were too focused on maintaining the theme of the EPV, leading to “Disney-fication” (his word) of the downtown, which needed more variety (his variety) to loosen it up.
For more than a century, visitors have come to Santa Barbara for exactly that human-scale, relatable Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style and color palette. Why would we “mess with success” just for the sake of variety?
Proposing a large building with excessive (in the eye of this beholder) architectural ornamentation and atypical color is the real Disney-fication that has no place in EPV.
Richard Closson
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the Dec. 9 article, “Harbor Restaurant Owners Sue City of Santa Barbara, Claiming ‘Unconscionable’ Lease Terms,” I have no position on the strategy behind or the merits of this litigation at all.
But I am mystified by City Administrator Kelly McAdoo’s explanation that rejecting out of hand a request by a city tenant to reduce rent to stay in business is somehow in the public interest.
Did the city even entertain the request? Were there negotiations?
Are there other potential tenants willing to pay the $60,000-a-month rent? If not, isn’t a reduced rental better than none?
City administrators get paid in good times and bad. Not so private business owners.
The correct, adult statement should have been either “No comment” or “We are confident we will prevail.”
Exclaiming it is in the public interest to lose revenue when you don’t necessarily have to? Not so much!
Stephen Weiss
Montecito
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Regarding the Dec. 13 article, “Police Investigating Sexual Assault on SBCC East Campus,” maybe Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees president Jonathan Abboud ought to revisit his virtue signaling against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staging on campus. Sounds like SBCC could use more presence by ICE, not less.
Tony Lopez
Santa Barbara
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