The landmark Clark Estate was approved on Thursday to host tours and special events as the Santa Barbara Planning Commission said yes to multiple permits. 

Commissioners signed off on a coastal-development permit and conditional-use permit for the property at 1407 E. Cabrillo Blvd. that is owned and operated by the Bellosguardo Foundation. 

The foundation first applied for permits in 2020, and the organization went back and forth with the city on the application for several years. The property has been open for regular public tours and events since December 2022.

The commissioners supported the application, and mostly had questions about parking and pricing. 

“I don’t think you can get this information out into the general public too soon,” Commissioner Brian Barnwell said of the tours and events.

“In everyone’s mind in Santa Barbara, it’s a mystery; it really is a mystery, and it shouldn’t be.” 

The tours are booked by reservation through the foundation website for $100 per person. 

Foundation President Jeremy Lindaman and the foundation’s land-use attorney, Amy Steinfeld, said the organization is still new and couldn’t commit to lower tour ticket prices right now.

It’s a goal to offer self-guided tours, subsidized tickets and more access for local students, they said. 

The estate includes a 1930s mansion, a carriage house, a cottage, and extensive gardens and grounds. It requires a lot of maintenance because of its historic status and for visitor safety, Steinfeld said.

Commissioner Benjamin Peterson wanted to require the Bellosguardo Foundation to participate in Museums for All, which offers free or reduced admission to museums for people receiving food assistance/SNAP benefits.

The other commissioners agreed, and added a two-year deadline for the foundation to do so as a condition of permit approval. 

Parking and Permits

For parking, Lindaman said tours and small events have on-site parking, and larger events have dedicated off-site parking with shuttles. 

The foundation has to notify the city two months ahead of any large event, and the city reviews the parking and shuttle plan, supervising transportation planner Jessica Grant said. 

Commissioners added the condition of having the foundation notify the Santa Barbara Cemetery ahead of large events, since it is located next door to the estate.

City staff also acknowledged the “gray area” of the foundation hosting special events and public tours for several years without permits. 

“How is that allowed?” Commissioner Lucille Boss asked.

Project planner Kathleen Kennedy said the foundation submitted an application in 2020, and there was a “a lot of back and forth” on parking and tour logistics.

“Even though right now it seems very well organized and simplified, we had to go through a lot over time” to figure it out, Kennedy said. 

The city was aware the foundation was doing tours and events. An enforcement case would have required the foundation to submit a permit application, which it already had, Kennedy added. 

“So, the foundation shouldn’t have had tours until a conditional-use permit was in place?” Boss said.

“I would say the tours, yes,” Kennedy said. 

Commission Comments

The Planning Commission’s approvals on Thursday come with conditions for the foundation to return in two years with participation in Museums for All or an equivalent, and to submit an application within four years for a permanent restroom building and permanent ADA access ramp. 

Barnwell and other commissioners thanked Lindaman for the site visit tour on Tuesday, calling the estate spectacular and beautiful.

“Man, get this out there, get this rolling, get the less expensive seats and wider outreach, because I believe your fundraising efforts will triple if those sorts of things happen,” Barnwell said.

Commissioner John Baucke said it seemed like a balancing act to deal with public access, traffic circulation and preserving the property. 

“You stuck with this for so many years, and finally it’s coming together and hopefully it’ll be opened up to a lot more people and at reasonable rates and times,” Commissioner Donald DeLuccio said. 

“It’s a quasi-public facility, and it’s here for the community, and I think we need to do all we can to give the opportunity to as many community members as possible to enjoy the facility,” Commissioner Lesley Wiscomb said. 

“Like the move toward self-guided tours — I think it will take a lot of cameras. We don’t want anyone stealing forks, right?” she said. 

“There is nothing cheap out there,” Lindaman said. 

Commissioners approved the permits with conditions in a 6-1 vote. 

Boss voted no, saying she was concerned about lower-cost public access and that it would set a precedent for others to operate without a conditional-use permit.

The Bellosguardo Foundation was created and took ownership of the property after heiress Huguette Clark bequeathed it to a “nonprofit foundation to foster the arts” following her death in 2011. 

“The Bellosguardo Foundation is thrilled with the Planning Commission’s approval of these permits,” Lindaman said after the meeting. “By codifying the use of the property for public tours and events, this decision directly supports our mission and honors Huguette Clark’s wish to preserve this estate for future generations.”