The Bellosguardo Foundation is set to go in front of the Santa Barbara Planning Commission on Thursday to request permits for its guided tours and special events at the waterfront Clark Estate.

In preparation for the meeting, four planning commissioners visited the property at 1407 E. Cabrillo Blvd. for a site visit on Tuesday. They asked Bellosguardo Foundation President Jeremy Lindaman questions regarding tour logistics and parking.

City approval of the coastal development permit and coastal use permit would allow quasi-public use, which includes docent-led tours of the full property, as well as special and private events on the grounds.

The foundation has been conducting public tours and hosting special events and private events for about three years, as Noozhawk has previously reported.

Currently, tours are available of the mansion’s first floor and gardens five days a week in small groups, with two or three docents guiding each group through the estate. 

The mansion, built in the 1930s, was only actively used by the Clark family for about 15 months. Heiress Huguette Clark had not visited Santa Barbara since the 1950s, but the estate and grounds were meticulously maintained in the decades since then. 

Clark then bequeathed the imposing waterfront mansion to a nonprofit foundation to foster the arts following her death in 2011, and the Bellosguardo Foundation was formed. 

The commissioners toured alongside city planners, Lindaman and the foundation’s land-use attorney, Amy Steinfeld, for the site visit.

Site Visit

The group walked inside the mansion to see various rooms outfitted with the original furnishings of the home. The commissioners even got to see parts of the estate not usually shown during tours.

They saw Andree Clark’s cottage and a carriage house that housed a couple of vintage cars.

During the site visit, many of the commissioners were in awe with each new room they toured, many noting that they didn’t realize they would get that extensive of a tour. They were excited for each new stop.

Tours usually cost $100 per person and require reservations through the foundation website. 

During the site visit, project planner Kathleen Kennedy said she wants the estate to be open to the public and have people enjoy the “beautiful coastal property.” 

Planning Commissioner Lesley Wiscomb also imagined a time in which the public would be able to visit the grounds freely and even picnic on the grass. 

However, Lindaman said that is not currently possible to do because of issues regarding parking.

Permit Application

For Thursday’s meeting, city planners recommend that the Planning Commission approve the permits with conditions, including making the Bellosguardo Foundation submit another application for permanent ADA-accessible restrooms and an entrance ramp. 

The property currently has temporary ADA-accessible restrooms near a parking area, and a portable metal wheelchair ramp at the rear entrance of the main building. 

Having the full property available for tours is “contingent upon meeting accessibility compliance,” according to planning staff.

The only physical change proposed at the property in the current application is some striping for on-site parking. 

The permit conditions also include limiting the number of people in each tour to 88 for a standard tour and 176 for an expanded tour. Tours also would be spaced out to limit overlap between each group. 

The foundation also would be required to get city approval and fire permits in advance for certain special events. 

Tour guests and other visitors receive pre-arrival instructions for entering the property and parking. There is no street parking available for pedestrian access to the property, and people can’t park on the decorated forecourt area, Lindaman said. 

The application proposes visitor and employee parking on site for docent-led tours, on-site and valet parking for the expanded tours, and a ride share/taxi drop-off and pickup area, all in an effort not to have major impacts on public parking in the area, according to Lindaman.

Special events would primarily use off-site parking with shuttles to transport guests to the estate to ensure no major impacts on traffic and parking in the area, according to the city. 

It will be the first time the foundation goes in front of a city commission to review plans for the property since 2020, when the Historic Landmarks Commission held a concept review hearing.

Lindaman said the foundation has worked with the city since 2019 to “perfect the operations” of the estate, according to a letter he wrote to the Planning Commission.

“Although the planning A=application review process was not completed until recently, public tours and special events have been occurring on the property since December 2022. During this time, operations have been optimized. Staff has not received any complaints as a result of any tours or special events,” the city staff report states. 

In 2021, the foundation filed a similar application to expand tours and host private events, but it was deemed incomplete, according to Lindaman.

Lindaman has said the organization plans to expand its tour offerings showing more of the mansion and grounds.

He also said he would like to open up more days for tours, but parking is the biggest challenge holding back the foundation. 

The application proposes a maximum of seven tours per day, seven days a week. 

The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Council Chambers upstairs at City Hall, 735 Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara.

Noozhawk Executive Editor Giana Magnoli contributed reporting to this story.