A Santa Ynez Valley ranch owner who installed a decorative gate without obtaining permits has requested that the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission delay Wednesday’s scheduled formal rejection of the project.
Instead, the applicant, Roundup Ranch, has asked to continue the item to allow a meeting with a neighbor.
The entrance at 2710 Brinkerhoff Ave. in the Santa Ynez Valley stands 21 feet high — 3 feet taller than typically allowed — and features bright blue tile on a horizontal cap in addition to a decorative wall.
The ranch is owned by Russ Allen of 2905 Roundup Road LLC.
During the public hearing last month, appellants Susan and Rick Weber said condensation gathers on the wavy, blue-glazed tile with the sun hitting it and glistening like diamonds, reflecting to their hilltop property across the road.
Commissioners stressed that they hoped the neighbors would resolve the matter.
They also pointed out that the commission’s action could force removal of the entire Roundup Ranch decorative gate, instead of the troublesome tile.
At the end of the July 12 meeting, commissioners directed staff to return with findings of denial.
Days after the hearing, Roundup Ranch representative Elsa Reader requested a continuance of the item.
“To arrange and conduct a meeting between neighbors will take time, and we are formally requesting that the commission allow for this process to be completed,” Reader wrote in an email to county staff.
On Wednesday, the commissioners are scheduled to consider granting the continuance or ruling that the project doesn’t conform with the Comprehensive Plan.
“The existing gate is not compatible with the character of the surrounding natural environment because of the color and reflectivity of the tile roof on the gate …,” the staff report stated.
“Although the applicants applied an acid wash to the tile, the reflectivity of the glaze was not sufficiently reduced.”
With the Planning Commission’s schedule, the item may not return to the panel’s agenda until the Sept. 13 meeting.
The commissioners on Wednesday also are expected to formally approve a condition that would allow the Strauss Wind Energy Project southwest of Lompoc to begin operating without fulfilling a condition calling for a take permit for golden eagles from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
However, the commissioners will require that before operating, Strauss must demonstrate that a take authorization application has been determined complete by the Fish & Wildlife Service.
During the July 12 hearing, the panel directed staff to prepare findings for approval and include supplemental monitoring and reporting requirements.
In a different item, the commissioners will be asked to allow an approximately 346-square-foot, 47,000-gallon water tank at 3564 Toro Canyon Park Road. The tank would be used for fire suppression and potable water during emergency situations.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Pkwy. in Santa Maria.