First Public Hearing on the Full-Block Funk Zone Development

••• The City of Santa Barbara’s Planning Commission is holding a virtual concept-review meeting on July 2 to discuss the full-block project at 121 E. Mason. There’s a long post about the plan here—it’s definitely worth checking out if this is news to you. With the exception of the Silo, every building on the block bordered by Yanonali, Santa Barbara, Gray, and Mason streets will be demolished, and I don’t know of a current project that will have a larger impact on the city. The timing of the meeting—in the run-up to a holiday weekend—certainly seems to favor the developer, in terms of the public being otherwise occupied.

••• Another estate is going to auction: 4558 Via Esperanza in Hope Ranch on August 8. The 1979 house was designed by Barry Berkus; the 5.7-acre lot includes a 2.35-acre parcel (with its own water meter) that can presumably be built on. Having bought the property for $5.795 million in 2015, the current owner listed it for $13 million in May 2019. The price was subsequently cut three times, most recently to $9.975 million. For more info, contact DeCaro Auctions International or Gregg Leach of Village Properties. (The Gone With the Wind still superimposed on the TV surely predates the current debate about whether to cancel the film; this’ll likely be the last time we see the movie in a listing….)

••• The Santa Barbara Historical Museum‘s latest email update included this terrific photo: “A group has motored up to Mission Santa Barbara in their newfangled automobiles, ca. 1910. Note the Riviera neighborhood in the background, largely devoid of houses and trees.” (Photo by N.H. Reed, from The Gledhill Glass Plate Collection, Santa Barbara Historical Museum.)

••• From the county: “The County of Santa Barbara is hosting six community meetings in July to receive feedback and answer questions about the amended Cannabis Business License (Chapter 50) regulating cannabis retail storefront licensing. […] The meeting schedule and information about how to participate and submit feedback is posted online. In each of the community meetings, staff from the County Executive Office and Planning & Development will present an overview of the cannabis business licensing and permitting process, followed by an overview of the Community Plan Area. A video version of the presentation is available on the website.”

••• If you ever have the opportunity to go inside El Andaluz, the Jeff Shelton–designed condo complex at 531 Chapala, do it. The building is a delight down to the smallest detail. Unit #G, a three-bedroom penthouse, is available for $4.25 million, and the one-bedroom unit #A is available for $1.995 million, having recently been price-chopped by $155,000.

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