Westmont Completes Redesign of Master Plan Update

August 14th, 2006

Westmont has completed and will soon present a redesigned Campus Master Plan Update to local officials following a 60-day pause in the county hearing process. The college’s campus planning team catalogued the comments that it received during public hearings, and with the help of local architects David Van Hoy and Ken Radtkey, Westmont has taken a fresh approach to the Update to the Approved Campus Master Plan.

The public review process for the update began in 2000. Since then, the focus has been on environmental impacts. Three rounds of environmental review confirmed the update will result in no significant impacts.

This spring, Westmont received its first formal feedback on its proposed campus design and architecture. On May 26, Westmont officials asked for a 60-day pause in the hearing schedule to address the Montecito Board of Architectural Review’s comments regarding the academic area. The pause enabled Westmont to respond to the committee’s concerns and ideas with the help of more local expertise on the college’s architectural team.

College leaders plan to present the redesigned plans to Westmont’s closest neighbors in the coming weeks. The college is also holding a series of roundtable meetings in early September for anyone interested in the redesigned plans. A conceptual review with the MBAR has been scheduled for the committee’s September meeting.

Westmont was preparing to submit the revised plans immediately following the 60-day pause, yet the county provided the college with additional time since the Westmont case planner does not return until the end of the month from a well-deserved vacation. Nine intensive public hearings were held over a three-month period prior to the pause.

Randy Jones, director of campus planning, says the 60-day pause allowed the team to review the project from a larger perspective.

“We listened closely to the feedback we received and decided that we needed a less conventional approach,” he says. “We wanted to focus on the green building aspect and we were able to use sustainable architecture to emphasize the site and enhance the garden atmosphere.”

The architects also reviewed and sought to comply with recent rule changes governing Montecito building heights, and worked to provide additional design character to the buildings. Consultants have reviewed the new plans and have been updating their studies with regards to acoustics and biological and historic resources.

“With the redesign, we’ve taken a more site-specific approach and have integrated buildings into the natural landscape of the campus,” says Cliff Lundberg, executive vice president. “Throughout the six year review process for the Update to the Approved Plan, we have listened closely and responded to the feedback we have received. With this redesign, we feel that every reasonable concern has now been addressed from both an environmental and a design standpoint.”