Master Plan Wins Third and Final Victory

February 21st, 2007

The Santa Barbara County Supervisors unanimously upheld Westmont’s appeal of two conditions in its approved campus Master Plan. The appeal focused on two inappropriate restrictions the Montecito Planning Commission had imposed on traffic and parking. The victory is the third and final for the college in its hard-fought attempt to improve campus facilities for students.

The updated campus plan was unanimously approved by the Montecito Planning Commission last November. In January, opponents of Westmont’s proposal unsuccessfully appealed to the supervisors to overturn the college’s updated campus Master Plan.

Westmont voluntarily offered to monitor and control traffic indefinitely on Cold Spring Road to an average of 3,500 daily car trips, less than half the design capacity level for the road. Even though there was no direct environmental impact, the planning commission knocked the number down to 3,355. The supervisors overturned that decision.

Though the evidence showed there was not a problem of students illegally parking in the vicinity of the college, the commission imposed a requirement to have the vehicles of freshmen and sophomores who aren’t allowed to park on campus, to have a sticker which identifies them as Westmont students. “I can’t believe intelligent people can come up with a hare-brained idea like that,” said Supervisor Joni Gray during the hearing. It too was thrown out.

During the hearing’s public comment period of the hearing 19 people spoke, 18 in favor of Westmont. Opponents have promised to sue the county over the approval and are expected to seek an injunction to halt construction.