Planning Commission approves Carpinteria Unified plan for new Aliso School kindergarten building

The Carpinteria City Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a revision to the Aliso School Master Plan that will replace temporary portable classrooms with a new, elevated kindergarten building and associated site improvements.

Assistant planner Megan Mussoff told the commission the project, submitted by Carpinteria Unified School District, proposes a C-shaped classroom building containing four kindergarten classrooms, attached student restrooms for each classroom, a central elevated courtyard accessed by two ramps, landscape and hardscape improvements and a reconfiguration of the kindergarten parking area to add ADA stalls while removing five net standard stalls. Mussoff said the building footprint is part of a revised Phase 1 of the 2017 master plan and that the campus is 7.79 acres and located adjacent to Franklin Creek near Seventh Street.

The new structure would have a maximum main roof height of 22 feet and architectural cupolas reaching 27 feet, 10 inches, below the 30-foot maximum allowed in the community facility zone. To meet FEMA and local flood-damage-protection requirements the entire classroom floor will be elevated to 15 feet above mean sea level, about 4.5 feet above surrounding grade, Mussoff said. The project would maintain required creek setbacks (about 52 feet from Franklin Creek), keep overall site coverage well under the 40% maximum (proposed 9.7%), and provide roughly 47% landscaping for the campus.

Mussoff described changes the Architectural Review Board (ARB) requested and how the design team responded: reduced cupola footprints, slightly increased cupola height to change proportions, standing-seam metal roofs with brass finials, added cornices/corbels and tile detailing to break up blank facades, terracotta-colored grills on cupolas and bathroom windows, and a revised planting palette intended to reduce litter and maintenance near paved surfaces. The ARB had also recommended adding “whimsy” appropriate to a kindergarten building; the architect said those comments were incorporated where feasible.

Applicant agent Jonathan Leach and project architect Robert Robles summarized the design rationale. Leach explained the district moved away from the previously anticipated modular “Gen 7” classroom approach after using it elsewhere, and the district chose a conventional, site-built building to better integrate with the campus and preserve dedicated kindergarten play areas. Robles said the team reviewed ARB feedback item by item and incorporated the recommended architectural refinements. The Division of the State Architect (DSA) is concurrently reviewing technical code, structural and life-safety elements; Robles said DSA comments remaining were internal and would not change the project’s planning or exterior architectural elements as presented to the commission.

Commissioners asked for and received project clarifications: which trees are in the footprint and therefore proposed for removal; the approximate fill/elevation (floor at 15 ft vs. surrounding grade about 10.5–11 ft); reduced amount of fill compared with earlier submittals; and confirmation that stormwater management materials will be provided and reviewed. Mussoff noted the site is in FEMA Zone AE (base flood elevation 14.25 ft) and within the Coastal Appeals Overlay District, giving the California Coastal Commission potential appellate jurisdiction over the city’s decision.

Patrick O’Connor, a resident and ARB member, spoke during public comment opposing some aspects and urging attention to the campus traffic plan in the original 2017 master plan; he encouraged preserving a future on-campus drop-off loop that had been contemplated but not carried forward in this phase due to funding priorities.

Following deliberations the commission added a condition to require that any future exterior architectural changes be returned to the ARB for additional review before being implemented. The commission adopted Resolution PC25-5009 approving Project 25-2329 (DPR/CDP/ARB) and accepted the staff’s recommendation that the project is categorically exempt from CEQA under Guidelines sections 15302 (replacement or reconstruction), 15304 (minor alterations to land), and 15314 (minor additions to schools).

The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Commissioner Van Antwerp — yes; Vice Chair Moyer — yes; Chair Allen — yes. The motion included the added condition that significant exterior architectural revisions return to the ARB for review and that Community Development staff conduct a site inspection to ensure conformance with approved plans and conditions.

The commission and applicant recognized that several additional approvals and reviews remain before construction: final DSA clearance for structural and life-safety elements, and potential appeals to the California Coastal Commission because the site is within the Coastal Appeals Overlay District. Staff noted the city will perform planning permit inspections and enforce the conditions of approval.