Staff hearing officer approves open‑yard modification for 615 Bath Street

Staff Hearing Officer Tess Harris on Oct. 15 approved an open‑yard modification and affirming environmental finding for a proposed two‑story residence with an attached accessory dwelling unit at 615 Bath Street in Santa Barbara.

The project proposes a 2,122‑square‑foot building on a 2,999‑square‑foot lot, including a 629‑square‑foot garage and 440 square feet of storage on the ground floor, and a 704‑square‑foot primary residence plus a 349‑square‑foot ADU on the second floor. The application seeks an open‑yard modification because the municipal open‑yard standard requires 800 square feet on grade and the project proposes approximately 215 square feet of on‑grade open yard; additional usable outdoor space is provided by second‑story decks (94 square feet for the main unit and 80 square feet for the ADU).

The project also qualified for an exemption from further environmental review under CEQA Guidelines §15303 (new construction of small structures), a determination Harris adopted in her decision. Planner Pilar Plummer told the hearing the site is vacant, constrained (2,999 sq. ft.) and is adjacent to Mission Creek and Mission Creek Bridge. Plummer and the applicant noted that flood elevation requirements push habitable floor area above the ground floor: county information presented at the hearing showed a base flood elevation roughly 8 feet above existing grade, which in turn requires finished residential floors to be at least about 10 feet above grade. For that reason the ground floor is proposed for garage and storage only, which staff said supports the application for relief from the on‑grade open yard standard.

Applicant Jared Gorin of Vanguard Planning said multiple design iterations considered rear parking and other layouts but concluded a two‑story design with the garage at the ground floor best balanced on‑site constraints, neighborhood context and usable outdoor space for occupants. The project went before the Single Family Design Board twice; the board asked the applicant to reduce an initially proposed full‑width front deck, and later found the revised design appropriate given neighborhood scale and the lot constraints.

Harris said staff and board input, the constrained lot size, and the need to place habitable space above flood elevations justified the modification and exempt status. "So with that I will go ahead and approve the project," Harris said, and she noted the decision is subject to the local appeal process; the approval can be appealed to the Planning Commission within 10 calendar days.

Details and next steps: the staff finding and decision were made at the Staff Hearing Officer hearing on Oct. 15. The decision is subject to the standard appeal period and further permit and building review before construction may begin.