Staff hearing officer approves ADU conversion at 1391 Santa Rita Circle

Tess Harris, the staff hearing officer for the City of Santa Barbara, on Sept. 17, 2025 approved a coastal development permit allowing the conversion of an existing 372-square-foot attached garage at 1391 Santa Rita Circle into a single-story accessory dwelling unit. Harris said the decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Harris said the ADU is intended to allow an elderly property owner to have family move in to assist with care, and she urged neighbors to speak directly with the owner. “The property owner is an individual that is aging and is bringing her family moving in so that they can assist her as she ages,” Harris said during the announcement.

The project site is a 7,000-square-foot parcel now developed with a single-unit residence. The staff report described the project as an in-place conversion that does not expand the building footprint; the project is exempt from further environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15303, the new-construction/conversion exemption cited in the staff report. Harris said she visited the site and reviewed public comments raising concerns about density and parking but found no physical development impacts that would preclude approval.

Harris noted one item for record keeping: the staff report initially misstated the primary residence square footage. During the hearing she said the house size and aggregate numbers in the staff report should be corrected and that staff will confirm the accurate figures in the minutes and the building-permit submittal. She also asked staff to confirm whether the project’s stormwater requirement is listed as Tier 1 or Tier 2 in the conditions of approval; the hearing officer said staff would verify that detail.

Authorities and approvals cited on the record included the Santa Barbara Municipal Code provision referenced during the announcement and CEQA section 15303 as the environmental exemption. Harris closed the announcement by formally approving the coastal-development permit for 1391 Santa Rita Circle and wished the property owner well; she reminded the public that ADUs in single-family zones are allowed by state law and that this approval in the city’s non-appealable coastal jurisdiction is a final action.

The staff hearing officer read standard conditions of approval into the record and invited the applicant to raise any questions; no further public comment was received for this item.

Harris’s decision is final and not subject to appeal under the procedures stated at the hearing.