Board continues review of accessibility hardship request for 1165 Coast Village Road

The Santa Barbara Building and Safety Board continued indefinitely its review of a hardship request for 1165 Coast Village Road after members said the application and supporting documents did not yet answer key technical and cost questions.

Staff recommended the board ratify a hardship that would eliminate a required elevator or equivalent upgrade for building permit 2025-00295, which covers a tenant improvement converting a 3,400-square-foot single-tenant office into three tenant spaces. The recommendation rests on a finding that meeting full vertical-access requirements would be disproportionately costly compared with the project budget, staff said.

The matter concerns compliance with California accessibility requirements for path of travel when a project’s construction valuation exceeds the state threshold. Staff said projects above the current 2025 threshold of $203,611 must invest at least 20% of the construction valuation toward path-of-travel improvements. Staff reported that 20% of the project’s reported construction valuation was about $70,000 and that the applicant has committed $82,900 toward accessibility work, which staff said represents…