Planning Commission approves lot split at 460 El Cielito Road, grants street-frontage modification

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission on Aug. 7 approved a tentative subdivision map and a street frontage modification for a lot split at 460 El Cielito Road, allowing one 4-acre parcel to be divided into a 2.5-acre upper lot and a 1.5-acre lower lot.

The action, moved and seconded during the commission’s public meeting, affirmed staff’s recommendation that the project is exempt from further environmental review under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because no new development is proposed.

Associate Planner Pilar Plummer told the commission the property currently contains two legal residential units built in 1936 — a main house and a gardener’s cottage — and that the proposed split would result in one dwelling unit per new parcel, consistent with the site’s RS-1A zoning and the city’s density standards. Plummer said Lot 1 would be 2.5 acres and Lot 2 would be 1.5 acres and that one parcel would request relief from the city’s 100-foot public street frontage requirement.

Plummer described physical constraints that support the modification request: the parcel’s upper portion contains slopes near 29.7 percent and mapped coastal live oak woodland. She said creating a new driveway alignment to Los Canoas Road would require grading through steeper slopes and could conflict with general plan policies that discourage grading on slopes of 30 percent or greater and that seek to avoid oak removals. To avoid those impacts, the applicant proposed an access easement over the existing driveway so Lot 1 would be served without new roadway construction or grading.

Applicant representative Caitlin Ernest of SEPs Land Use Consulting said the owners, identified in the record as Brianna and Vicky Van Talk, seek the split for estate and family-planning purposes and that no new construction is proposed. Ernest said the parcel is one of the largest in the area and that the split would make the lots more consistent with surrounding lot sizes.

Commissioners asked questions about conditions of approval and minor edits to the permit language. Commissioner Wisscomb proposed revisions to remove construction‑related clauses that do not apply to a project with no development; staff said they agreed with the edits. Several commissioners, including Vice Chair Boss and Commissioner Balke, expressed support for avoiding new driveways through oak woodland.

After a public comment period with no speakers, Commissioner Wisscomb moved to approve the CEQA exemption, grant the street frontage modification for Lot 1, and approve the tentative map with the edits to conditions of approval; Commissioner Peterson seconded. The motion passed unanimously on roll call. The commission’s action is subject to a 10-calendar-day appeal period.

Documents and findings in the staff report noted the site’s planning history: a 1995 conditional use permit had previously legalized the two existing dwelling units and associated modifications (setback and accessory-structure approvals). The current approvals do not authorize new construction and include an access easement to preserve the existing driveway alignment.

The commission’s decision included two specific changes to the draft conditions of approval: removal of a clause that would have allowed certain conditions to be waived for demolition or rough grading permits, and a revision specifying that implementation requirements be carried out by the owner or the owner’s agent. Those edits were read into the record as part of the motion.