Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facilities Brighton Gym topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Architects outline Brighton Gym rebuild, DSA submittal planned as board approves plan-review fees
Summary
Designers told the Santa Paula Unified board the Brighton Gym rebuild (phase 1) will focus on a single gym building with terraces, stormwater detention under existing parking, and future-proofing for a pool; the board approved DSA plan-review fees to advance a December submittal.
Tyson Klein of R and T Architects and Eric Berg of Pacific Coast Land Design presented detailed site and building plans for the Brighton Gym project, saying the board-directed reduction in scope has focused the effort on rebuilding the gym only.
Klein said the design emphasizes flexible interior programming — locker rooms and team rooms on a lower level, retractable bleachers and a gym floor laid out to support practice and occasional competition — and a circulation approach that takes advantage of the site’s steep topography. "We're talking just about the gym," Klein said, adding that the design keeps future pool and performing-arts work feasible by grading and retaining-wall work now to create a future pool footprint.
Berg described the site work and the need for an underground stormwater detention system: "We have to tear up that parking lot to account for the stormwater infrastructure that correlates with the gym," he said, explaining the detention area will be sized to accommodate future phases and may host photovoltaic panels. He also described a terraced seating plaza between the gym and Building 500, pedestrian circulation that snaked through the site, and the challenge of existing utilities along 5th Street.
Trustees pressed the team on phasing, retaining-wall heights and timing. Klein and the team said wall heights will step up to match topography (north-side walls roughly 6–8 feet; higher terrace walls on the Palm Court side), and confirmed mechanical equipment screening remains to be finalized. On schedule, staff said the project team plans to submit to the Division of the State Architect about four weeks after the meeting and expects DSA review through mid‑2026, with construction anticipated to begin during 2026 once permits and contracts are finalized.
The board voted to approve the DSA plan-review fees for the Brighton Gym submittal (plan-check and project oversight fees), a required step to obtain the state permit. Trustees framed the approval as enabling the district to move forward with aggressive permitting while continuing to refine materials and detail with the steering committee.
