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Historic Landmarks Commission continues review of 101 Garden Street hotel, requests more Santa Barbara‑specific detailing
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Summary
At its April 22 meeting the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission continued in‑progress review of a proposed 178,000‑square‑foot, 250‑room hotel at 101 Garden Street and requested additional design detail on colors, awnings, mechanical vent screening, the porte‑cochere and landscaping; commissioners unanimously voted to continue the item for an in‑progress review.
The Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission on April 22 continued in‑progress review of a proposed 178,000‑square‑foot hotel at 101 Garden Street, citing the need for further detail on materials, mechanical venting and entry sequencing.
Applicant representatives described a substantially revised design that retains a historical Monterey building on the site and proposes a new multi‑building hotel: 250 guest rooms, approximately 85,000 square feet of subterranean parking, 267 vehicle parking spaces, bicycle storage, and six affordable housing units (five low‑income studios and one moderate‑income two‑bedroom unit) under state density‑bonus provisions. The team said prior project‑design approval occurred on July 16, 2025, and the current submission responds to comments from the commission and previous appeals.
"We wanna build and have this beautiful hotel in Santa Barbara because it looks like Santa Barbara," said David Carbajal, the owner's representative, stressing the team's intent to reflect local character while keeping rooms at moderate price points. Landscape architect Courtney Miller summarized site changes, including a reworked event lawn, a new fountain, and a reconfigured courtyard. "We've since flattened everything out so that now it can depress down into the parking garage below," Miller said of the pool reconfiguration, a change intended to improve courtyard relationships and pedestrian flow.
Commissioners praised design simplifications but pressed for clearer local identity and technical solutions. Multiple commissioners asked the team to use colors and materials that read as Santa Barbara—examples cited included brighter El Pueblo Viejo‑appropriate accents rather than muted khaki tones—and to study canvas awnings in place of metal for a more traditional look. Commissioners repeatedly flagged the appearance of mechanical vents on room elevations as a consequential detail: while the applicant said vents are necessary and that the team is working with mechanical engineers to minimize size and add decorative screening, commissioners asked for illustrated alternatives showing how vents would be recessed, painted, or screened on elevations.
A commissioner summarized the commission's charge as a request that the project be more explicitly rooted in Santa Barbara's local palette and detailing. Concerns also included pool size and programming versus guest room sizes, the configuration and clarity of the porte‑cochere and entry (commissioners suggested studying a hip roof or heavier stone piers rather than the proposed exposed truss), exterior lighting strategy for the entry and porte‑cochere, and alternatives to high‑cost details like copper gutters.
The commission asked the applicants to return for an in‑progress review with additional details: color and material studies (including El Pueblo Viejo swatches), window and wall reveals, vent‑screen design options, porte‑cochere alternatives, further landscape and planting plans around the Monterey building, and refined lighting for the main entry and courtyards. The commission voted unanimously to continue the project for further in‑progress review.
Next steps: the applicant will prepare the requested detail studies and return for a follow‑up in‑progress review; no final appealable action was taken at this meeting.
