1 Hot Springs Road Residential Development Proposal Moves Forward

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The latest step to develop a small townhouse community directly across from the Santa Barbara Cemetery was approved following Thursday's public hearing.

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission moved forward with staff's recommendation to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for this project, according to Julia Pujo, Project Planner, Environmental Analyst.

The development is known by its address: 1 Hot Springs Road, which is a little confusing because the land actually sits off Channel Drive.

The 2.4 acre triangular parcel looks more like a buffer zone than a housing site. The land is hemmed in by Highway 101 to the north, the Santa Barbara Cemetery to the south and, to the west, the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge.

City officials have expressed excitement about the project.

Proposed plans include 22 units within seven individual two and three-story buildings along with 50 parking spaces.

Noozhawk reports, a former cemetery superintendent lived in a house that once stood at the site; remnants of a cement staircase still exist.

The tip of the triangular parcel is embedded with a historic fountain overlooking the roundabout, across from The Post Montecito. Plans include restoring the structure and bringing it back to working order for the public to use.