City sides with home expansion
in Mesa fight

In a dramatic example of he tension about home expansion on Santa Barbara's Mesa, the City Council approved a plan to more than double the size of an 806-square-foot home, thrilling one family and crushing another.

Hans and Ginny Miller saw their expansion proposal get caught up in a whirlwind of controversy about the changing character of the Marine Terrace area, just blocks from the beach and Shoreline Park.

"We're happy it's over, but we feel it's very unfortunate that it went the way it did," Mr. Miller said. "We respect our immediate neighbors' position. We think the City Council did an excellent job."

Twenty-seven people spoke at the three-hour meeting. About 15 backed the Millers' plan, and 12 opposed it. The council vote was 5 to 1 to allow the expansion, with Councilman Das Williams opposed and Mayor Marty Blum absent.

Although the debate centered around the Millers' request for their home at 221 San Clemente Drive, the project illustrates a larger community problem that city leaders can't seem to answer.

Modest houses with one bathroom built in the 1950s are being converted into two-story contemporary homes with multiple bedrooms and bath and ocean views. Some critics refer to the trend the "mansionization of the Mesa."

But some homeowners and property-rights advocates say that as long as property owners comply with city rules, they should be able to build the homes they want.

With the median price of a home in Santa Barbara just more than $1 million, homeowners are choosing to capitalize on their investments and expand to meet their needs and growing families. While the issue is accentuated in Santa Barbara's Marine Terrace, it's a problem seen in many neighborhoods.

The city is in the process of creating design guidelines for single-family homes. But it could take at least another year before those go before the council for a vote.

In the meantime, neighbors are slugging it out and asking the council to settle their scores. The animosity runs so deep that after Tuesday's meeting, Mr. Miller refused to shake the hand of one of the neighborhood critics of his home.

The Millers had already obtained a preliminary approval through five Architectural Board of Review meetings to add 716 square feet to their first floor and build a 687 square-foot second-story addition.

But next-door neighbors Jason and Sarah Dodds appealed the decision to the council, paving the way for Tuesday's meeting. They and other neighbors contended that the Millers expansion plan would make the house too large for the neighborhood. The Dodds were also concerned that second-story balcony would overlook their backyard, stripping them of their privacy.

During the council meeting, the Dodds sat in the back row with their 4-month-old daughter, Celeste. After the vote, Mr. Dodds said he was comforted that the council members who approved the project at least acknowledged their concerns.

"We love our location," he said. "We love our house. We're going to have to do the best we can."

The Dodds didn't lose out entirely. In rejecting their appeal, the council asked the Architectural Board of Review to look at the expansion plan and consider minor changes as long as it didn't result in significant cost increases to the Millers.

Councilman Dan Secord said even though he had concerns about the bulkiness of the house, the architectural board failed to scale it down appropriately. At this point, he said, it would be inappropriate to ask the homeowners to do anything more because they had worked through the city process.

"This project kind of reminds me of the kid who got passed through school year after year, and, the next thing you know, he's 18 and can't read," Dr. Secord said. Still, he was comfortable with it. "This is not a mansion."

In opposing the expansion. Williams said approving too many big houses on the Mesa slowly erodes the character of the neighborhood.

"The totality of this effect is one that in my estimation is not beneficial to the city," he said. "There is a social cost to these additions. There is a cost to the quality of life."