Cliffside mansion sparks fury as Santa Barbara neighbors fight project

A controversial new cliffside mansion has sparked an all-out war between Santa Barbara homeowners and city officials over fears of “McMansionization” along the city’s fragile bluffs.

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 4-2 this week to reject an appeal challenging plans for a two-story home and associated structures in the city’s Mesa neighborhood.

As a result, the project can proceed despite neighbors’ objections to its size and concerns about emergency access, utility connections, privacy and bluff stability, which partially collapsed in winter 2023, according to Noozhawk.

The appeal was filed after the Santa Barbara Planning Commission approved the development.

Councilwomen Kristen Sneddon and Wendy Santamaria voted to support the appeal, while Councilman Mike Jordan abstained because he lives near the property, reported the outlet.

Although the council allowed the project to move forward, several members voiced concern over the growing number of oversized homes along Santa Barbara’s blufftops.

Sneddon questioned the Single Family Design Board’s decision to approve the project, saying it seemed to go against the board’s original purpose.

“The whole reason (the Single Family Design Board was) formed was to prevent McMansionization, and these, to me, are the example of what should not be on the bluff,” she said.

Neighbor Alexandra Hack, who filed the appeal, argued that the size of the home could block emergency access to her property and affect an existing utility connection.

Santa Barbara Fire Marshal Ryan DiGuilio told the council both properties would keep emergency access, explaining the planned 16-foot driveway would let fire engine hoses reach the farthest edge of the property from the street.

Hack also raised concerns that relocating a proposed utility pole could interrupt service.

Jarret Gorin of Vanguard Planning, representing the property owners, said they would coordinate with neighbors to ensure their power was not cut off.

The property drew additional scrutiny because part of the bluff collapsed during the winter of 2023.

Gorin told the council the owners completed a stabilization project and the home would be built about 38 feet from the bluff’s edge.

Other neighbors also urged the council to reject the development.

Kelly Boker argued the home’s size and the removal of privacy foliage would make it intrusive and called the project “vastly out of proportion and out of character” for the Mesa neighborhood.

“The fact that the size of the construction and pool on a bluff that has already been compromised is even being considered is mind-boggling,” Boker said.

Councilman Eric Friedman said he understood where neighbors were coming from but believed the council lacked the technical evidence needed to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said she shared concerns about continued development along Santa Barbara’s bluffs but argued the issue should be addressed through broader policy—not individual appeals.

“To me, that’s a recipe, frankly, for more disaster to not look holistically at the bluff face, and instead to start doing it piecemeal on a parcel-by-parcel basis, not in accordance with any set standards, but rather just a gut feeling that I think some of us certainly share,” Harmon said.