Sidebar Widgets

Contact Information

SFDB Secretary
(805) 564-5470 x 4472
SFDBSecretary@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Title

Single Family Design Board

The Single Family Design Board was created in 2007, by Santa Barbara Municipal Code Chapter 22.69.010 to promote the general welfare, protect and preserve the City’s natural and historical charm, and enhance the City’s aesthetic appeal and beauty.

General Functions

  • Ensure that single family residential unit projects are compatible with the surrounding neighborhood in size and design.
  • Protect public visual resources.
  • Promote the ecological sustainability of the City’s built environment through the design review process.
  • Carefully apply the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, Single Family Design Guidelines, Single Family Design Board Guidelines, and Lower Riviera Design Guidelines, and other guidelines to the types of specific single family residential projects listed in the table at the end of this announcement.

Committee Functions

Membership

5 Members

Qualifications

Appointees may not hold any full-time paid office or employment in City government. Appointees may serve on the Architectural Board of Review or Historic Landmarks Commission and the Single Family Design Board. They must be residents of Santa Barbara County.

  • At least one licensed architect
  • Up to three members of the public at-large who are City residents
  • The remaining members shall possess professional qualifications related to architecture or landscape architecture, including, but not limited to, building design, structural engineering, industrial design, urban planning, or landscape contracting

Length of Term

Four years or until a member’s successor is appointed.

Meeting Schedule

The Board generally meets every other Monday at 3:00 p.m. (the Architectural Board of Review meets on alternate Mondays) in the David Gebhard Public Meeting Room (DGPMR), 630 Garden Street. The Consent Calendar is generally held every Monday at 11:00 a.m. in the DGPMR.

Time Involved

  • Regular full board meetings every other week for 3 – 6 hours.
  • Consent Calendar assignment 1 – 2 hours weekly for one member and/or a landscape architect; rotates periodically depending on Board-member preferences.
  • Site visits for projects on pending agenda prior to meetings, approximately 2 – 6 hours.
  • Occasional review of special studies and other documents, previous meeting minutes and current meeting agendas, approximately 2 -3 hours per month.
  • Subcommittee assignments (could range from 1 to 15 hrs additional review per month, depending on assignments)
  • Occasional evening or weekend public workshops and special trainings at special workshop locations throughout the City, (plan for approximately 3 hours monthly)
  • As needed attendance as an SFDB representative at
    • City Council appeal hearings on a Tuesday afternoon or evening regarding appealed projects or updates to guidelines or ordinances; or
    • Planning Commission on a Thursday afternoon or evening when a project has an environmental review hearing scheduled with special aesthetic impact or grading issues.

Financial Disclosure Requirement

Members are required to file a Statement of Economic Interests upon appointment, annually and when leaving the advisory group.

AB 1234 Ethics Requirement

Assembly Bill (AB) 1234 requires this board to complete AB 1234 Ethics Training no later than one year after the first day of service and then the training course must be completed once every two years thereafter.   

Compensation

$50 for each full board meeting attended and $25 for each Consent Calendar meeting completed.

Staff

Planning Division, Community Development Department, Ellen Kokinda, Design Review Supervisor (805) 564-5470 x4559

Reference

Municipal Code Section 22.69.020; Ordinance No. 5416; Ordinance No. 6091; Resolution No. 07-063.