Montecito’s Top 10 Stories of 2023

The year 2023 was busy for the small enclave of Montecito, with many important and exciting events, milestones, and progressions. We’ve narrowed down the top 10 stories in the pages of Montecito Journal this year, from weather impacts to business happenings, retirements and promotions, proposed projects, and more. 

#10: Welcoming a New Fire Chief 

In March we noted the retirement of Montecito Chief Kevin Taylor who gave more than eight years of service to the Montecito community, and 35 years to the fire service. The Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors appointed David Neels as Fire Chief on Monday, March 27. Neels began his firefighting career in 1989 in San Luis Obispo County while earning his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 1998, he joined Santa Barbara County Fire Department as a firefighter paramedic. During his 21 years with Santa Barbara County Fire Department, he progressed through the ranks to Engineer, Captain, and Battalion Chief. 

In November 2019, the Montecito Fire Department hired Neels as a Battalion Chief. He was promoted to Division Chief of Operations in January 2021. Neels has worked with state Incident Management Teams for over 15 years, responding to major emergencies across the Western United States. In addition to his role as Montecito Fire Chief, he currently serves as an Incident Commander for the Santa Barbara County Type 3 Incident Management Team. Chief Neels grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley and currently lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children.

Chief Neels is currently working on updating the District’s evacuation studies and plans. 

#9: Montecito Natural Foods Relocates 

A story we broke in April: Montecito Natural Foods, which was located in Montecito Country Mart for nearly 60 years, closed its doors in June, and reopened a small storefront in the Upper Village, next to Josephine’s Antiques in mid-July. The store, now dubbed Montecito Natural Health, has been owned by Gabe and Slim Gomez for 30 years, and has offered health food products, vitamins, beauty products, and more to the Montecito community for decades. 

We reported the store’s impending closure after being given notice that its lease was not up for renewal by Country Mart owner James Rosenfield, who declined our request for comment on the matter. The Gomez duo negotiated with Upper Village owner Norm Borgatello to move into the space once occupied by George Meta Jewelry. 

The pared-down space offers vitamins and supplements as well as beauty products, and still employs the same, longtime staff members. Food offerings have been eliminated, due to the reduction in space and the proximity to Montecito Village Grocery. 

Montecito Natural Health is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, and is closed on Sundays. The address is 1470 East Valley Road, Suite Z. Call 805-969-1411 for more information. 

#8 Coast Village Improvement District Happenings 

A group which we covered at length this year thanks to new leadership and new funding was the Coast Village Improvement Association, which held multiple events over the year. 

The former iteration of the group, Coast Village Association, was officially dissolved back in October 2022 to accommodate forming a 501(c)3 and creating a newly constituted Board of Directors. The change followed the Santa Barbara City Council’s vote to establish and form the Coast Village Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID), an idea that has been in the works since November 2020. The majority of Coast Village Road property owners voted in support of the CBID, which will allow local control of the street’s aesthetics, safety, and marketing ventures, filling the gaps in service from the City of Santa Barbara, which governs Coast Village Road. The CBID is funded by property owners as an additional tax assessment.

New Executive Director Beth Sullivan was hired earlier this year, and a new board was seated in November. The board went from 10 to 12 directors, and includes President Trey Pinner, Vice President Robert Miller, Treasurer Mike Chenoweth, Secretary Jason Copus, and directors Trish Davis, Francois DeJohn, Kevin Frank, Jeff Harding, Rob Kooyman, Michael MacElhenny, Thorn Robertson, and Suzi Schomer. 

The group has been busy re-marketing Coast Village Road, and hosted several meet-and-greets with property and business owners, as well as holiday shopping events, and the first-ever Coast Village Week, which promoted businesses along the road with pop-ups, sales, trunk shows, and art exhibits. The group is also preparing for physical improvements on Coast Village, slated for 2024. Loading zones and the crosswalk at the Chevron station will be improved in the spring, and a complete repaving of Coast Village Road from the Hot Springs roundabout to Olive Mill Road is slated for the fall. New landscaping is also planned, but it is anticipated that a sizable sum of money will need to be raised in order to support the medians’ beautification. 

The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2024. For more information about Coast Village Improvement Association happenings, visit www.coastvillageroad.com.

#7 Sharon Byrne Steps Down from Montecito Association 

In an announcement made in July, Montecito Association Executive Director Sharon Byrne announced she would be stepping down from her position in order to assume the leadership of the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF), a national feminist organization.

Byrne took the role of MA executive director in the early aftermath of the 1/9 Debris Flow, coming from the Coast Village Association, where she was also the executive director. She helped the community navigate the rebuilding process, serving as a liaison to County reps and insurance personnel, and played a key role in the messaging of subsequent evacuations during winter weather. Next came the pandemic, where she helped the Association navigate a new normal of remote meetings, sourcing masks and sanitizer, and supporting vulnerable community members. She has also been instrumental in starting the Hands Across Montecito Project, which has helped those affected by homelessness find resources, as well as informing the MA board during community projects such as the 101 widening, Randall Road Debris Basin, local building projects, and more. 

“I am so grateful, and honored, to have been able to serve the Montecito community for the past five years,” she told us in July. “We navigated through some of the worst times in Montecito’s history together. Montecitans are truly amazing, and deeply committed to this community, which is so inspiring to me. Our board was very kind and supportive to me, and I so appreciate them, especially Chair Megan Orloff, and all the incredible people here,” Byrne said. 

Byrne was later recognized as Citizen of the Year at the Montecito Association’s Beautification Day in November. 

#6: Updates to the Rosewood Miramar

In February, we broke the news that the Rosewood Miramar Resort intended to pursue all permits necessary to place a seasonal swim platform in the ocean off Miramar Beach in Montecito. The platform project is an attempt to recreate the beloved ocean swim platform that was once located off the shores of the historic Miramar Hotel; the platform was part of Miramar owner Rick Caruso’s original proposal when he resurrected the iconic oceanfront resort. 

The swim platform, the size of which has not yet been determined, would be anchored to the ocean floor and would likely be in operation from May 1 through October 15 each summer, weather permitting. The platform would be available for use by the public. 

Later in the year we covered a new expansion project at the Rosewood that was born out of the desire to add new employee housing on site as part of the Santa Barbara County Housing Element proposal. In order to add new housing units for employees, the resort site would need to be reconfigured by relocating parking from the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus lanes to the eastern portion of the property; significant utilities would also need to be relocated, according to project representatives. 

The project includes the addition of 16 employee housing units (adding to the four already on site), and the units would be a mix of studios and family units. The units would be located on the eastern portion of the property, and some would be located over storage areas. A parking deck is planned behind the units. 

In addition to the employee housing, on the western portion of the property (the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus lanes), 12 resort-style shops, including a café and a grab-and-go eatery, would be built, with 15 “resort apartments” built above, on the second and third floors. These market-rate apartments would offer long-term tenants the ability to “live at the Miramar,” with access to the amenities of the Resort. These units also contribute to Housing Element numbers, according to Bryce Ross, Caruso’s Senior Vice President of Development, who presented the project to both the Montecito Association and Montecito Board of Architectural Review in October. “The new construction will be absolutely consistent with the Miramar’s architectural style, finishes, quality of construction, and aesthetic,” Ross said. Landscaping, building orientation, and color palette will feel like a natural extension of the current resort, according to reps. According to County staff, modifications will be required for the new project’s height restrictions and setback requirements. There will be 482 parking spaces on the project site after the proposed development is built, but all parking on the site, including the employee housing, will be valet parking. 

The project did not go over well at MBAR, with board members voicing concern over the size, bulk, and scale of the new buildings, which will be three stories on the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus lanes. Others said parking and traffic are potential issues, and the location of the employee housing facing the freeway is of concern. 

Miramar reps are currently reworking the proposal, and will come back to MBAR in 2024 with new, modified renderings. 

#5: Round & Round We Go 

This year marked the majority of the construction for two important projects in Montecito: the roundabouts at Olive Mill Road and San Ysidro Road. 

March marked the beginning of the construction of the San Ysidro Road roundabout, which began just after the reopening of the southbound on-ramp at Olive Mill Road after being closed for four months for construction of that roundabout. 

The majority of the Olive Mill Road roundabout was completed in the fall, with current construction focused on landscaping elements. The San Ysidro Road roundabout is still underway, with the northbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Road expected to reopen by the end of the year. Finishing work will continue on that roundabout in the beginning of the year. 

In related news, construction began on the highway widening through Montecito in June, as Caltrans seeks to add a new peak-period carpool lane in each direction in the Montecito corridor from the Romero Creek Bridge north to Olive Mill Road, along with new on- and off-ramps. There will also be northbound and southbound auxiliary lanes (lanes connecting on-ramps and off-ramps to improve merging) between San Ysidro and Olive Mill roads. New bridges will be built over Romero, San Ysidro, and Oak creeks.

Construction is scheduled from mid-June 2023 through 2026. Visit www.sbroads.com for continual updates on the highway widening and associated projects. 

#4: Coral Casino Updates

Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore and Coral Casino owner Ty Warner was in the news this year regarding changes to the private club, the Coral Casino, on Channel Drive. In April, Warner’s team was in front of the Montecito Planning Commission seeking amendments to two of its 92 conditions of operation of the Biltmore Hotel and Coral Casino Development Plan, which were originally approved in 2005. Both luxury locations have been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. 

The proposed amendments included reducing the number of hotel rooms at the nearby Biltmore Hotel from a maximum of 229 to 192, as well as allowing limited public use – 265 members of the public per day – of the existing second-floor restaurant at the Coral Casino, currently operating as Tydes. In addition, the proposed changes to the CDP include eliminating use of the Coral Casino by Biltmore hotel guests and their guests, reducing the number of allotted monthly memberships to reciprocal clubs, and eliminating the seasonal membership allowance for Biltmore guests. The amendments were approved and then immediately appealed by multiple Coral Casino members; the appeal was then resolved privately in June. 

In July, Warner announced a new partnership with seven-Michelin star chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller, who has been tapped to oversee all food and beverage operations at the Coral Casino. Chef Keller will elevate dining at the yet-to-be-reopened Coral Casino with a newly envisioned and seasonally inspired Continental menu, adding to the Casino’s reputation as a world-class private club and historical coastal destination. And for the first time, Tydes will open to the public so that everyone may enjoy Chef Keller’s Continental Cuisine menu.

Improvements currently taking place at the Coral Casino for an impending reopening include expansion of Fins, the Club’s take-out juice bar, relocation and enlargement of the children’s pool, relocation of the spa and an added plunge pool, addition of a new member’s rooftop lounge, and upgrading of the private dining room. We received multiple letters regarding the increase in the dues at the Coral Casino, which are rumored to be increasing from $800 per month to $2,500 per month. 

The Biltmore is also undergoing alterations, including reconfiguration of the existing stepped terrace outside the La Marina dining room, and an increase in size of the middle and lower terrace. The dining patio is proposed to be staggered, with pockets of plantings to provide privacy between the tables. Reconfigurations of the windows are also proposed, including new double doors, which are proposed to be incorporated into the existing arched window on the south elevation and will match the existing window and doors at the Ty Lounge. Other proposed alterations include the addition of stairs and a new raised landing, and construction of pedestrian gates and existing easterly and westerly pedestrian entrances. There are also rumored changes to the kids’ pool area. 

There is no official date for reopening of either property. 

#3: Recovering from a Wet Winter

The beginning of 2023 was a wet and wild one: on January 9, 2023, exactly five years to the day after the 1/9 Debris Flow in 2018, Montecito and Santa Barbara experienced a 25- to 50-year storm event. We received .7 inches an hour in Montecito during the worst of the storm, totaling 20 inches in the first nine days of the year, which is 200% of a normal year.

Storm impacts were estimated to cost $71M, with 139 impact sites on local roads and 64 impact sites being managed by Flood Control. These impacts included washouts and road closures on East Mountain Drive from Coyote to Cold Spring and Cold Spring to Ashley, on Bella Vista from Romero Canyon to Ladera Lane, and a bridge closure on Padaro Lane. Twenty bridges needed a range of debris removal, slope protection, and abutment repairs. This is in addition to 124,000 cubic yards of material filling up our local debris basins and debris impacting culverts and creeks. 

The Randall Road Debris Basin, which was completed in October 2022, worked exactly as designed, protecting properties below Highway 192, as well as the freeway. “We were close to the system breaking,” said Scott McGolpin, Public Works rep, at the February Montecito Planning Commission hearing. “It bent but it held up. We are pretty proud of that.” There were 1,500 truckloads of material that fell in the Randall Road Debris Basin, with the National Guard helping to clear out the debris. Lake Cachuma went from 35 to 81 percent in 48 hours, and reached full capacity later in January. 

Because of the continued threat of flooding in Montecito, despite being over five years out from the most recent wildfire, the County is beginning a multi-phase project to investigate flood mitigation options, starting with developing a plan for the community of Montecito. A Flood Mitigation Master Plan will be created to guide the planning, design, and construction of improvements to mitigate flooding and flood water impacts to the community. The plan will investigate potential solutions and improvements for flooding in Montecito, for the drainage areas associated with Montecito Creek, Oak Creek, San Ysidro Creek, Romero Creek, and their tributaries.

#2: Iconic Cypress Tree Removed 

One of the most talked about and shared stories this year in Montecito was the removal of the iconic cypress tree in the highway 101 median just south of the San Ysidro Road exit. The beloved tree was removed in preparation of the expansion of the freeway in both directions, and the removal spurred many comments in online and social media forums, with commenters lamenting the loss of the tree, which many called the symbol of “coming home” to Montecito. 

The project team from the Highway 101 project told us at the time of removal in November that the tree was removed as part of the clearing of the median, along with other landscaping and a large sycamore tree. Back in 2014 when the median widening design was studied as part of the Environmental Impact Review for the project, it was determined that expanding the freeway into the median was the best course of action, versus expanding on the sides of the current freeway, which would have entailed acquiring private property through the use of imminent domain. At the time, several landscape designers and an arborist were brought in to evaluate moving the trees – plural, as at the time there were several cypress trees still standing – but it was determined that the trees were not in optimal health and the chance of survival after replanting elsewhere was not good. 

Two of the remaining three cypress trees were lost during heavy storms in early 2017, and more vegetation was lost during the debris flow in January 2018. But still the lone cypress remained, surviving fire, floods, and freeway closures. Its removal struck a chord with the community, with dozens of pictures of the tree posted online after its removal. 

#1: Ring Nets Removed

Despite record rainfall this past winter, and another year of higher-than-average rainfall expected this winter, the six steel debris flow nets that were placed in the canyons above Montecito in 2018 were removed abruptly in November. 

Prior to the removal, the citizen-led group which spearheaded the installation of the nets, The Project for Resilient Communities (TPRC), filed an application with the County of Santa Barbara to extend the five-year emergency permits for the nets to remain in place. All landowners who own the land where the nets are installed granted a five-year extension, and insurance had been secured for the next five years. The group had also applied for an extension with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, an extension with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and had FEMA evaluating funding for 94 percent of the costs to clean out the full net in Upper San Ysidro Canyon, which was filled during the January 9, 2023 storm. 

According to project spokesperson Pat McElroy, TPRC was eager to transfer the management of the nets – which includes the cleaning out of the nets after debris flows – to the County, to no avail. The group sought to donate the nets system as part of an overall strategy for Public Works infrastructure becoming more robust for the community’s protection. 

The nets were installed after the debris flow of 1/9/2018, as part of an overall disaster mitigation plan. This was done with essential support from private citizens and with County, State, federal, and environmental support, when the County was focused on other critical areas of recovery. 

In an article written by McElroy and fellow TPRC founder Brett Matthews, the duo thanked the community for the support of the ring nets the last five years. 

It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later 

On a personal note, I have deeply enjoyed writing this column, Village Beat, nearly every week since 2007. In 2024, I will pass the baton to someone new as I shift my focus to other endeavors. Thank you to the team at the MJ, especially Tim Buckley, who took a chance on me as a wee 20-something reporter, fresh off an internship at KEYT, and gave me the space and ink to cover some incredible stories over the last 16 years. I have cherished being a small part of this special little community. I can continue to be reached at kelly@homesinsantabarbara.com, and will continue to write about real estate and other special projects in this publication.