Biltmore Project at the Land Use Meeting
The Montecito Association Land Use Committee (LUC) January meeting was held Tuesday, January 7, in person at the Montecito Library community room and on Zoom. The meeting was called to order by its Chair, Dorinne Lee Johnson. Attendees were the Land Use Committee members, MA Executive Director Houghton Hyatt, MA President Doug Black, land surveyor consultant Mark Lloyd and attorney Chip Wullbrandt representing the Four Seasons Biltmore, and Montecito Sanitation District (MSD) General Manager John Weigold attending for an added agenda item.
First up was the presentation by Lloyd and Wullbrandt for the Four Seasons Biltmore. They thanked the LUC for their support of their project with the Montecito Planning Commission, which ultimately approved the project plans. They presented where the project currently stands, and what is being further proposed, saying, “The cottages have been moved temporarily to Hill Road; we are getting our grading permits and will dig the pool soon. We would love your support of the parking plan for Hill Road which runs along the north side of the Biltmore property. It used to have entries into the cottages and that has gone away. Hill Road has become less welcoming and parking on the southside of the road is not available due to the sidewalks. We are asking Santa Barbara County to allow us to make improvements on Hill Road, to re-add parking spaces immediately adjacent to the Biltmore cottages, and to make a path on the southside down Hill Road to the beach. We presented this to SBC Public Works who appeared to accept it. We are hoping SBC will not make us go through hoops, and we can move this plan along with the rest of the project. We presented it at the SBC Board of Supervisors meeting today, and to First District Supervisor Roy Lee, and they were happy with it. We appreciate the opportunity to talk with you for your support.”
The Biltmore team’s slide presentation showed the approved project. Lloyd’s additional remarks were, “We are remodeling the existing buildings, and redoing the pools. We agreed to a 5% reduction in water area for both pools and ended up with a 12% reduction. We are moving along with the project and well on our way to a Summer 2025 opening.”
Q&A from the LUC addressed details on the islands, emergency access and parking on Hill Road. Lloyd and Wullbrandt replied, “There are two access bridges to the island. The use of the islands is for guests at the Biltmore. We reduced the number of rooms to 138, so 270-280 people can be at the resort. This area is not a waterpark, this is a tranquil place. This is an exemplary private time area for our guests. The main pool is 500 feet from end to end. The family pool is 200 feet, catering to families with small children. The islands and pool are restricted to guests only, who have to show their guest ID. The island/pool hours are dawn to dusk. There is emergency access 24/7 for first responders to the property and the islands. We really tightened this project up.
“The south side of Hill Road was never intended for parking as part of the Montecito Plan. We found out that guests check in and valet park, and then end up parking on the road near their cottage. So, we are going to take one room out of the cottages and make that into a parking space. Our new design allows for increased parking to 22 spaces that is safer for the public, and a new public trail for public use. We are not asking for a new use, as parking is part of the approved plan. Ultimately the SBC Public Works will dictate the type of path on Hill Road. Ours will be five feet wide and friendly to all the public.”
Of keen interest to everyone are the Butterfly Beach stairways along Channel Drive which are dangerous with broken off parts. Lloyd said, “Mr. Warner will be able to fix the public stairways as part of the project. We approached SBC BOS prior about fixing these and did not hear back. So today we approached First District SBC Supervisor Roy Lee at the BOS meeting, and he agreed to help us get it fixed asap.”
Wullbrandt added, “Ty Warner looks at Butterfly Beach and the Biltmore as his backyard and he tells me that he wants it to look the best. For its upcoming 100th anniversary, Ty has made the classiest swim rafts in the shape of butterflies with respect to Butterfly Beach, and we are looking to have the swim rafts off Butterfly Beach, like they were there years ago. Similar to the Rosewood Miramar Beach rafts. We are proposing that our rafts will be out there early April.”
Lee concluded the discussion and welcomed the Biltmore team back at any time for their updates.
Next up was MSD GM John Weigold, who reviewed their work on the creek beds in Montecito that were damaged from the winter storms since 2023. He emphasized that Montecito Sanitation had to go to multiple agencies to get the permits to work in the creek beds, namely SBC Flood Control, Regional/State Water Control Board, California Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Services, and the Army Corps of Engineers. The project cost totaled $2.3 million (see photo). He gave a PowerPoint presentation which showed the before and after photographs of the creeks remedial work.
Weigold stated, “We looked at different options to make the repair work a permanent solution and decided on rip-rap/boulder protection. FEMA wanted it restored to the way it was before, which does not make sense because the creeks will get damaged again. We needed to repair and protect the creek areas at Ennisbrook, San Ysidro, Riven Rock, and two other Montecito creeks. We are still waiting for FEMA to approve the project which we sent to them in 2023. FEMA pays 85%, and the district will pay the rest – $180,000. In the future my hope is that we can do the work right away as an emergency response without going through all these agencies.”
The meeting adjourned after Weigold’s presentation.
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