Largura Project Hits Another Wall

After an exhausting four-hour hearing on Wednesday, December 19, Montecito hillside residents Dave and Kay Peterson won a Montecito Planning Commission fight to block Robert Largura’s proposed foothill home on Bella Vista Lane. The commission voted 4-1 to grant conceptual approval to Peterson’s appeal of MBAR’s go-ahead of the Largura project. Clair Gottsdanker was the sole dissenting vote, saying she felt the project fell within the quantifiably standards set by the Montecito Community Plan.

The MPC continued final action on the issue until January, allowing their staff time to come up with revised findings to support MPC’s position. The extra time-window could also give the Largura team – made up of some Montecito’s most influential development pros like Bendy White, Bob Easton, Sam Maphis, and Brian Felix – the opportunity to offer a compromised solution.

The current rejected proposal, which was supported by county staff and approved by MBAR on September 24 after six hearings, calls for a 3,985 square-foot house, an attached three-car garage, an 800 square-foot guesthouse, and a bluff top infinity pool. It started its rough ride in the permit pipeline in early 2006, and faced several redesign challenges from both MBAR and MPC.