Debate over Santa Barbara’s De la Guerra Plaza Goes Back 100 Years

[Click to enlarge] De la Guerra Plaza rendering, view from De la Guerra St. | Credit: Courtesy

The latest plans for De la Guerra Plaza recently achieved unanimous approval during a concept review with the City of Santa Barbara’s Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC), though the journey to this point has been anything but smooth. After debates over the grass lawn — which was nixed in favor of hardscape — the pavilion stage feature, and several redesigns, the current plans resemble a classic European city square.

RRM Design Group’s proposal will raise the entire plaza to create one even surface, and will include new landscaping, a bubbler water feature, and a Chumash mosaic. The redesign has been a long time coming, but with so many past efforts that failed for lack of public support, lack of consensus on design, or natural disaster, will this be the one that finally makes it through?