Two New Members Appointed to Santa Barbara Single Family Design Board

The Santa Barbara City Council appointed two new members to the city’s Single Family Design Board during its latest meeting on Tuesday. Licensed architects Jennifer Lewis and Dawn Sherry were selected out of a field of six applicants interviewed during the council meeting to fill the two open positions.

The city’s five-person Single Family Design Board was created in 2007, and it typically oversees smaller projects or single-family residential developments to ensure proposed designs are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods and plans adhere to the city’s guidelines. 

Lewis, who received the most votes out of any candidate, was appointed to serve a two-year term with an end date of December 31, 2025, while Sherry will serve a one-year term through 2024.

During her interview, Lewis said that she was educated through the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art and has experience working as a docent with the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Sherry has owned and operated her own architecture firm, Sherry & Associates, for more than three decades. She previously served eight years on the city’s Architectural Board of Review, where she sat for terms as the board’s chair and vice chair. She said she was very familiar with the city’s current review process, and that an “efficient, effective, and fair design review process “is necessary for the success of any design board.

Both were approved by all five members of the board present during the hearing.