Sandpiper Golf Club has remained unchanged since its building in 1971 on a beautiful swath of Pacific Ocean-facing cliffs, but new development is underway. A meeting on the scope of the upcoming environmental impact review takes place on Wednesday, January 15, at 5 p.m., at Goleta City Hall (130 Cremona Dr.) to receive public comments on issues that range from aesthetics and air quality to tribal cultural resources and utilities.
Owner Ty Warner has been priming the pump publicly, taking out a full-age ad in this newspaper a couple weeks ago to claim that he faces closing Sandpiper because the City of Goleta has taken so long to process his application. He states he’s put $3 million into plans and another half-million to the city for the EIR in the past four years for a project expected to cost $130 million.
Warner, an 80-year-old billionaire who is the “Ty” of Beanie Baby maker Ty Inc., also owns the San Ysidro Ranch, Coral Casino, and Biltmore hotel, as well as the Montecito Club, which completed a $119 million clubhouse and golf course renovation in 2019. The country club renovation was first submitted in 2005, received a “mitigated negative declaration” by 2009 — indicating a less-than-significant environmental impact — and final design approvals in 2014 from Santa Barbara historic and architectural boards, an S.B. city planner outlined.
Though Sandpiper visited design review in 2020, its first permit application was submitted in December 2022, Goleta planning stated. It was deemed incomplete, as were two subsequent applications, within 30 days of submittal, until approval in February 2024. The EIR consultant process came next, with a project kickoff meeting held last September. The city said it was committed to moving expeditiously on this project, though it sometimes depended on cooperation and communication with the applicant, as well as the timely submittal of technical plans and fees. Goleta expected the permit process to take about one more year, after which the project goes to the Coastal Commission for approval.
Sandpiper’s renovation would increase the clubhouse size from 9,000 square feet to 37,000, about 20,000 of that in a basement level. Warner’s architects envision modernizing the dark chimney-stack-shaped structures to a glass-fronted, grass-roofed set of undulating two-story structures with a cylindrical glass elevator in the center. The project description describes “a turf roof which would emulate the natural landscape of the project site and complement the grassy hills, blufftops, and ocean waves.”
The clubhouse and its patios would hold a café and restaurant, cocktail bar, lounge, and kitchens, with capacity increasing by about 100 seats, from 132 to 233. Parking goes from 139 spots to 165, to include eight accessible and 18 for electric vehicles. The city is asked to vacate its rights to 22,000 square feet (sf) of the public right-of-way along Hollister Avenue for parking spaces and driveways, while Sandpiper would give 94sf to the city.
A new layout reduces the 18-hole course from 174 acres to 71, which decreases the amount of concrete cart paths and irrigation. A drought-tolerant species of turf will be planted, native plants added around the course, and Devereux Creek restored. Warner also plans to dedicate to the city five acres Bell Canyon, the westernmost part of Sandpiper’s property, for coastal access. The restoration work, and permitting involved, would be a separate project.
Last year, Warner announced to great acclaim that the Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station would be restored as part of the Sandpiper project. Before Goleta’s historic commission last April, his architect on that restoration said, “Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts stands behind this project,” when a commenter asked whether the return on a café could possibly match the outlay required to restore the 1929 building.
Other improvements described are undergrounding utilities along Hollister, improving crosswalks, and creating a trail and sidewalk to the club and the Sperling Preserve. The project seeks to add Sandpiper to the Goleta West Sanitary District’s sewer lines, which already run under Hollister, and eliminate the current septic systems.
According to the project description, the project would require an amendment to the city’s General Plan, CEQA compliance via an EIR, a conditional use permit, as well as approval from the Coastal Commission. The scoping meeting on January 15 is to receive information and no decisions will be made. For more, see the city’s Sandpiper project page: https://www.cityofgoleta.org/your-city/planning-and-environmental-review/ceqa-review/sandpiper-golf-course.
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