Montecito Planning Hearings Postponed

Westmont officials and a group opposing the proposed update to the college’s Approved Campus Master Plan have both requested that the Thursday, March 2, Montecito Planning Commission hearing be postponed as they continue in mediation.

“Our goal has been to do the right thing by meeting with, listening to and working with our neighbors as we seek to update our Approved Campus Master Plan,” says Westmont President Stan Gaede. “We have held more than 100 meetings with neighbors, requested full Environmental Impact Reports when the county planning staff said that wasn’t necessary and agreed to a second EIR to ensure that all questions were answered.”

As an outcome of those meetings, Westmont has proposed an environmentally superior plan that locates the largest academic buildings closer to the center of campus and away from neighbors.

Last Saturday, Westmont officials participated in 10 hours of mediation with representatives of the Mountain Drive Community Association and Citizens Concerned Over Westmont Expansion.

“We continue to work with those who have concerns,” says Gaede. “The mediation was productive, but was not completed. We will need an additional meeting to reach some kind of resolution.”

In order to allow for the mediation process to continue, Westmont has joined with the others in requesting the postponement of Thursday’s MPC hearing.

The MPC meeting has been continued to Wednesday, March 15, at 9 a.m. Westmont’s proposal is expected to be heard around 10 a.m. because there is one item on the agenda before Westmont.