Alta Mesa Neighborhood
Back to Mesa Development Activity
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- To view a list of building permit (BLD) activity in the neighborhood for the previous six months, click on Recent Building Permit Activity.
- To view a list of residential Zoning Information Report (ZIR) applications, click on Recent ZIR Applications.
- To view a list of pending and approved projects (MST) in the neighborhood for the previous six months, click on Pending & Approved Projects.
The following information was derived from the original General Plan for the City of Santa Barbara.
Neighborhood Boundary
Area: approx. 383 acres
North: the southern edge of the Mesa Hills
South: the ocean
East: Oceano Avenue
West: Meigs Road
Schools, Parks and Places of Interest
The East Mesa neighborhood contains the federal lighthouse, 1000 steps (access to the beach), Shoreline Park, La Mesa Park and the Washington Elementary School.
Neighborhood Profile
With the exception of the multifamily district in the vicinity of Oceano and Barranca Avenues, the East Mesa is uniformly developed with small-lot, single-family residences. The General Plan reflects this with a density classification of five dwelling units to the acre. Despite the predominant single-family development, there has been in the past pressure for rezoning to allow multifamily developments along Cliff Drive. The General Plan has shown an area around the Mesa Shopping Center in a density classification of twelve dwelling units to the acre. Most of this area is now zoned R-2 and is developed with garden apartments and duplexes.
Shoreline Drive serves both as a necessary element of the circulation system and as a scenic drive. For many years the people of Santa Barbara have had the foresight to reserve the oceanfront for public use and local residents are now enjoying the benefits of such foresight. The philosophy of preserving scenic and recreational areas for future generations should be continued and reinforced by efforts in this generation, adding to our heritage and thus passing along greater resources to the future.
Neighborhood Boundary
Area: approx. 651 acres
North: by the base of the steep hillside
South: the existing development oriented to Cliff Drive
East: Loma Alta Drive on the east
West: by the City limits
Schools, Parks and Places of Interest
Parks in the area include Hilda Ray, Escondido, La Coronilla, and the Honda Valley and Thornbury properties. Two city reservoirs are in the neighborhood. The McKinley Elementary School is located in the Alta Mesa area.
Neighborhood Profile
The topography in this entire area varies from rolling to steep. It is almost entirely zoned E-1 permitting lot sizes of 15,000 square feet. When minimum lot sizes were smaller, the development trend had been to standard subdivisions in which lots too small for the topography were created. Improved regulations effecting grading and lot size alters this situation so that appropriate development will take place on the remaining vacant land.
Most of the land has been developed or committed to public use. The steep hills along the northern border have been classified as major hillside open spaces by the Open Space Element and have been zoned A-1 and A-2. Still more restrictive zoning will probably be appropriate for these areas.