How thoughtful planning shaped a city
By SHEILA LODGE
If it had not been for certain individuals, Santa Barbara would be a very different place. It would not have the distinctive built environment for which it is famous if two civic activists — Pearl Chase, who gets much more credit than she deserves, and Bernhard Hoffmann, who gets far less credit than he deserves — had not worked hard to urge and guide Santa Barbara towards use of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style.
Santa Barbara is distinctive in that it took charge of planning its future earlier than most American cities. Santa Barbara’s first planning commission had its initial meeting in 1923. It was one of the first planning commissions in the country.
On June 29, 1925, a major earthquake struck Santa Barbara. Eleven days after the earthquake, the City Council passed an ordinance establishing an Architectural Board of Review, which reviewed new building projects for appropriate design, size and neighborhood compatibility.
— Adapted from Santa Barbara: An Uncommonplace American Town by former mayor Sheila Lodge.
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