Montecito has its own Board of Architectural Review, its own design standards, and its own way of doing things. Luxury estates, fire rebuilds, and sensitive-site projects are our everyday work here.
Schedule Your Free Site Visit →Technically part of unincorporated Santa Barbara County, Montecito operates with a distinct regulatory identity. The Montecito Board of Architectural Review (MBAR) applies design criteria that emphasize scale, rural character, and the protection of view corridors and mature landscaping. The Montecito Community Plan governs land use. Fire hazard and fire rebuild rules shape almost every project.
Plans that work elsewhere often do not work here. We tailor projects to Montecito’s standards from day one — siting, massing, materials, landscape — so MBAR meetings go smoothly and owners are not surprised by redesign cycles.
Preliminary and final review at the Montecito Board of Architectural Review. Concept vetting, plan revisions, and presentation strategy.
Post-disaster rebuild permits. Like-for-like thresholds, ember-resistant construction requirements, and expedited review paths.
Grading, retaining walls, and geotechnical coordination on hillside parcels. Erosion control, drainage, and fire access.
Strategies for siting additions and new homes that protect neighbor relationships and avoid ordinance view-corridor issues.
Main residence additions, accessory structures, guest houses, pool houses — coordinated across architect, landscape, and engineering.
State ADU law applies here — but MBAR design standards still matter. We know how to thread both.
Let us walk the property and map your path to approval.