DELAYED BLOSSOMING:

A historic show of environmentalist and developer cooperation
hit a snag at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting
this week when a vote to officially approve the revised plans for
the Bean Blossom mansion on the Gaviota Coast was put on hold until
July. The project seemed blessed with unprecedented goodwill when
the would-be developer and various environmental interests revised
the plans for the house at the request of the Gaviota Coast
Conservancy. The new plans – which secured preliminary board
approval last month – reduced the total floor space to just less
than 10,000 square feet, shortened the house to one story instead
of two, and redesigned the roof line and foundation site to render
the house less visible. But the new plans remain far from finalized
and have yet to receive final approval from the landowner, thus
spurring the delayed vote.