The summer of 2024 brought the welcome addition of Sarah Marshall to SEPPS. Sarah’s previous work at Santa Barbara County Planning & Development in both the Development Review and Long-Range Planning Divisions, and at the City of Ojai Community Development Department brings a wealth of public agency experience and perspective to SEPPS and our clients....
In spring of 2024 SEPPS was honored to receive the Planning Firm Award from the Central Coast Section of the American Planning Association (APA). The award honors a planning firm that has produced distinguished work that continues to influence the professional practice of planning. SEPPS was awarded for providing professional planning, land use consultation, permit...
SEPPS is proud to have sponsored the UCSB Reads program this year featuring Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery. In Happy City, Montgomery demonstrates that the manner in which we build our cities alters the way we think, feel, and behave as individuals and as a society. The book was...
On the fifth anniversary of the Montecito debris flow, Associate Planner Haley Kolosieke was proud to reflect on one of her first projects with SEPPS. Haley and Suzanne Elledge worked with The Project for Resilient Communities to permit six debris flow prevention nets over creeks throughout Montecito. The project involved coordination with multiple public agencies...
SEPPS Senior Planner Steve Fort attended the ribbon cutting for Plaza Granada, the new gateway to Santa Barbara’s theater and arts district. The Plaza Granada features new landscaping and lighting, decorative walkway and driveway treatments, and a stunning mural painted by local muralists. Plaza Granada is the culmination of several years of dedication and...
SEPPS Senior Planner Heidi Jones secured a City of Santa Barbara approval for this 23-unit rental housing project in early 2020. The existing mixed-use building was prime for adaptive reuse and resulted in providing much needed rental housing stock in the city. Utilizing the City’s Average Unit-Size Density (AUD) program and State Density Bonus Law...
SEPPS was excited for the opportunity to virtually collaborate with other local volunteers to create a new vision for downtown Santa Barbara during the 2020 Design Charrette hosted by AIA Santa Barbara. Haley Kolosieke was a team leader for Team 4A which focused on reinvigorating the 700 and 800 blocks of State Street. Their team...
SEPPS joined an all women project team in securing project approvals at both the County Planning Commission as well as the County Board of Supervisors. (Photo taken prior to Covid-19)
I have had the pleasure of serving on the Board of the Coastal Housing Coalition (CHC) since 2014. The CHC is a non-profit organization and the voice of local employers and employees in support of workforce housing. The Coalition’s founding mission is to educate the community about the critical need for middle-income housing and to...
Laurel Perez, Principal Planner with SEPPS, joined fellow planners at the Central Coast APA Awards Night in celebrating Paul Wack! An inspirational professor in urban planning and a mentor and leader for many of us in the planning field! Cheers Paul and to all who received an Award!
SEPPS Senior Planner Trish Allen, along with Assistant Planner Holly Garcin, attended a groundbreaking ceremony recently! Happy to be a part of a project that will bring economic revenue to our community.
A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to speak about land use planning with third graders at Julien Hathaway Elementary School in Oxnard, California. I have an uncanny talent of making my husband fall asleep as soon as I mention “entitlements”, “zoning clearances” or any acronym specific to the planning world (CUP, LUP, SCD,...
Starting this past August, First Solar, Inc. will commence construction of Santa Barbara County’s first utility-scale solar power facility in sunny Cuyama Valley. Facing the hottest years on record, and the deleterious effects of global warming looming locally and globally, Santa Barbara County can claim a role in helping California meet its long-standing renewable energy...
SEPPS Inc. is pleased to announce the newest addition to the SEPPS team! Our new office manager Megan Hursey! A graduate from UC Santa Barbara in Psychology and having grown up in Ventura County, Megan is already becoming a huge asset to the office. We are so blessed to have a growing and productive team!...
A couple planners from our office were able to attend the American Planning Association’s Planning Awards last Saturday, April 23rd at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Ventura, CA. Awards were given to the City of Santa Paula, the Goleta Slough Management Plan, and to Cal Poly Community Regional Planning Students for their efforts in their...
Our SEPPS team and family sail trip was cancelled due to rain. Our Plan B was the AVA Valley Project in the Funk Zone of Santa Barbara to enjoy excellent food and wine with our families and friends! We had an amazingly fun time with one another.
March 2016 By Suzanne Elledge, President & Principal Planner As we launch our new website on the eve of our 22nd anniversary, I want to take the opportunity to reflect back on the past two decades that we have served as local land use planners in one of the most beautiful cities in the world....
SEPPS has a long and successful history of representing local non-profits that provide art, educational, health and social services to our region. We are honored to have represented these projects that enrich our community and its quality of life. Over the years we have been privileged to obtain project approval for Santa Barbara and Goleta...
SEPPS Principal Planner, Laurel Perez, has been working as part of the volunteer group called the “Mesa Architects” whose goal is to strengthen the community, self-sufficiency and sustainability of the Mesa neighborhood in Santa Barbara. The Mesa Architects proudly received the 2011 Barry Siegel Award presented by COAST (the Coalition for Sustainable Transportation) for their...
Our planners take pride in volunteering their time and expertise to a variety of community planning efforts. SEPPS planners have recently participated in: Ongoing efforts to improve the entitlement process in the County of Santa Barbara Ad hoc committees to assist the City and County of Santa Barbara to develop a streamlined permit process for...
