After conceptually reviewing plans for 18 residential lots on rural land east of Lompoc, Santa Barbara County planning commissioners had a unified message Wednesday for the landowner-applicant: Forget it.

Strong concerns about the subdivision proposed by Arnie Parnell on his 514 acres of agriculturally zoned land next to La Purisima Golf Course were voiced even by Commissioner Joe Valencia, usually a staunch defender of property rights.

“This project is very inconsistent” with county land-use policies for rural areas, Valencia noted, echoing conclusions reached by the county planning staff in its report to the commission.

“It's very obvious,” added the commissioner who represents the 4th District, which includes Parnell's property.

The site is on the north side of Highway 246, three miles east of the Lompoc city limits.

“There is no merit (to) this project application,” Valencia insisted, “none whatsoever. We should just send it back.”

Although no vote was taken after the one-hour “conceptual review,” all the other commissioners said they also found the project unacceptable.

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The minimum parcel size allowed for Parnell's property is 100 acres. His development pre-application requested 18 residential lots, each zoned for one acre or more, with the proposed parcels ranging from two to 20 acres. A separate parcel, with the remaining 382 acres, would be kept agricultural.

However, his proposal would require changing the county's general plan, and would conflict with land-use policies discouraging residential densities that high in rural areas, according to the staff report. The one-acre zoning sought by Parnell “currently only exists within urban areas of the county,” it noted, “where small-lot development is common and represents the established development pattern.”

Numerous speakers, and most commissioners, contended Parnell's application needs to also be considered alongside other development proposals for that Highway 246 corridor. Those include plans for an 80-room resort hotel and 85 privately-owned “casitas” on vacant portions of La Purisima Golf Course, and a request by several landowners to subdivide 178 acres into five-acre ranchettes along Tularosa Road, east of the golf course.

The consensus Wednesday was that the county's general plan for the Lompoc Valley, dating back to 1980, should be updated before requests to change that long-range planning document are considered in piecemeal fashion.

“I don't think we can continue to ignore the need for comprehensive planning in that area,” remarked Commissioner Michael Cooney. “My view is we need to be very careful about any concessions regarding rural lands being converted to urban uses. I'm certainly not going to participate in an amendment to the general plan for this property that would allow lots less than 40 acres.”

While conceding the 18 residential lots and one large, agricultural parcel proposed by Parnell would likely be denied, Commissioner Dan Blough suggested redesigning the project with 12 lots averaging about 40 acres each. “I could support that,” he said. “I see no potential to approve 19 lots (because) it sets a bad precedent for the rest of the county.”

Immediately after the hearing in Santa Barbara, project architect Bob Easton said he will meet with Parnell to discuss options for redesigning the project

“I think it was a pretty clear message” from the commission that the original proposal would be doomed for failure, he acknowledged. “I think the reading we got today was not entirely negative,” though.

Several speakers urged that a general-plan update be completed before any such projects are allowed to go forward. The planning staff has estimated rewriting that planning blueprint for the Lompoc Valley could take up to five years - if county supervisors authorize the expensive undertaking, at a time when the county faces major financial struggles.

“There's really no policy justification for moving forward” with Parnell's requested subdivision, said Lansing Duncan, a Santa Ynez Valley resident and former planning commissioner. “It's in clear conflict with longstanding county policy. We're seeing the continuing disintegration of our rural ag lands,” he added.

However, Easton noted that the property is bordered to the north by residential ranchettes in Cebada Canyon.

“What we're proposing is a residential use consistent with the immediately surrounding” properties, he said, explaining that the western portion of the property - bordering La Purisima Mission State Park - would be left undeveloped, as would the southern portions along Highway 246.

Chuck Schultz can be reached at 925-2691, Ext. 2241, or cschultz@lompocrecord.com.