With the city’s General Plan update and the conversion of Cliff Drive from a state highway to a city street underway, new possibilities for the future of the Mesa are opening up.  Architect and Mesa resident Dennis Thompson thought it was a good time to focus attention on the Mesa, and he asked several other Mesa architects to join him to create an assessment of the Mesa and a vision for its future.

In December of 2007, the “Mesa Architects” began meeting.   They started with a brainstorming session and then devoted a Saturday morning to walking Cliff Drive to evaluate its current condition and to discuss ideas for future improvements.  The group continued meeting over the next several months, creating maps, collecting photos of the Mesa as it is now, and gathering inspirational images from other cities.  They collected their ideas into a slide show and presented it to a Mesa Village meeting in Spring ‘08. Meetings with City Council members, Senior City Planning Staff and MTD officials followed, as did a draft Mesa Land Use Element and a study of Cliff Drive improvements.  The group intends to keep refining the ideas presented here, sharing them with interested groups and encouraging their neighbors to join them in this planning effort.

The Mesa Architects have a combined total of 80 years of residence on the Mesa and over 190 years in Santa Barbara.  Dennis Thompson and Jeff King work together at Thompson Naylor Architects, where they design socially and environmentally responsible residential and institutional projects; both are LEED Accredited Professionals.  Jim Bell’s interest and success lie primarily in incorporating energy efficient, green and natural building alternatives, such as straw and earthen materials into local projects.   John Kelley specializes in environmentally friendly home design, teaches green building classes, and works to promote sustainability in the Santa Barbara area.   David Van Hoy practices architecture in a collaborative manner, applying 30 years of design and planning experience toward facilitating forward-thinking solutions to the human condition.  Derrik Eichelberger practices landscape architecture with Arcadia Studio.  Chris Cottrell is an intern architect with a background in environmental science, and a LEED Accredited Professional.  Tom Morrison works mainly as a consultant, doing the technical management portion of major projects in the fields of commercial, institutional, and residential architecture.