A second appeal of the exterior lights at Golden Inn & Village in Santa Ynez was denied March 13 by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, but as with the first appeal, a change ordered by commissioners may provide neighbors with some relief from glare.

Commissioners unanimously denied the appeal filed by neighbor Mark Brooks over glare from parking lot and driveway lights at the affordable senior apartment complex on the southeast corner of Highway 246 and North Refugio Road.

But commissioners directed the owners of the complex to change the color temperature of the lights on six poles, which the project’s electrical engineer said could cost “thousands of dollars” each.

Appeal of changes to Golden Inn in Santa Ynez denied by supervisors An appeal of changes made to the lighting and drainage plans for the Golden Inn and Village in Santa Ynez was unanimously denied last week by …

The brainchild of noted entertainment reporter Rona Barrett, the Golden Inn & Village was approved by the County Board of Supervisors in December 2014 and developed by the County Housing Authority and the Rona Barrett Foundation.

During construction, changes were made to a number of features, including the lighting, and following the opening of the complex in November 2016, neighbors complained of light pollution from the project.

The Planning Commission retroactively approved the changes to the approved plan in September 2017, a decision that was appealed the following month by Mark Books and Patti Stewart, both of whom live on Lucky Lane adjacent to the site.

Their appeal focused on light pollution in their neighborhood from the 20-foot light poles that replaced the approved 8- and 14-foot poles and flooding of their properties allegedly caused by a failure to construct the stormwater basins as approved.