Westmont Magazine Shining Light on Las Barrancas

The Santa Barbara City Council recognized Westmont’s faculty homes in Las Barrancas with Solar Design Recognition Awards in December 2011.The neighborhood ranks as one of the first in the Santa Barbara County to become completely solar. Russell Smelley, former president of the Las Barrancas Homeowners Association, Reed Sheard, vice president of advancement and information technology, and Ben Siebert, CEO of Planet Solar Inc., accepted the award.
The 2008 Tea Fire destroyed 14 homes in Las Barrancas, which were rebuilt with photovoltaic panels. The college then retrofitted the other 27 residences.“I’m particularly pleased that the community turned this devastating event into something wonderfully sustainable,” Smelley says.

For more information about the Solar Design Recognition Program, go to the website www.Santabarbaraca.gov/Resident/Home/Guidelines.