Not only was our newest listing, 700 Park Lane, DESIGNED by George Washington Smith with gardens by Lockwood de Forest—a rare collaborative project by the coveted team—it was built for a man who fought hard to preserve Montecito as one of the most desirable and envied zip codes in the world.

John A. Jameson, an attorney from Chicago and the original owner of 700 Park Lane, led the crusade to keep Montecito rustic and residential.

The first threat arose in 1927 when the widening and commercialization of Coast Highway was first proposed. The thought of billboards covering up the surrounding environment was not taken lightly by John Jameson. Instead, Jameson decided to contribute his own funds in order to create California’s first scenic parkway, complete with planted dividers and landscaped edges, banning all billboards and commercial housing. In a Montecito Parkway promotional brochure Jameson questions, “Which does the motorist want to see - signs or scenes?”. From then on, the Montecito Parkway, stretching from San Ysidro Road to Olive Mill Road, was the model for the California freeway system.

Again in 1929, Jameson was triumphant in his efforts to resist change in Montecito. Over-development came into question when builders would begin objectionable projects along the edges of grand estates. To prevent these homes from going up, estate owners were forced to pay a premium for the land. John Jameson and the Montecito Protective and Improvement Association were able to convince the county to pass the Planning and Enabling Act which would protect communities, like Montecito, from over-development by controlling lot splits and restricting lot sizes to the average of 8 acres with no lot under 1 acre. In addition, the act would keep Montecito’s utilities underground whenever possible.