In 1966, Peter W. Ehlen & Associates was established in Santa Barbara. From its initial beginning as a one-man office, the firm has grown to include five registered structural engineers and two registered civil engineers. In 1984, John Spiess joined the firm and over the years, his involvement in the firm's operation has expanded. In 1994, the firm was reorganized and renamed Ehlen & Spiess, Inc. In 1999, Jeff Haight became a principal and in 2003 the name of the firm was changed to Ehlen Spiess & Haight, Inc.

Since its inception, the firm has participated in the design of over 2,000 commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings. Many of the projects have been school facilities, under the administration of the Division of the State Architect (DSA). The balance of the work consists of a wide variety of projects including new commercial projects, public works, adaptive re-use of historic structures, seismic retrofit of existing buildings, estate homes and custom residences, seismic anchorage of hospital equipment, and structural condition assessment reports. The experience background of the firm's registered engineers includes timber, steel, concrete and masonry.

It has been our policy to maintain a continuing education program to keep abreast of the latest developments and current code requirements. The building codes we have designed for include the California Building Code, California Code of Regulations, Title 21 and Title 24, California State Historical Building Code, and the Uniform Code for Building Conservation.

Throughout the years, our effort has been directed toward providing a personalized and thorough service in conformance with the best current structural engineering practice.