It is being said that the need for higher density in Santa Barbara was driven by the need to make apartments competitive economically with condos and commercial space. I don’t know where this narrative came from, but that had nothing to do with the AUD Priority Housing Overlay. [AUD stands for Average Unit-size Density, originally proposed at 37-63 dwelling units per acre.]
The city started work on a General Plan Update (GPU) in 2006. By 2010 the city was at an impasse between those who wanted to up densities everywhere and those who didn’t want to up densities anywhere. Since changes to the city’s general plan require five affirmative votes, it appeared as if there might not be a GPU.
In an effort to reach a compromise I proposed that an experiment be made. The development community said that increased density would result in workforce-affordable housing. In October 2010, to test if that would be the case, I suggested that in a very limited part of the city’s commercial and light industrial areas densities be increased for rental projects for the life of the building. (The rough map I prepared is above.) Presumably units would be less expensive by design. Councilmember Dale Francisco added the 250 units or eight-year time limit for the point at which the city would examine the results to see if the program was providing the kind of housing Santa Barbara needs.