The Shelby housing project had mostly been on pause since 1978 when Dr. Glynne Couvillion bought 14 acres above Cathedral Oaks Road, next door to what is now Glen Annie Golf Club. Zoning changes, growth wars, and drought took their toll, but the Couvillions applied for an expedited permit in 2023, which the city returned, resulting in the developers filing suit. In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Judge Thomas Anderle told the City of Goleta he was ready to issue a writ of mandate to require that the project permits be processed, if not for one issue still remaining in the lawsuit between the Couvillion family and the city.
The Couvillions originally proposed 60 single-family residences in the early 2000s, but after California gave projects that included affordable housing a quicker path to approval, they modified the project in 2023. After voluntarily moving lot lines to respect creek setbacks, the project’s homes dropped to 56 in number, 13 of which would be for low-income families. They used the provisions of Senate Bill 330 to lock in city rules existing in 2023 but also expected to retain rights received in 2011 during the first iteration of its permit entitlements. Goleta disagreed.
The city argued that SB 330 applied only to new developments, while Shelby’s rights dated to 2011; the project had to choose one of the other. In his ruling, Anderle noted that California’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA), of which SB 330 is a part, intended to promote affordable housing. Interpreting the two time periods with an eye to adding housing was the correct way to look at this, he wrote.