Santa Barbara City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to amend an ordinance that would allow developers to move forward with project applications even if preexisting code violations are found during the review process.
Applicants will now be able to choose to correct violations themselves as part of the project, or “defer” the correction — in effect promising to fix the problem later without any delays in permitting or construction.
Planning Division Zoning Supervisor Marisela Salinas provided a breakdown of the changes, saying the amendments were intended to “streamline the review process” for new projects. According to the current city policy, if any violations are found through the review process, “they must be corrected as part of the current project.”