Santa Barbara policymakers are working toward creating a streamlined objective design review for developers if the proposed project meets preapproved standards for architectural styles and zoning density.
The new program, called the Objective Design and Development Standards — which city staff have taken to calling the “ODDS” — is part of the city’s plan to make building in Santa Barbara more predictable and quicker for developers, while also ensuring that new projects fit within the already existing aesthetic that has defined the city.
City Planner Rosie Dyste went over the latest 200-page draft of the ODDS for the Ordinance Committee on Tuesday, before sending it forward to the full City Council for approval, hopefully before the end of the year.