February 15 marks the deadline given by the state for local agencies to certify a Housing Element for the next eight years, but both the city and county of Santa Barbara are running behind schedule as the actual work of planning for more than 24,000 units to be built before 2031 has proved much more difficult than anticipated.
At this point, the Housing Element should be adopted and sent to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for final review, but so far only the City of Goleta is on track to meet the state’s deadline.
While Goleta adopted its 2023-2031 Housing Element in January, the City of Santa Barbara is still addressing changes requested from the state following a three-month review on its first draft, and the county is still at least a month away from sending its first draft to the state for review. At this rate, both are expected to be without a certified Housing Element at least until late summer or early fall.