The ask in the League of Women Voters' letter in January was straightforward — before the County of Santa Barbara rezoned about 40 properties from commercial or agricultural to residential, wouldn't it be good to know what kinds of housing developers planned to build on them? At issue is affordable housing, and getting there is like tumbling dice. There's a good chance you'll get 10 to 20 percent lower-income housing, and a much greater chance that 80 to 90 percent will be market-rate and out of reach to the most vulnerable, and largest, group of renters in South County.
For instance, on the county's rezoning list are 18 parcels in South County, 12 of them agricultural parcels just outside the borders of the City of Goleta that add up to 340 acres. Three of them have applied for the fast-track Builder’s Remedy permit process, and the three would total 2,549 units through increased density per acre. Under the Builder’s Remedy, 20 percent, or about 500, of the resulting housing are to be “affordable,” which leaves roughly 2,040 or more renting at what the market will bear.
“Our hope for this meeting is that people will have a better understanding of what kind of development we are going to have,” said Dianne Black, a retired director of the county’s Planning and Development department and now a member of the housing committee for the League of Women Voters.