Goleta Ready to Send Third Housing Element Revision to State

Goleta got to the finish line on Monday night during its third public workshop in pursuit of a third rendition of its Housing Element, concluding a contentious discussion of new parcels to rezone for lower-income housing to satisfy the state’s housing allocations. Following the state’s second set of “critiques,” the city found itself 637 units short in the lower-income category, but by the end of the night, Planning Manager Anne Wells ventured they’d just squeaked by the needed number plus a buffer.

The meeting started with a bang, as Councilmember Stuart Kasdin charged that his southwestern district was getting the brunt of the new development, to which Councilmember James Kyriaco shot back that around 900 new homes were soon to exist in his Old Town district in the southeast quadrant of the city. Kyriaco then asked if they could please avoid divisiveness in favor of housing for people. Two dozen residents entered the fray, giving detailed information about accidents, deaths, traffic, sewers, schools, and wildlife as they objected to two multi-acre parcels north of Highway 101 proposed for zoning changes.

Goleta faces a stiff state requirement to identify land zoned for 1,837 units of new housing by 2031. The city was able to satisfy the requirements for moderate and above-moderate income levels, but it fell short in the lower-income category as the previous Housing Element documents had relied on parcels with perhaps one building and lots of space to build. But the state had rejected those properties because the city had no track record of building on such land, in part due to the past decade’s water moratorium, but also because landowners weren’t saying they would build. 

The city’s staff had to remove those properties from the list but set out to contact each landowner, gaining buy-in from 10 or more of them. The task during the three workshops turned out to be finding out from the councilmembers, planning commissioners, and public how densely built up the properties should go.

By the third hour of deliberations, several of the council had called for unity in the effort, and the City Council and the Planning Commission went on to debate the merits of all the zoning options for 7264 Calle Real, a k a Kenwood Village, as well as the potential to look at other new sites, until Planning Commissioner Katie Maynard expressed concern that the state would not accept abrupt changes, like a new cap in a new density number. 

“I am very worried about pushback from Housing and Community Development,” Maynard said. “If we get a third denial, I can’t imagine projects won’t go into Builder’s Remedy and we may not be able to have council or planning meetings.” 

Kenwood ended up with a portion of the roughly 10 acres set for lower-income housing, which the city could apply toward the Housing Element requirement.

The second property, about four acres at 626 Dara Road, got a thorough discussion at the July 20 meeting, but resulted in a tie vote by the council, with Luz Reyes-Martín recused as she lives nearby. Residents argued again for moderation on Monday, with several commenting that the greenhouse-gas issue could be improved were people able to live closer to their jobs if moderate-income housing were built in the area, which has no bus service. This time, the council went 3:1 for moderately dense housing.

With the exception of nonprofit builders like the Housing Authority, developers are likely to only accommodate the city’s 10 percent lower-income inclusionary rule. The city anticipates that projects in Kyriaco’s district will generate several hundred lower-income homes to make up the difference as it reports housing numbers to the state over the next eight years.

The Housing Element meetings have not ended. With the results from the 16 hours of workshops, city staff will send in the next two weeks a revised Housing Element for a 60-day review by the state. The new version will be posted, and community comments may be submitted. Once the state’s critiques come back, the new revision will go to Planning Commission and City Council, with time for public comment, in order to complete the necessary rezoning by February 15, 2024. 

The most recent version, comments, and update information can all be found at the city’s Housing Element Update website.

[Click to enlarge]

The map above shows parcels in orange already earmarked in Goleta’s 2023-2031 Housing Element, with newly proposed sites marked with address labels.