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.