A residential development planned for the Hollister corridor received a conceptual review from the Goleta Design Review Board on Tuesday afternoon. No approvals were made; the board took a broad view of the project and made general recommendations in anticipation of further review with the city’s Planning Commission.

“This is about the 10,000-foot view,” board chairwoman Cecilia Brown said. “This is just the first blush.”

The plan for several parcels along South Los Carneros Road in Goleta includes 428 residential units built between Comstock Homes and Peoples’ Self-Help Housing. The mix as proposed includes 119 townhome units and 109 units in different configurations. There also would be 74 market-rate apartments and 56 detached single-family homes. Seventy affordable apartments are also part of the plan.

Along with the housing proposed for the 43.14 acres are recreational amenities including a bike trail, two pools, a recreation center, a tot lot and a 4.82-acre neighborhood park.

The project would be on land that encompasses a previous project that didn’t make it to fruition. Rockber Partners, represented by developer Andrew Bermant, received approval in late 2007 for the 16-acre first phase of the Village at Los Carneros, a 275-unit project of motor court townhomes designed for energy efficiency.

The housing project didn’t go through, and the entire 43 acres of land were sold to Comstock Homes in September 2009. Comstock is aiming for energy efficiency with solar panels as part of its design.

Under the new plan, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing would get eight more units than it did with the Rockber project, and the units are scattered through several three-story buildings, where before everything was contained in one large building. Other amenities for the PSH portion of the project include community space, laundry and offices.

Members of the Design Review Board offered opinions on the general appearance of the project, suggesting changes for different aspects. Some members wanted the park area opened up; others said the layout of the project was generally good. There was curiosity about the look of the taller, three-story buildings.

Should the project progress, the Planning Commission would have to weigh in on land use issues. Comstock is requesting a rezone and a General Plan amendment to proceed with development of the project.

For now, however, it has yet to complete its application to the city.

“We’re still working through completeness issues,” city planner Alan Hanson told the DRB. Board members expressed the desire for a joint review of the major residential project with the Planning Commission in the near future.

The next step will be a public scoping meeting to get comment on what the project’s environmental impact report should contain. An EIR would be prepared, Hanson said, with another chance for the public to comment on its adequacy.

— Noozhawk staff writer Sonia Fernandez can be reached at sfernandez@noozhawk.com.