A proposed residential project in western Goleta won an important victory Tuesday when the Goleta City Council voted 3-2 to initiate General Plan amendments modifying its land-use designations.

Kenwood Village is a 66-unit, two-story residential project planned north of Calle Real in El Encanto Heights. Forty-nine units would be smaller cottage-style homes, while the remaining 17 units would be traditional single-family homes. The landowner, local businessman Ken Alker, is looking to provide “affordable by design” housing.

“I have about 30 employees now … I have guys that have been working for me since they were 16 that are now in their mid- to late 20s who can’t buy homes in the area,” said Alker, adding that he could lose those employees to other cities or states.

To make his 66 units happen, however, the land-use designations must be changed on his roughly 10-acre property. The northern 6.6-acre portion is zoned for residential use, while the southern 3.8 acres carries an agriculture designation in Goleta’s General Plan.

“The first (amendment) request affects the Land-Use Element,” said senior planner Patty Miller. The northern portion, while already zoned for residential use, needed to allow for up to eight units per acre.

The bigger change would happen to the southern, agriculturally zoned portion of the property, as the ag designation would have to be removed and changed to match the northern section.

“Ag land conversions are very specifically ruled out in the General Plan,” said Councilman Ed Easton, who joined Councilwoman Margaret Connell in voting against the project. The property has been farmed on and off over the years, although the last farmer, John Lane, gave up farming on it because of tomato blight and a steep increase in agricultural water rates, among other things.

A similar effort is being undertaken in the case of another agriculturally zoned parcel in western Goleta, this one owned by the Shelby family.

But where Easton felt his job was to defend the General Plan, which is in a state of flux as a result of a series of amendments, Councilman Eric Onnen thought the plan ought to be able to stand on its own.

“If we take these issues through a good open process, the policies stated in the General Plan will defend itself,” said Onnen, who was joined in the majority by Mayor Roger Aceves and Councilman Michael Bennett. “We need to get the information to allow that to happen.”

Meanwhile, members of the community, mostly neighbors of the proposed project, were against it.

“This type of development is a euphemism for high-density housing,” said Larry Scarpacci. Others echoed his concerns, adding their own about increased traffic on the two-lane stretch of Calle Real, and the loss of open space.

Ultimately, to answer questions about things like the impacts of increased density on the entire parcel and the true viability of agricultural operations on the southern portion, the council voted narrowly to initiate the amendments requested by the applicant. The decision came despite the misgivings of Connell and Easton that initiation of General Plan amendments were not just an exploration of options, but an actual movement toward changing policies in Goleta’s development blueprint.

Still, staff said, the initiation is at a risk to the applicant, who is footing the bill for the process.

“It’s a long process and it’s not inexpensive,” said Miller. “We may conclude that it’s not appropriate to convert these 3.8 acres, or we may find that it is appropriate. We don’t know yet.”

Write to sfernandez@noozhawk.com