The Goleta City Council will be holding a public hearing for the 332-unit Heritage Ridge apartment project at its meeting Tuesday, where the council is expected to certify the final environmental impact report and approve the project.
The development is a collaboration between the Red Tail Multifamily Land Development and the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, and will sit on a 17.36-acre site north of Camino Vista and east of South Los Carneros Road.
Heritage Ridge will be the third and final phase of the Willow Springs Residential development and is set to include a total of 332 residential units — 102 affordable units with two manager units, and 228 market-rate units.
The 102 affordable units will be further broken down into 41 units reserved as senior affordable units and 63 units dedicated as affordable units for families.
In addition to the residential units, a 2-acre public park has been proposed for the site with a picnic area, walking and jogging paths, fitness equipment stations, Chumash interactive play areas, and more elements that have been discussed in past Goleta Planning Commission meetings.
The Heritage Ridge development project has gone before the Goleta Planning Commission multiple times to get to the point where the commission has recommended approval of the project.
In the past, several local environmentalist groups — including the Goodland Coalition, Citizens Planning Association, the Sierra Club, Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council, and the Santa Barbara Audubon Society — were originally opposed to the project, with concerns about the impact it would have on wildlife and vegetation, but the project has since been modified to include compromises that allowed the groups to support the development.
Some of the modifications include adding more locally native vegetation, new coastal sage scrub habitat, shifting and reducing building sizes, and providing a 100-foot Streamside Protection Area buffer for the Los Carneros Creek.
More information on the Heritage Ridge apartment project is available in the staff report here.
The Goleta City Council will be meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers located at 130 Cremona Drive, as well as online via Zoom or the city’s website. More information on how to view or participate in the meeting, such as providing public comment, can be found in the meeting’s agenda here.
