Rough start.
A proposed four-story housing development for the corner of Carrillo and De la Vina streets in downtown Santa Barbara was met with comments such as “generic,” “a monstrosity” and that it looks like La Cumbre Plaza.
“There is no way that four stories of this size is going to go on that intersection,” said Keith Butler, a member of the Historic Landmarks Commission. “The scale is just off. The mass and the scale is just way off.”
The development team of CAM Land Use & Development showed the proposal at Wednesday’s HLC meeting.
The mixed-use development would replace the Jiffy Lube at 932 De la Vina St. and would be across the street from Starbucks. The developer, Double P. LLC, has proposed that the four-story building would house 36 units.
Craig Minus, owner of CAM Land Use, gave his best pitch to start the meeting.
“I would like to be as bold as to say this is a once-in-a-lifetime project,” Minus told the HLC.
He said the Jiffy Lube is a one-story “underutilized” site. The spot is near the central business district and along a transit corridor.
“This presents us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kind of reconsider the chapter two of this site for a higher and better use,” Minus said, adding that the project comes in “an era when housing is one of the greatest unmet needs.”
The proposal is the latest housing project to hit Santa Barbara amid increasing pressures from housing activists and the State of California. Santa Barbara in 2013 approved a high-density housing ordinance that allows developers bonus density to build units on small lots.
The smaller studio, one- and two-bedroom units are designed to be affordable because of their size and attractive to “young professionals” who want to live in small spaces and walk, ride bikes or take the bus to work. The policy, however, has been meet with criticism because the units are rented out at market rate, except for a 10% inclusionary housing requirement.
“We can only provide so many 510-square-feet, one-bedroom units in Santa Barbara,” Commissioner Ed Lenvik said. “There are not that many single people, or even couples without children and dogs to eat all that space up. People need housing, but they need housing they can live in and stretch out a little bit.”
To kick off the meeting, Minus asked for “constructive” comments on the “form” of the building. He said the exact number of units, square footage and amount of below-market rentals are still to be determined because the proposal is only in the pre-application stage.
The commission, however, was not impressed with the pitch.
“When I saw this project, I feel the need to really speak up,” Butler said. “When I saw this project, my first reaction was, ‘This is a monstrosity.’”
He suggested that two stories at the site would be more appropriate.
Member Cass Ensberg also drilled the project.
“Where’s the mojo here?” she said. “What is the name of this building? What’s the attitude? I don’t see the front door.”
She said the height of the building needs to come “way down.”
“I would urge you to be more creative,” Ensberg said. “It feels a little bit generic right now.”
Commissioner Steve Hausz said he understood the goal of the development team to build housing, but that desire needs to be balanced with other community interests and concerns.
“This is just so not Santa Barbara, not remotely Santa Barbara,” Hausz said. “This is a gateway building.”
He said the proposed project needs to be set back off the street and that right now it reminds him of La Cumbre Plaza.
“Two stories, or something like that, is what is appropriate for this corner,” Hausz said.
Commissioner Michael Drury was a bit kinder. He said there were elements of the architecture that he liked, but that it didn’t fit in Santa Barbara.
“It’s just not Santa Barbara; it’s more like Beverly Hills,” Drury said. “There’s nothing wrong with Beverly Hills, it’s just not Santa Barbara. We’re very unique here.”
The development team will take the board’s comments and return with a revised proposal.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
