The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors expressed its support for eight potential rezone sites that in total could add 3,555 new housing units to the North County. 

The projects won’t officially be approved until the next rezone hearing on Friday, but on Tuesday, the supervisors made a conceptual list of sites they wanted to approve as part of the state Housing Element requirements. 

The proposed sites came from county Planning Commission recommendations that recommended 18 sites to be rezoned for residential use.

Most of the projects are in the Fourth District, which is represented by Bob Nelson. Nelson expressed support for rezoning the Apollo site, the Boys and Girls club site, Key Site 11, Key Site 10, Element Church and Hummel Cottages.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” Nelson said. “The decisions we make here are going to be lasting and impactful. It has a lot of weight to it.”

Nelson said the main criteria he looked at for projects were those that would help serve jobs and commercial and recreational needs in the community.

The state Housing Element requires the county to have enough sites zoned to accommodate its regional housing needs allocation, which is 5,664 units. The North County needs 1,522 units, and the South County needs 4,142 units.

The county also added a 15% buffer to its regional housing needs allocation for lower- and moderate-income levels.

In order to reach those numbers, the county needs to rezone sites for high-density residential use. The 2023-31 Housing Element identifies 18 potential rezone sites in the North County, 18 potential rezone sites on the South Coast and nine county sites on the South Coast.

The Planning Commission recommended that the board rezone eight sites, including one pending project site at Apollo Way in the North County. In the South County, the Planning Commission recommended that the board select all nine county-owned sites and 16 rezone sites, according to the board letter.

The Apollo site, which is 26.11 acres, is at 3695 Apollo Way in Lompoc and will likely be rezoned to support recreational open space and 20 to 25 units per acre. 

The Boys and Girls Club site at 4300 Hummel Drive in Santa Maria is 14.9 acres and could support 52 lower-income units, 20 moderate-income units and eight above-moderate-income units. 

Nelson said the money that the Boys and Girls Club could make from the project could allow it to build a clubhouse and recreational facilities for kids.

The Hummel Cottages site at 619 Hummel Village Court in Orcutt is 4.47 acres and could support 30 lower-income units. 

Key Site 10 at 5175 S. Bradley Road in Santa Maria is 9.8 acres and could support 59 lower-income units, 23 moderate-income units and eight above-moderate-income units.

Key Site 11 at 250 E. Clark Ave. in Orcutt is 21.43 acres and could support 52 lower-income units, 36 moderate-income units and eight above-moderate-income units. The site would also support retail stores and recreational open space.

Key Site 11 drew mixed reactions from the community because of the site being on open space, but Nelson argued that the site’s proximity to Vandenberg Space Force Base and the retail aspects of the project would make it beneficial for the community.

Element Church at 4890 Bethany Lane in Santa Maria could support 20 lower-income units, eight moderate-income units and two above-moderate-income units on 0.8 acres. 

Element Church was not a site recommended by the Planning Commission, but Nelson said that project would support the church’s work in the community and support other development along Clark Avenue. 

Nelson also proposed moving the multi-family residential zoning from Key Site 3 to Key Site 1. The project at Key Site 3 has been zoned multi-family residential units since 2009 but has been delayed because of a lack of infrastructure.

“That zoning has been sitting dormant for 15-plus years,” Nelson said. “It has a lot of challenges. Key Site 1, on the other hand, is ready to go.”

The board decided to table that decision until Friday in order to get more information from county staff.

Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann expressed support for the Chumash LLC site, which is the only housing project in Santa Ynez Valley. The Chumash LLC site at 1011 Meadowvale Road could support a total of 91 lower-income units and 30 moderate-income units. 

First District Supervisor Das Williams, who attended Tuesday’s hearing via Zoom because of being sick, supported the Blue Sky Center project in Cuyama. 

The Blue Sky Center site, which is west of Cuyama Valley High School, could support 50 moderate-income units and retail stores. 

With these projects selected, the county is above its target number of units. With all of the projects, it is 208 lower-income units above the target, 605 moderate-income units above the target and 1,068 moderate-income units above their target.

The projects won’t officially be approved until Friday, when the board makes its final motion on the rezones for the county.

During public comment, developers presented more information about their projects while a few residents expressed the need for affordable housing while also voicing concerns about the large scale of the projects and their potential impacts.

Hartmann said she generally supported the Planning Commission’s recommendations but was disappointed not to see more deed-restricted housing. 

“I think deed-restricted affordable housing is critically important,” Hartmann said. “We only got one project that’s offering that, disappointingly so.”

Deed-restricted housing refers to housing with a covenant that restricts the income level of the household on the property, meaning that if a property was deed-restricted for low income, only households that meet the criteria of low income could live there.

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino reminded everyone that it is a state-mandated project.

“I understand why so many residents are upset by this,” Lavagnino said. “I have to remind you that this is a state-mandated process. You’re upset about it; most of us are, too.”

Lavagnino said that in the past he’s been frustrated with the slow pace at which the county approves projects but expressed concerns over the large size of some of the projects. 

“I feel like forcing some of these oversized developments into areas that don’t have the necessary infrastructure in place is undoubtedly going to be very painful for some neighbors, and for some entire neighborhoods it’s going to be a mess,” Lavagnino said.

Rezone hearings are scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Friday in Santa Barbara on the fourth floor at 105 E Anapamu St. On Friday, the supervisors will hear recommendations on potential rezone sites in the South County and make their final selection on proposed sites.