The Shelby housing project in western Goleta is set to go back in front of the city’s Design Review Board later this month.
Plans call for 56 apartments, with 11 units designated to be affordable housing, at 7400 Cathedral Oaks Road, near Dos Pueblos High School and the Glen Annie Golf Club.
The board will discuss the project’s architectural design, landscaping and similar topics at its Feb. 10 meeting, according to city spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.
This comes after project developers successfully sued the city over the application.
The city initially declined to process the project’s permit application, claiming it was not required to because the developers had a previous application for a housing project at the same site.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle sided with the developers in February 2025 and mandated that the city process the permit application.
The application is now under review, Hoover said.
The project developers originally submitted the project through a “builder’s remedy” process that, through state housing laws, limits city review to no more than five meetings.
It also removes most discretionary elements if the jurisdiction does not have a Housing Element certified at the time the project proposal was submitted, which Goleta did not have.
Jim Youngson, principal with Terrain Consulting who represents the applicant, said the architecture and landscape design have not significantly changed since the project was first proposed.
“In fact, the DRB actually reviewed the Shelby project — same architecture essentially — in 2012. At that time, it was well-received,” he said in an email.
Some sections of the project’s environmental impact review also were updated by the city, such as the biology and traffic sections, Youngson added.
If the Design Review Board supports the project, it will be considered at a Planning Commission meeting, along with the environmental impact report, before heading to the City Council for consideration.
To attend or watch the Design Review Board meeting virtually, click here.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at City Hall, 130 Cremona Drive.