Work should resume within weeks on a small apartment building project that had stalled in Solvang.

The three-story building at 420 Fifth St. will have five apartments, an accessory dwelling unit and nine on-site parking spaces. The development sits at the corner of Fifth and Oak streets; it was previously the site of a single-family home built in 1952 and a brick garage.

The partially-done project’s lack of progress has drawn questions as construction fencing continues to surround the lot, which is located in a neighborhood with single-family and multi-family residences.

City Manager Randy Murphy said staff sent the applicant a letter in September 2024 on behalf of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department notifying the developer that undergrounding utilities was a requirement of entitlement, building permit and fire permit approval. 

City staff also informed the developer that — as with other similar projects — Pacific Gas & Electric Company could take up to one year to complete and authorize the work to place utility lines underground. 

At the request of the Fire Department and PG&E personnel, the city placed a limited work order on the property with a work safety plan in place.

That order allowed the applicant to continue work in the interior, but limited work on the exterior “to preserve fire and life safety,” Murphy said.

At some point, the applicant ran out of chores that could be completed and paused construction due to PG&E delays.

PG&E has approved the underground project and will begin work with the applicant in early March to finish it. 

Once the utility work is done, the applicant will resume construction and expects to be completed by late summer, Murphy said. 

The project is on property belonging to out-of-town owner Lei Dachot. The application was first submitted to the city in mid-2022.

The Planning Commission approved the development in May 2023, following a weigh-in from the Design Review Committee months earlier.