A proposed mixed-use development in Buellton has raised the ire of neighbors, but city leaders urged calm while noting that the project had a long way to go before possible approval.
On Thursday, the Buellton City Council approved a resolution spelling out the scope of work, issues relevant to the project site and project vicinity, the scope of environmental review, and the roles and responsibilities for the BUE-17 Mixed Use Specific Plan.
City leader reassured residents that Thursday’s action did not involve final approval of the project.
“The adoption of this resolution makes it official that this is what the City Council and the Planning Commission want to see as part of this project,” City Manager Scott Wolfe said.
He added that some aspects were required by law while others reflected the wishes of Buellton.
“We don’t even have a complete application at this point, in terms of a plan that we can review and that is complete,” Wolfe added.
The proposal involves 17 acres at the southern end of Industrial Way, and would replace the Buellton Hub development approved in February 2018 by the City Council to allow 50 apartment units, 74,742 square feet of industrial and office space, and open space.
The new project envisions 210,045 square feet of mixed-use development.
Specifically, it would have 116 residential units, including two-bedroom condominiums, one-bedroom apartments, micro-studio apartments and live/work studios, as well as 71,735 square feet of industrial research and development space. Other possible features will be industrial storage space, a community center and open space.
The property owner, SBID LLC, includes Ed St. George as a member, with Lonnie Roy and Gavin Moores also involved in the project.
Because of the specialized mix of residential and industrial land uses, and the potential increase in land use intensity, Buellton staff suggested that the applicants prepare a specific plan as the best way to analyze the proposal.
City Attorney Greg Murphy emphasized that the proposal presented to the city represented only a concept plan that will be refined in the upcoming specific plan process to meet site, economic, environmental and other constraints.
“What’s important is going to be to analyze the plan that’s actually submitted to the city, because at this point we don’t have an application, we don’t have anything but a concept that’s been floated,” Murphy added.
Several upset neighbors, including those living in the Rancho De Maria neighborhood, expressed concerns about the proposal, citing mistrust of the developers’ representatives, increased traffic, light pollution, water use and more.
Mark Cavanaugh complained that the project representatives provided different information, leading to confusion and anxiety for Rancho De Maria residents who don’t want more traffic or a 40-foot-tall building nearby.
“A project where you have supposedly university professors and successful entrepreneurs moving away from their families to live in micro units is fantastic, and I don’t mean fantastic from a great standpoint. I mean fantastic from an absolutely ridiculous standpoint,” he said.
Mores said he has communicated with the homeowners association leaders to provide regular updates on the proposal to Rancho De Maria residents and meet with them.
Once the specific plan and related documents are done and deemed by staff to be complete, the project will return to the Planning Commission for a public hearing, and then go to the City Council for consideration.
“This is going to be way down the road before this comes back as a final (plan),” Councilman Dave King said.
“We’re not shutting down conversation,” Mayor Holly Sierra said. “There will be many more meetings to discuss this, to vet it, to figure out whether this is the right fit or not. It’s not a done deal.
“This is the beginning. I could be wrong, but my guess is this is not going to be a short process.”
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.