Housing for middle-income workers could be coming to a key intersection in downtown Santa Barbara.

The City Council on Tuesday gave its blessing to building housing at the corner of West Carrillo and Castillo streets for people who make betweeen 80 percent and 120 percent of the area median income, which is about $79,000.

“You won’t hear me say this very often, but we need to maximize density on this site, even if that means go higher to do it,” Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said.

The project is in the preliminary stages, but would be done in collaboration with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.

The housing would be targeted toward people who work in the city and are employees of government and nonprofit organizations, and people who are RV parking clients of New Beginnings Counseling Center.

The site, which flanks Mission Creek just east of the northbound Highway 101 entrance ramp from West Carrillo Street, currently serves as a commuter lot for downtown workers. Under the new proposal, little to no parking would be provided on-site to incentivize residents who don’t have vehicles.

“I feel like I am in the bizarro episode of Seinfeld because Councilwoman Sneddon supports maximum density,” Councilman Eric Friedman said. “It’s a great episode.”

The lot is where a controversial “tiny homes” project for formerly homeless people had been proposed a year ago. That plan eventually collapsed under the weight of fierce community opposition and a lack of funding.

The commuter lot, however, is still a prime spot for housing because it is underused property that the city already owns. It also is within walking distance of downtown and close to bus transit lines.

The city is scrambling to figure out ways to build housing in the downtown core. Although programs exist for government-subsided housing for very low-income people, there’s very little for middle-class workforce housing.

The latest project is envisioned to be dense and tall, and geared to people who make too much money to qualify for a Section 8 voucher, but not enough to buy a house.

“It is exciting to see this coming before us,” Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said. “This is really an opportunity for us to get creative and do something that is really needed in the community.”

The council voted 7-0 to embrace the plan.

The Housing Authority, in partnership with the city, will now move forward with a formal plan.

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.