The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission unanimously approved a new three-story housing project in Isla Vista in the name of supporting more affordable housing.
The project is proposed at a vacant, unaddressed lot off Camino Pescadero Road, just west of Chabad UCSB and behind the Coronado apartments at 6626 Picasso Road. It calls for 24 three-bedroom units, including three units that will be priced for very-low-income individuals and three for moderate-income individuals.
Commissioner John Parke said part of why he was supporting the project was because of the number of affordable units that could go to non-student community members.
“I wouldn’t be as excited about creating housing that’s always going to be stuffed with students, but if I can find places for the moderate-income people that get no housing anywhere in this county, this could be a very good thing,” Parke said.
Lonnie Roy, a land use agent with the project, said the architectural design went for a modern coastal aesthetic meant to match other buildings in Isla Vista and bring vibrancy to the area.
The project will include 37 parking spaces, 13 of which will be tandem parking spaces, meaning vehicles will be blocking in one another; however, each tandem spot will be assigned to one specific unit. The project also will include 144 bike parking spaces.
Marc Chytilo, an attorney speaking on behalf of Pegeen and John Soutar, who are appealing another Isla Vista housing project, said they are concerned that there is not enough parking with the project.
“The overwhelming number of cars that are being parked illegally and stored and used by residents in Isla Vista is creating public safety risks for pedestrian and bicycle safety. It is one of the accident hot spots in our county,” Chytilo said. “The failure to provide adequate parking or deal with that is what causes the health and safety impact.”
Legally, the developers didn’t have to add any vehicle parking to the project because of the proximity to a nearby bus stop, but they chose to add the 37 spaces.
Commission chair Laura Bridley, who said Wednesday was her final hearing with the panel, said she understood the concerns around parking but that the development would have more parking than a lot of existing places in Isla Vista.
“There’s going to be more parking spaces here than there are on lots of single-family duplex unit sites in Isla Vista that have 12 people living in two units and only a driveway,” Bridley said.
The apartment building will be accessible only through a private road off of Camino Pescadero, which also is shared between Chabad UCSB and a sorority house at 763 Camino Pescadero.
Because the project is in line with the state’s Housing Accountability Act (Senate Bill 330), the county can’t deny the project or lower the density unless it finds evidence that the project would negatively impact community health and safety.
The state law also means that the project did not require a hearing with the county Board of Architectural Review.
