Lonnie Roy, the agent for developer Ed St. George, addresses the Santa Barbara Planning Commission about the housing project proposed for 6737 Sueno Road in Isla Vista.
Lonnie Roy, the agent for developer Ed St. George, addresses the Santa Barbara Planning Commission about the housing project proposed for 6737 Sueno Road in Isla Vista. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a controversial housing project at 6737 Sueno Road in Isla Vista.

While commissioners and residents found that the project improved from the original proposal, they said fundamental issues remained around parking congestion.

The commissioners voted 3-2 to approve it, with John Parke and Michael Cooney voting against the project. They both said the proposal was incompatible with the neighborhood.

“What has been done is put lipstick on a pig,” Cooney said. “The problem created by this project, and others that are in the pipeline, are not going to be ameliorated simply by green walls and changing the plant pallet and other changes recommended by our very competent Board of Architectural Review.”

It was the third hearing for the Sueno Road project. The first was at the Planning Commission on Feb. 26, when it asked the developers to willingly go to to South County Board of Architectural Review (SBAR) for additional review. 

At the March 21 SBAR meeting, board members found that the revised design was better than the original but was still incompatible with the neighborhood.

Since the SBAR hearing, developers changed the proposal from 16 units with a total of 48 bedrooms to 13 three-bedroom units and three two-bedroom units, for a total of 45 bedrooms. 

The project meets the conditions of the Housing Accountability Act and SB 330, which means it qualifies for a streamlined review process and local governments can’t deny or downsize the project, unless they found that the project would cause significant adverse impacts to public health and safety. 

Planning Commissioner Roy Reed says the stories from neighbors about unsafe parking conditions wasn't enough for the commission to deny the project.
Planning Commissioner Roy Reed says the stories from neighbors about unsafe parking conditions weren’t enough to deny the project. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

Lonnie Roy, the agent for developer Ed St. George, explained that they reduced the size of the units on the top floor of the back building to reduce the third-story size. Floor plans on the other two buildings were also reconfigured to reduce the mass of the third story and soften the architecture. 

Roy added that legally they didn’t have to include any parking with the project.

“We could have proposed under state density bonus 22 units, no parking, as high as we wanted, but we feel like we’re trying to strike a balance between what the neighborhood is envisioned to be and what’s kind of appropriate for it,” Roy said at Wednesday’s meeting.

Current and past designs of the Sueno Road project. Credit: Courtesy renderings

Pegeen Soutar, an Isla Vista resident whose home neighbors the project, said really good changes had been made, but it was not enough to reduce the adverse impacts to the community. 

Soutar noted that there are more large-scale housing projects coming to Isla Vista, most of which are bringing little to no parking. 

“The Planning Commission cannot make findings for the project approval because the project will be detrimental to the comfort, convenience, general welfare, health and safety of the neighborhood and be incompatible with the surrounding area,” Soutar said. 

Pegeen Soutar, an Isla Vista resident whose home is near the proposed project, says really good changes had been made, but it was not enough to reduce the adverse impacts to the community.
Pegeen Soutar, an Isla Vista resident whose home is near the proposed project, says really good changes had been made, but it was not enough to reduce the adverse impacts to the community. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

Spencer Brandt, president of the Isla Vista Community Services District Board of Directors, said that while he understood the need for more rental housing, there needed to be real solutions to the parking concerns. 

Last week, Brandt sent a letter to the commission suggesting ways to reduce the project’s community impacts, including public transit vouchers for tenants, shuttles and car-sharing programs, and prohibiting car ownership among tenants unless they have on-site parking.

“Effective parking management and reducing car dependency is critical to achieving the goals that our community strives to meet of being an environmental and sustainability leader,” Brandt said.

Planning Commissioner Laura Bridley says she found that the adjustments improved the project. She added that while she was sympathetic to neighbor concerns, she didn't want to add too many conditions to the project approval.
Planning Commissioner Laura Bridley says she found that the adjustments improved the project. She added that while she was sympathetic to neighbor concerns, she didn’t want to add too many conditions to the project approval. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

Roy said the developer plans to implement some of those suggestions, such as bus vouchers. Additionally, they are planning to have one parking spot for car-share services such as Zipcar, and two spots for ride-share and delivery vehicles such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash. Roy said it’s to avoid double parking in the street and parking lot. 

Commissioner Laura Bridley said she found that the adjustments improved the project, and that while she said she was sympathetic to neighbor concerns, she didn’t want to add too many conditions to project approval. 

Commissioner Roy Reed said the stories from neighbors about unsafe parking conditions weren’t enough for the commission to disapprove the project.

“I’m a little distressed by the fact that even though what we have heard is impactful, I don’t feel it really rises to a level sufficient for me to feel comfortable in denying the project,” Reed said. 

— Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway can be reached at rcaraway@noozhawk.com.