A five-story affordable housing project with 160 units for senior citizens in Santa Maria continues to make its way through the city approval process while serving as the latest example of the state taking away local control, Mayor Alice Patino said during a State of the City presentation on Wednesday morning.
Patino proclaimed Santa Maria strong, but said California mandates continue to provide challenges for local leaders.
“Housing is the biggest challenge I think we face in the state of California. More and more, it’s being taken out of local control, and it should not be taken out of local control,” Patino said. “When housing developments do not have to go before the Planning Commission, do not have to go before the City Council and can just be built I think is fundamentally wrong. We’re seeing that more and more, and this is what’s coming down from that state and we have to deal with it.”
Senate Bill 35 has aimed at increasing the affordable housing supply in the state by streamlining approvals for certain projects while bypassing the normal planning process.
That has led to an application to build a five-story senior housing project at the north corner of Santa Maria Way and Miller Street, with 160 studio efficiency units making up the first phase.
Also proposed by developer AMG & Associates are on-site parking, recreational amenities and a dog park.
The project will not receive Planning Commission review.
The Santa Maria Community Development Department is reviewing building permit applications for the project’s first phase and has issued a rough grading permit so the developer can begin prepping the site, Planning Division Manager Dana Eady said, adding that work could begin within a month.
Currently, Santa Maria’s tallest building is the seven-story Union Plaza senior citizen residence near Main Street and Broadway.
Even as the city wrestles with state mandates, Santa Maria is in the process of updating its General Plan, a blueprint for future development through 2045, and encouraged residents to participate in the process.
Additional public meetings are planned as the city prepares for 16,000 new housing units and 50,000 new residents while also working to attract employers offering high-paying jobs..
“Everybody has a role to play in this,” Patino said of the General Plan process. “We also have to ask ourselves, how do we want to grow and how far out do we want to grow?”
The city previously has discussed annexing land for future growth.
“I think it’s really important that we decide how we want our community to grow. Do we want to just stack and pack people into buildings and say, ‘OK, we’ve housed you’? Or do we want more quality of life?” she asked.
The annual presentation hosted by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce occurred in a hybrid form — some attendees were in person at the breakfast event at the Santa Maria Radisson and others watched virtually.
“I really don’t get tired of repeating that Santa Maria continues to be fundamentally strong, growing financially, very stable and very safe,” Patino said. “I am pleased to report that for another year, Santa Maria continues to build a community that our current and future generations are proud of.”
“As you heard from the mayor, there are a lot of positive things going on in the city. There are a lot of wins we’re celebrating,” City Manager Jason Stilwell added.
Set to join the Santa Maria business inventory in the coming months is an Aldi grocery store near the corner of East Betteravia Road and College Drive.
“There’s a lot of development activity going on in the city,” Stilwell said.
A Raisin’ Canes also is under construction, adding to what Stilwell called “chicken alley” along East Betteravia Road.
The road already includes Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, WingStop, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chick-fil-A, El Pollo Loco with Kentucky Fried Chicken just south of the intersection of Betteravia and Broadway.
City leaders also recently helped A.T. Still University, which has campuses in Missouri and Arizona, welcome its first class of future physician assistants for the new Santa Maria program,.
ATSU representatives estimated that those 90 students would see 10 million patients during their careers, Stilwell said.
“We’re very fortunate to have a medical school here in Santa Maria,” Stilwell added.
— 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.