Developers have proposed building 443 apartments at the site of the former Sears building and parking lot in Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza.

The proposal is in addition to the nearly 700 homes proposed by a different developer on the other side of La Cumbre Plaza, near State Street.

“The design of the La Cumbre South Homes is grounded in two important ideas: It celebrates Santa Barbara’s Spanish architectural vernacular of white plaster buildings and clay roofs, and also its legacy of Mediterranean gardens and idyllic climate,” Dave Eadie, senior vice president of Entitlement and Development for Kennedy Wilson, said in a letter to the city, obtained by Noozhawk.

Riviera Dairy Property wants to erect two four-story buildings, one with 400 homes and the other with 43 homes. The 400-unit building would include studios, one-, two-, and three-bedrooms. The four-story 43-unit building would be a mix of two- and three-bedroom homes.

The unit mix would consist of 36 studios; 183 one-bedrooms; 201 two-bedrooms and 23 three-bedrooms. A total of 466 parking spaces in a garage and surface lot will be provided.

“Drawing inspiration from the region’s coastal hotel and hillside estates, the project is organized around a series of intimate garden courtyards, and an expansive arrival court and amenity space,” the letter to the city states. “The courtyards, wrapped by residential units and connected through a series of passageways, will be lushly planted and offer residents opportunities for entertaining, socializing and respite beyond their respective homes.”

The project is set to go before the city’s architectural board of review for a pre-application review on March 3.

Eadie told Noozhawk that “our project objectives are to be fully compliant with the City of Santa Barbara’s land use and housing vision for the property, including the provision of 10% below market rate inclusionary units.”

If this project and the one proposed by the Taylor family, called “The Neighborhood,” are both built, it would mean about 1,100 homes would cover La Cumbre Plaza within about four to five years.

The city of Santa Barbara had foreseen both projects coming forward and had wanted to draft a specific plan for the area. Such a plan would have required the city and the separate developers to work together to maximize affordable housing for both projects, as well as coordinate plans for traffic circulation, infrastructure and public amenities.

Then Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams, however, led a charge to shoot down $1.1 million in specific plan funding that had been recommended by two subcommittees to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. City planners and Mayor Randy Rowse felt betrayed by the vote, which effectively weakened the city’s control over a comprehensive plan for the area.

The $1.1 million to fund a La Cumbre Plaza Specific Plan would have planned for up to 2,000 new housing units, and larger amounts of affordable housing than what is currently proposed.

Matthew and Jim Taylor have proposed a 689-unit apartment project, with retail, dining and commercial, park and public spaces, in a development called “The Neighborhood.” That project is on a separate tract, and involves the demolition of the Macy’s building in the plaza.

Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman met with the developers, city staff and Mayor Rowse to discuss the project in December.

“I appreciate that the Sears project is going through the city process rather than using state bonus density,” said councilman Eric Friedman. “This will facilitate a project that is more in line with the city General Plan and our local planning standards that were established with considerable local public input.”

Friedman said working with the city rather than trying to maximize the number of units based on state bonus density laws will allow the city to have input on building height, parking and traffic concerns.

“When it gets to the construction phase, it will be critical that the Sears and Macy’s projects coordinate timing and public outreach as much as possible since both of them may be under construction at the same time,” Friedman said.

Friedman said he appreciates the mix of two- and three-bedroom apartments, which he says are “critical to enable families to live in our city.”

“These larger units meet a missing need that studios and one-bedrooms are not able to do,” Friedman said.

Friedman said the property is an “essential piece to meeting our housing needs and economic revitalization of an underutilized area, but it has to to be done thoughtfully with public input.”

The city did not release the renderings for the project.

“Due to copyright restrictions in state law (Government Code § 65103.5), we cannot post the project plans online or provide copies to the public,” the city’s contract planner Patsy Price said.