Santa Barbara’s Haley Street, once an eyesore populated by male prostitutes and drug deals, is undergoing a massive change, and people need to accept the urban revolution. 

That was the sentiment expressed Thursday by members of the Santa Barbara Planning Commission, who gave favorable comments to a proposed four-story mixed-use rental apartment project at 219 E. Haley St. 

“This is a clearly a corridor that is under redevelopment whether you like it or not,” said Commissioner Mike Jordan. “I do not think the future holds for five-ton diesel trucks rambling into a neighborhood like that during the day. I think redevelopment with mixed use is what is in the future for this neighborhood.”

Added Commissioner Lesley Wiscomb, “I hope the project puts smiles on your faces eventually. It’s a work in progress on Haley Street.”

The proposal, by developer and gas station owner John Price, calls for the demolition of seven structures with eight residential units to build 14 two-bedroom units, 16 one-bedroom units, and five studios, ranging in size from 412 to 1,011 square feet.

The project, which at its highest would stand four stories tall, also calls for two commercial spaces that would front Haley Street. 

It’s the latest proposal under the average unit-sized density incentive program to spark opposition from some residents and accolades from rental housing advocates.

Santa Barbara went 50 years without new rental housing being built, a result of developers choosing to construct condos because they reaped greater profits than rental housing.

The city has historically been a slow-growth community, choosing to preserve views and its small-town quaint charm over growth and development.

Environmentalists often praise Pearl Chase, a preservation activist who died in 1979, pointing to her legacy as to why Santa Barbara is so special — and not like Los Angeles, Orange County or Oxnard.

But an infusion of tech companies courting young professionals has shifted the city’s collective approach to housing density. A new wave of millennials is slowly, but steadily, reshaping Santa Barbara, by demanding the type of culture and services that typically more exemplified larger cities such as Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.

The city’s one-time sleepy and forgotten Funk Zone has been transformed into a chic hub of wine, beer, gyms, fitness centers and Uber drivers, populated by people looking for some urban nightlife. 

Even on State Street, despite its struggles with retail storefront vacancies, the restaurants that are booming nightly are breweries and restaurants, with young professionals reveling on outdoor patios. 

It’s this new population, employees of large tech companies such as ProCore, Sonos and Rightscale, and a burgeoning populace of young entrepreneurs sprouting up in the Lagoon District and Haley Street area that are fueling the need for modern, rental apartments. 

But some problems with the direction loom.

The AUD program gives developers bonus density so that they will build rental housing. The rents, however, are market rate, essentially whatever the developer wants to charge.

The high rents, as much as $3,500 a month for a two-bedroom at the Marc, the city’s first AUD-approved project, have some people calling foul on the program. 

“The question is whether or not this change amounts to progress,” said planning commissioner and former mayor Sheila Lodge. “This is a good example of what is wrong with the AUD program. The city is losing eight, truly affordable units in exchange for 35 market rate units that will bring new people into the city, who will need more services. It is a very, very large building out of scale with the community.”

Lodge was the only commissioner to cast a no vote on the project, saying it was not compatible with the size, bulk and scale of the neighborhood. 

Other critics spoke out against the project.

Rob Hunter, who owns some bungalows next door to the project, asked that the four-story portion of the building get built somewhere else because it will block his tenants’ views. 

“With the story poles, it looms over their courtyard,” he said. “It is essentially gonna be shade after noon. My tenants are not happy about being shaded.”

Another critic, Laura Boyd, said the building doesn’t belong in Santa Barbara. 

“I think this will be plopped onto the street,” she said. “I don’t think it is doing anything to address affordable housing.

Natalia Govoni called the project a “monstrosity.”

“When is enough enough?” Govoni asked. “When is this commission going to be begin honoring the historic architecture and iconic views the city is famous for. If these owners appreciate this project so much, tell them to build it where they reside so they can admire it on a daily basis.”

The current tenants at the project site will get $5,000 of tenant relocation assistance once the plan is formally approved, which isn’t likely until the end of the year. 

Thursday’s meeting was only a concept review. No final decision was made.

Wiscomb said the project works for Santa Barbara.

“This is a really attractive project,” Wiscomb said. “It’s in a really great location for development in that particular area. It is still rental housing, and there’s been a big demand for rental housing in our city.”

Commissioner Addison Thompson said he would love for Santa Barbara to stay the way it was 60 years ago, but that’s not reality. The decisions have already been made, and the Haley Street project complies with the city’s general plan.

Eventually, people will accept it, he said.

“The first guy on the block always has a hard time — because it’s the first time,” Thompson added. 

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.