The Goleta City Council on Tuesday considered designating certain areas outside city boundaries to be under the city’s sphere of influence, allowing the city to have a say in potential development and potentially adding properties to the city’s limits.

After some debate, the council voted 3-2 to move forward with trying to establish the Glen Annie Golf Club area northwest of the city, the North Fairview/Holiday Hill area to the northeast, a portion of the Hollipat Agricultural Block to the southeast and the former Ocean Meadows Golf Course to the southwest into the city’s sphere of influence.

The city had previously tried to include those areas in 2009 but was denied, ironically because the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission was worried about the city turning agricultural land into commercial development.

Goleta currently doesn’t have a sphere of influence and doesn’t have a say on any property outside city boundaries.

If a property becomes part of the city’s sphere of influence, it wouldn’t mean that the property would be part of the city’s boundary but that Santa Barbara County would have to consider the city’s opinion in any proposed development on the site and that it could eventually become part of the city limits. 

Essentially, the sphere would define potential future city boundaries. Any land that the city would want to include in the city limits first would have to be in its sphere of influence. 

The City Council discussion largely stemmed from the city’s frustration with the county’s Housing Element Update that proposes large housing developments just outside the city limits. A housing project planned for the Glen Annie Golf Club site has been one of the most controversial county Housing Element projects.

Councilman Stuart Kasdin said that because the city has to contend with the impacts of the project, it makes sense to include it in the city limits. 

“We bear all the costs of transportation. If they’re using the library, it’s our library and services. Any of those things, we bear it,” Kasdin said. “So, there is an obvious rationale to why it should be incorporated into the city because fundamentally they act as if it is.” 

Mayor Paula Perotte noted that including the Glen Annie property in the city’s sphere of influence wouldn’t necessarily mean that they could stop development on that site. 

“My fear is that the folks that care so much about what’s happening with Glen Annie, it needs to be very clear that something’s going to go there, and I think they would see this as the city being able to stop it,” Perotte said.

The sphere is subject to LAFCO approval, but before it can be approved, the city and county must try to come to a Memorandum of Agreement over the properties. The city can proceed without the MOA, but it does have to show that it consulted with the county.

If the city does have influence over those properties, there could be potential impact to the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (state housing development goals by area) and the Revenue Neutrality Agreement.

Peter Imhof, the city’s planning and environmental review director, said the city and county’s respective RHNA numbers would have to be reassessed in their agreement. Depending on the property, the city may have to take some of the county’s RHNA responsibility, but that is only if the property officially became part of the city’s boundary, not just in the city’s sphere of influence. 

The same goes for the Revenue Neutrality Agreement between Goleta and Santa Barbara County that went into effect when Goleta became a city. The agreement mandates that Goleta send the county 30% of its sales tax and half of its property taxes.

If the city added any properties with commercial developments bringing in sales tax, that would have to be addressed in the agreement between the county and the city, according to Imhof.

The council members debated what properties they would want to consider adding to the city’s sphere of influence.

Councilman Kyle Richards said he felt rushed to identify specific properties and wanted to hold a workshop for the public. However, City Manager Robert Nisbet said he needed specific direction on sites to be able to start the process with LAFCO. 

Councilman James Kyriaco noted that the council may want to move the issue along in the interest of having more of a voice in the county’s land use decisions. 

“For me, what this process is about is making sure we have a voice in what happens in the next 15 years rather than just sort of standing by and watching something happen,” Kyriaco said. 

He went on to note that he doesn’t want to get hopes up that the city can stop any particular development but that it’s important for Goleta to have a say in matters that affect the city. 

Kyriaco and Luz Reyes-Martín wanted to narrow the city’s focus and direct city staff to pursue working with the county and LAFCO to add the Glen Annie Golf Club, St. Athanasius and Georgie properties to the city’s sphere of influence.

However, Kasdin and Richards indicated a desire to have more time to select sites and take in community feedback.

They agreed that the city should start by focusing on the map in the city’s General Plan, which includes the Glen Annie Golf Course area northwest of the city, a portion of the Hollipat Agricultural Block to the southeast, the North Fairview/Holiday Hill area to the northeast, and the former Ocean Meadows Golf Course to the southwest as potential service areas.

“I do think starting off with the map of what we have in our General Plan is a good starting point, and then maybe we could go from there, talking about why some parcels should be taken off or other parcels added. I think that would generally be a good starting point,” Richards said.  

In the end, the council voted 3-2 to proceed with requesting a sphere of influence discussion, initially relying on the map from the city’s General Plan but that they would proceed concurrently with receiving public input and analysis on potential additions and exclusions.

Kyriaco and Reyes-Martín voted against the motion. 

The process could take a year or more as the city would need to attempt to come to an agreement with the county. LAFCO is also working on a Municipal Service Review that will study governmental services in the area and will inform its decision on the city’s sphere of influence proposal.