For Goleta Councilman Kyle Richards, Tuesday’s decision was the “superior option,” and Councilman Stuart Kasdin said, “we did what we could.”
It didn’t satisfy everyone, but the Goleta City Council couldn’t find a way to say “no” to a proposed development at 7000 Hollister Ave.
Westar Associates plans to build 27 more apartments across on the undeveloped 1.84-acre portion within Hollister Village, a 226-unit apartment community across the street from the Camino Real Marketplace.
The new project includes 14 studios and 13 one-bedroom apartments. Five of the 27 units would be available at the “low-income level” for at least 30 years, and the proposal also includes a 0.42-acre park that’s accessible to the public during the daytime.
Thirty-five parking spaces are proposed to serve the 27 units.
In a unanimous vote, council members on Tuesday approved the proposal based primarily because they had to pick one of two projects. They approved more residential units rather than the commercial space that was previously approved by the city.
Westar already had the approval to build a project on the site at the eastern end of the Hollister Village development. Those plans called for 12,687 square feet of commercial space and five, three-story live-work units.
The developer had to change the original project after a nearby resident sued, Goleta Senior Planner Mary Chang said.
The homeowner and the developer settled, and Westar agreed to build residential units instead of the planned commercial buildings and live-work units.
If the council didn’t approve the 27-unit project on Tuesday, the original commercial and live-work project would be constructed as provided in the 2018 settlement agreement, according to city staff.
Councilman James Kyriaco said this project has come a long way, and it’s a better project than the commercial space.
“We don’t truly have a choice. They are going to build one or the other,” he said.
“I can’t remember the last time that the council had the opportunity to approve a project that reduced the size, bulk and scale,” Councilman Roger Aceves said. “This group did that. It’s a smaller unit and it will fill that vacant lot that has been there for years.”
The property along Hollister Avenue is located on Village Way north of Hollister Avenue, west of Storke Road and west of South Glen Annie Road.
This project will help Goleta’s efforts to meet housing needs, said Connor Best, Westar Associates’ vice president of Acquisitions and Entitlements.
The developer is providing a “great public benefit” by offering five affordable studio rental units for low-income residents, he said.
“This is our best effort to address the state’s housing crisis, and the city’s housing and job imbalance,” Best said. “The city needs more housing, more than it needs commercial space.”
The lone public speaker Tuesday, Richard Foster, opposed the residential units and urged the council to vote it down because of the neighborhood impacts.
Several other written comments were addressed to council members, bringing up concerns about traffic.
The development would generate an estimated 4,845 average daily trips in the general area of the project, according to a city report.
Mayor Paula Perotte called the project decision a difficult one, citing the city’s need for more affordable housing and concerns about increased traffic.
The residential project is better than the first version, she said, and supported the vote to approve it.
Tuesday’s approval allows a General Plan amendment and zoning designation changes for the site.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
