More affordable rental housing is slated to be built in the Goodland after the Goleta City Council granted approval this week to the developers of the Cortona Apartments.
In a unanimous vote lauding a need for more workforce housing, council members green-lighted plans for the 176-unit apartment complex on a nearly 9-acre vacant, triangular parcel at 6830 Cortona Drive.
The property, which is near the Storke Road exit of Highway 101, is surrounded by railroad tracks to the north and business parks to the east, west and south.
A timeframe for construction — and completion — was not available, city staff said.
The City Council placed no added conditions on approval, although the Planning Commission recommended officials encourage developers to use more recycled water when it passed the item through late last year.
The Cortona Apartments will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units — 66 one-bedrooms, 100 two-bedrooms and 10 three-bedrooms — within four two-story buildings at the front of the site and four three-story buildings at the rear.
The affordable rental housing development, first proposed in 2009, originally featured five fewer units and less of an affordable-housing component.
Applicant John Price of Cortona Corner LP presented the development as including a recreational building, swimming pool and spa, walking paths, open space and sand volleyball court.
A total of 330 total parking spaces, including 178 carport spaces, were planned, with access from Cortona Drive.
City staff went over environmental mitigations for potential noise, air quality, aesthetics and traffic, which required an expanded bus stop on eastbound Hollister Avenue at the Kmart Commercial Center.
Staff said the development was exempt from the Stage Two water restrictions issued by the Goleta Water District because the district already had an agreement to serve the site.
Mitigation measures were also developed so a Chumash tribal representative could monitor excavation for archaeological deposits.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.