After more than two hours of testimony and discussion, the Goleta City Council this week decided to take up a request for an amendment to the city general plan at a meeting this fall.
Council members voted 3-2, with Mayor Paula Perotte and Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards dissenting, for a continuation of the public hearing on the initiation of a general plan amendment consideration for 625 Dara Road. The council was not deciding whether to approve the general planaAmendment, but rather to initiate the process to the study the request.
Hersel Mikaelian, the property owner and applicant, requested to change the site’s land-use designation and zoning from single-family to medium-density residential.
If the general plan amendment was initiated, the change would offer a denser housing arrangement than anticipated in Goleta’s general plan.
Mikaelian hopes to facilitate a senior care facility project with 150 to 170 beds and a variety of amenities and programming on the 4.23-acre site. The applicant’s proposal calls for merging the existing 13 parcels into one lot to support a single, large residential care facility for seniors.
The council’s decision Tuesday was only for the general plan amendment initiation, not the senior care facility project.
Perotte said she doesn’t take any general plan amendment lightly and that she’s “not in a position to support doing it at this time.”
The site is near Goleta’s Andamar Park. The surrounding land uses are open space and active recreation to the north and northwest and single-family residential in all other directions.
Dara Road is along the eastern property boundary. The property sits on a hill and a proposed structure could be higher than the area properties, Richards said.
“I think anything would block some views,” Richards said, adding that he preferred the City Council decide on an outcome Tuesday. He was more inclined against the initiation of a general plan amendment.
Richards said there are positive aspects of the project and a need for more senior housing in Goleta, but the council members’ primary focus is determining the appropriate land-use designation for the parcel of properties.
“I don’t think this is the appropriate land-use designation for this parcel,” Richards said.
Mikaelian, who had 10 minutes to speak to the City Council, said he started the project four years ago.
Last year, the City Council received majority support from the Goleta Planning Commission to allow senior care facilities in all residential zones. The City Council in November agreed that Goleta needs senior care facilities, plus supported the Dara Road property in becoming a site for a senior care facility.
“You mentioned we need senior care desperately,” Mikaelian said of the City Council meeting in November. “There was some talk that my property was going to be the best area to have senior care.”
Mikaelian said he followed the city’s direction and worked “with your staff, and I’m only hoping you see I’m not here for the project — I’m here for an investigation for all of us.”
Charles Kimbell, the site owner’s counsel, said Mikaelian is dedicated to senior care, and it is the sincere wish of Mikaelian to create a senior care facility in the city. The applicant is willing to execute a deed restriction in favor of the city restricting the property to senior care use only, Kimbell said.
“That is his passion,” Kimbell said. “He wants to build a senior care facility. He wants his property used for that purpose. Even if he doesn’t own it, so he would be willing to commit to that, with an enforceable deed restriction that the city could hold, and hold the property to that limitation.”
At the end of the day, Goleta Councilman Roger Aceves said, the applicant deserves a response from the council.
Councilman James Kyriaco called for an informed public policy decision and a local census of the existing assisted-living units in Santa Barbara, Goleta and the unincorporated area. He said it has been a “long and winding road to get here for our staff, applicant and community,” adding that the existing allowable project was approved “a couple of generations ago.”
In the 1980s, a subdivision was approved and recorded under Santa Barbara County’s jurisdiction to create a total of 13 lots from the original, single lot on the site at 625 Dara Road.
Kyriaco said he supported “taking a little bit more time to try and get this right,” and allowing the applicant to postpone a decision, so the City Council can receive more clarification on the overall situation.
Mikaelian said he’s “delighted” to cooperate with the Goleta City Council, but urged Goleta leaders to be mindful because “delaying senior care is not going to help our community.”
“I’m 70 years old,” Mikaelian said. “I don’t know how long you want to think about this, but I may not be around … I appreciate what you’re trying to do. If you need more time. I’m happy to give you more time.”
Councilman Stuart Kasdin said he would like to know if a local preference of some sort is going to free up housing in the area, “and give us housing for people in the community or we are just bringing in retirees from Bakersfield — and it’s doing nothing for the local community.”
Kasdin said the Goleta council owes “it to him (Mikaelian) to fully explore the issue and fully explore the context, but I would suspect he would rather have us have complete information and a full understanding of the implications of his request, even if it means additional delay.” He said “delay” means “an information source.”
After the council’s deliberations, Mikaelian requested a postponement until October.
“It seems you don’t have enough information, and I would like to provide some of that information,” Mikaelian said.
The item generated several public comments via email and phone calls.
Stephen Vandenburgh, a resident in the 5700 block of Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta, said he is opposed to initiating a general plan amendment. He voiced concern about vehicle traffic on the residential streets if a senior care living facility is located at the site on Dara Road.
“This is a quiet, stable residential neighborhood,” Vandenburgh said. “Kids play basketball in the street directly across from 625 Dara Road.”
Other Goleta residents supported the approval of a land-use change.
Cheryl Rogers said she has lived in Santa Barbara County for more than 20 years, with five years in Goleta.
“According to all demographic statistics, our population is getting older and will be in need of supportive housing when they can no longer keep up their single-family home,” the retired city planner wrote via email. “This will be an opportunity for younger people to have a property appropriate for raising a family, while the elderly can move to a senior home nearby where they have lived for many years.”
The medium-density residential use could be considered compatible with the existing mixture of surrounding sites, including a church, a health club and a day-care center, along with single-family residences, according to Goleta staff.
The proposed land-use designation change provides for a variety of residential land uses, including a large senior care facility, which could bring a different type of housing in the city while providing jobs and services, staff said.
City Planning Manager Lisa Prasse said five assisted-living facilities offer elderly care home to seniors in the area, including Villa Blanca, Mariposa at Ellwood Shores, Maravilla and the Friendship Manor.
Goleta’s general plan has been amended on 22 occasions. The most recent amendment occurred in 2019 for inclusionary rental housing units.
“I feel we have delved into the project itself and less on the land-use designation,” Richards said of Tuesday’s virtual meeting.
— 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.
