Goleta is known as the Goodland, but its draft housing element isn’t living up to the hype.
The State of California sent a harsh letter to the City of Goleta about its draft proposal, letting the city know that it needs to make a more serious effort to comply with mandates for state housing. The element lacks analysis and data, and parts of the document are “generic,” the letter sent Tuesday states.
The draft housing element relies on nonvacant sites to accommodate more than 50% of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment mandates from the state for lower-income households.
“The element must include an analysis demonstrating the potential for additional development on nonvacant sites,” said Paul McDougall, senior program manager. “While the element discusses that nonvacant sites were identified based on staff knowledge such as long-term vacancies and expressed interest from property owners, it does not discernably relate this information to identified sites.”
The letter continues: “The element should analyze the extent that existing uses may impede additional residential development, past experiences converting existing uses to higher-density residential development, market demand for the existing use, existing leases or contracts that would perpetuate the existing use or prevent additional residential development.”
The draft housing element also failed to include indicators such as age, condition of the existing structure existing versus allowable floor area, low improvement to land value ratio, and other relevant factors.
State law requires that local jurisdictions submit a draft housing element for approval by Feb. 15. In that document, the agencies must outline where they plan to allow new housing. With the state facing a major housing shortage, government agencies are required to comply with the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. The City of Goleta’s allocation for the next RHNA cycle is 1,837 units between 2023 and 2031.
The City of Santa Barbara submitted its draft housing element in August. Santa Barbara County has not yet submitted its draft. Goleta submitted its draft in June.
The Housing Element is part of a city’s general plan. At a time of a major housing shortage locally and throughout California, state housing planners are looking at the draft documents with great scrutiny to determine whether agencies are making serious efforts to plan for housing or going through the motions.
The pressure from the state has created friction with local governments that are trying to maintain local control over their planning decisions.
The units do not have to be built, but the city must identify the sites as places where new housing could go. Among the other holes in the document:
“The element must still evaluate whether programs have been effective in addressing housing needs of special-needs populations (e.g., elderly, persons with disabilities, large households, female headed households, farmworkers, and persons experiencing homelessness),” the letter states.
In addition, according to the state’s letter, the element does not include a complete site analysis of available locations for housing.
“Therefore, the adequacy of sites and zoning were not established,” the letter states. “Based on the results of a complete sites inventory and analysis, the city may need to add or revise programs to address a shortfall of sites or zoning available to encourage a variety of housing types.”
Anne Wells, the city’s advance planning manager, told Noozhawk that the letter did not come as a surprise because Goleta staff had engaged in conversations. The city and the state are working on improving the draft document.
“They are asking for a lot of justification for our housing sites,” Wells said. “They are asking for a lot of evidence that there is market demand, development interest, that existing leases won’t go in the way.”
Much of Goleta’s vacant land had already been developed. In the last RHNA cycle, Goleta approved the development of 1,327 units.
Wells said the state is requestiong analysis and data for information that may not be possible.
“They are asking for a lot when they really are not hearing what we are telling them,” she said. “We don’t have water.”
Wells said the Goleta Water District has capped the number of new water meters, and converting from commercial to residential represents a more intensive use, which makes housing development at many of the sites difficult. The city, she said, can talk to the developers, land owners and commercial property owners to see if they are interested in developing those sites, but without new water meters, “they are not going to invest in design if they don’t have water.”
Still, Wells said, the city is working with the state to answer questions and submit a revised version of the draft housing element.
Goleta Planning Commissioner Sam Ramirez, who is running for a seat on the Goleta City Council, said, “Goleta needs to be better not just with the housing element, but in addressing Goleta’s housing needs as a whole.”
“We need to work on making mixed-use an option in Old Town similar to how other communities have incorporated it,” Ramirez said. “We need to ensure we look at infill as an option as well so that we can protect our open space. As outlined in the housing element and the response by HCD, we have taken important steps, but our housing needs can’t wait another decade to be solved. Finally, our city has not done enough community outreach on a number of fronts. But making sure we get folks the housing they need is critical to the sustainability of our economy.”
Goleta City Councilman James Kyriaco, who is running for re-election, said Goleta will respond to the state’s concerns.
“I look forward to staff bringing any revisions that address these comments as expeditiously as possible so that the City Council can consider them, and take all appropriate actions necessary to meet our future housing goals,” Kyriaco said.
— 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.
