Santa Barbara residents are fighting to make sure a proposed housing development near the Mission won’t endanger their neighborhood.

A recent petition regarding the eight-story, 270-unit housing project proposed for 505 E. Los Olivos St., behind the Santa Barbara Mission, has earned more than 5,400 signatures as of Tuesday.

The petition was created by Smart Action for Growth and Equity (SAGE), a volunteer nonprofit group focused on promoting safe housing and development. It asks the city of Santa Barbara to require that any development not endanger public health and safety.

Steve Forsell, president of SAGE’s Board of Directors, said he was “amazed” and “gratified” by the response to the petition.

“The number is quite amazing,” Forsell said. “I’ve lived in Santa Barbara pretty much all of my life, and been involved in a lot of different causes, and it’s very difficult to get a lot of people to sign on to any one issue.”

In April, developers Mission LLC filed notice stating the city had taken too long to respond to a lot-line-adjustment application. That action opened up a 30-day public comment period. 

Forsell explained that SAGE was seeking signatures in time to meet the June 9 deadline for public comment.

Marc Chytilo, a local environmental lawyer working with SAGE, said the city’s next step is to prepare an environmental impact report.

That will open up another public comment period. However, he said that’s likely still a few months away.

Forsell said he is particularly concerned about how the development would increase traffic in the area. He’s also worried that it could cause safety issues if residents had to evacuate from wildfires.

“Now if we imagine that there are 270 new units, and imagine how many cars that will create,” Forsell said. “There is just going to be a horrible, horrible issue.”

After learning about the project last year, Forsell started meeting with neighbors.

“Having lived in Santa Barbara most of my life, you would think something like this would be impossible,” he said.

However, they soon learned that thanks to what is known as a Builder’s Remedy provision, the eight-story housing project behind the Mission could become a reality.

The property’s zoning standards typically allow for buildings up to 30 feet tall. But since 20% of the units will be marked as affordable, under Builder’s Remedy, the development team can bypass certain city standards and restrictions.

Additionally, because of state law, the city can only have up to five public meetings on the project.

“The city is having to be very disciplined in not scheduling hearings prematurely,” Chytilo said. “I think the city is correctly recognizing the need to be judicious with respect to those hearings, because there will likely be multiple hearings with the approval body, and then on any appeal.”

The Historic Landmarks Commission is the decision body, but its ruling can be appealed to the City Council, Chytilo explained. 

Forsell said they hope the city requires a more detailed California Environmental Quality Act report than is required by the Builder’s Remedy provision.

SAGE has also raised concerns about another project from the same developers at 1609 Grand Ave., also in Santa Barbara, with 53 units in a six-story building.

Forsell explained that they aren’t against housing development; they just think the projects aren’t right for the desired locations. 

“We’re not opposed to all development, or even all Builder’s Remedy development,” Forsell said. “We are in favor of workforce housing, and we’re in favor of low-income housing or moderate-income housing.

“However, it has to be in the appropriate place, and these two projects that we’ve been dealing with are clearly not in the appropriate place.”

The Mission project developers are also linked to the proposed 18-story, 130-unit housing project in Carpinteria.

The development team recently sued the parcel’s property owner, Frontier California Inc., alleging that the Frontier Communications subsidiary was “purposefully failing” to sell the property.

The developers have also sued Santa Barbara, alleging that the city is not complying with state housing laws and causing unnecessary project delays.

In April, Judge Thomas Anderle tentatively ruled to dismiss the case, writing that it was reasonable for the city to request further information regarding a development application. The city has filed a motion for judgment, which is set on the court calendar for September.

Ben Eilenberg, an attorney representing Mission LLC, did not respond to Noozhawk’s request for comment.