A recent “walk-about” around La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara was the proverbial dog-and-pony show by Matt Taylor, developer of a proposed housing project at the site; Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman; and Rob Fredericks, executive director and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.
The speakers highlighted the proposed plans for transforming Macy’s into a 685-unit housing development ranging from two to six stories, and reaching as high as 88 feet. (The city’s charter states that buildings over 60 feet are not allowed.)
In promoting the project, Friedman, who represents the Upper State Street neighborhood, said La Cumbre Plaza “has seen better days.”
Regardless of whether the mall has in fact “seen better days,” it remains to be determined if there is sustainable water available for a 685-unit housing development.
Granted, Santa Barbara County is experiencing a housing crisis due to high home prices and rents that make housing unaffordable for many. With a lack of affordable housing, 55% of renters are cost burdened, putting residents at risk of homelessness.
So far, debates over the development have centered on the number of low-income affordable units that would be included.
However, providing sustainable water for the proposed development has not been discussed. It should be!
The majority of the City of Santa Barbara’s water comes from Lake Cachuma (37%) and the State Water Project (13%).
The city does not own all the water in Cachuma, which provides 85% of the water for 250,000 Central Coast residents, including those along the South Coast in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria.
The reservoir also supplies water to some 38,000 acres of downstream agricultural land, and to fish protection in the Santa Ynez River.
The State Water Project (Sierra snowpack) provides water to more than 27 million Californians, including cities and 750,000 acres of agricultural land.
Its deliveries to Southern California include Los Angeles, which gets more than 85% of its water from the SWP; Orange County (50%) and San Diego (80%).
Santa Barbara imports 13% of its water through the SWP.
We are now living in the hottest year on record, and our planet went over the 1.5C (2F) tipping point last July. This signaled more severe storms, wildfires and droughts.
The severe drought California experienced from 2012 to 2016 was part of a much wider 20-year climate change-related phenomenon extending regionally throughout the Southwest. 2022 was our driest year over the past 128 years.
Despite the “atmospheric rivers” of rain that Santa Barbara County experienced last year, we cannot assume we are now immune from drought, especially so in planning for more housing developments.
Developers should be required to show how they will provide long-term sustainable water for their proposed projects.
On July 3, the State Water Resources Control Board approved a policy that will force municipal water suppliers to reduce the amount of water they provide by close to 40% over the next 15 years.
If suppliers and their customers don’t reduce water use, the districts could be fined up to $1,000 a day.
The justification was stated by control board chairman Joaquin Esquivel: “Our climate has changed. Our uses should match the hydrology that we’re now facing.”
In this regard, the Carpinteria Valley Water District Board of Directors declared a Stage I drought condition ordinance prohibiting irrigation runoff, washing hard surfaces and requiring that all water leaks be fixed within 24 hours of notification.
Climate change is a game changer, neither acknowledged by the recent walk-about at La Cumbre Plaza nor by the development policies of the City of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County. We will have future droughts and water shortages.
While the city and county should follow Carpinteria and reimpose Stage 1 water restrictions, Santa Barbara should not approve new development without developers ensuring they can provide long-term sustainable water.