The Santa Barbara City Council has passed a set of sweeping new design standards intended to bring developers more certainty in the process, while also protecting the city’s quality of life and character.
The City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to approve the Objective Design and Development Standards, an effort by city staff, design review boards and the community that began in 2021.
“I think you have done the impossible,” Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said.
City planners, particularly Dan Gullett and Assistant City Attorney Tava Ostrenger, along with community architects have worked to create clear design standards for developers, who often say the city’s review process is unpredictable and harsh, which slows down the process and stifles the building of new apartment buildings.
The plan includes development standards for five zones throughout the city.
Those areas include four architectural styles. The standards come as a result of the state’s Housing Accountability Act, which prevents denying or reducing density for housing projects that comply with objective criteria.
Senate Bill 330 prohibits cities from enforcing subjective standards, and Senate Bill 35 streamlines ministerial approval of housing projects.
Those state laws have backed cities such as Santa Barbara into a corner. Traditionally, design boards such as the Architectural Board of Review and the Historic Landmarks Commission have wielded great power in approving projects.
The design standards, or “ODDS” as they are called, will work together as part of the subjective planning process. Developers can choose the design review process or the objective pre-set design standard plan.
“The subjective design review process will still be available for applicants who maybe have a design that doesn’t fit the design standards, they want to do something very different and outside the box, and actually some architects really like the peer review they get from design review,” project planner Rosie Dyste said.
The standards will apply to areas of the city that are zoned for apartment buildings of two or more units or mixed-use buildings.
In 2021, the city was awarded a $300,000 Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant from
the state Department of Housing and Community Development to prepare the
Objective Design and Development Standards. The city hired Berkeley-based Opticos Design Inc. to prepare the design standards.
Senior associate Tony Perez kicked off the presentation by describing his company.
“We’re urban designers and architects who believe in the transformative power of beautiful, sustainable and walkable communities for all,” Perez said.
He explained that the design standards are “form-based” and intended to co-exist with the existing character of the community.
“Most communities have to look elsewhere for the kind of communities they want to emulate and become,” Perez said. “Santa Barbara is the opposite. You have a place that a lot of people want to be like. It was really a lot of fun to prepare the standards here. All we had to do was look here.”
Community Development Director Eli Isaacson said the standards “really capture the essence of Santa Barbara architecture.”
Communities throughout the state are working to develop similar design standards. Santa Barbara also committed to creating the standards in its latest Housing Element. Isaacson said the city will evaluate the effectiveness of the design standards and return to the City Council to tweak the ordinance, based on feedback.
“I believe we should appreciate and thank our design review boards for the collaborative work they do to helping projects be the best they can be to contribute to Santa Barbara’s reputation as a beautiful coastal town full of recreation and culture,” architect Cass Ensberg said. “I don’t believe the ODDS can match the traditional review process in ensuring sensitive placement, scale and our Santa Barbara whimsical style.”
She also said the staff and consultant has done an excellent job and was supportive of adoption.
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said that when the design standards return for updates that she would like to discuss ways to increase housing opportunities in the city, rather than just facilitate paths for design. Still, she said, the 200-page document is a victory for the city because the people who deal most closely with planning issues were happy with the document.
“I am not a housing developer. I am not an architect. I am a decision-maker up here, but the folks who are on the ground doing this work are the ones who were engaged day-to-day in the development of the standards, and I think that is the most important piece,” Harmon said.
Architect Fred Sweeney said he was pleased with the process and that talented designers will be able to build attractive projects within the design standards.
“Good designers, good architects know how to do this work,” Sweeney said. “I am happy that after 15 to 20 years of trying to promote form-based planning that we’re here, we’ve got it,” Sweeney said.
The goal of the ODDS, the city says, is to:
- Increase predictability and confidence in the city review process with consistent
expectations for desirable results. - Promote a livable city by supporting diverse housing types that engage the streetscape to create a vibrant and walkable community.
- Respect the context of Santa Barbara’s existing built and natural environment with buildings and design that reflect the city’s vision of exemplary architecture.
- Create a visual language to better communicate local standards with photographs,
illustrations, maps and tables in a catalog of agreed-upon designs.