The state granted Santa Barbara County a pro-housing designation along with $1.25 million in funding for its efforts to build new housing, streamline development processes and support affordable housing.
It’s the first time Santa Barbara County has received the designation, and it’s one of 10 jurisdictions to receive the label for the first time. The state awarded $11.3 million to 13 communities across the state.
The designation is part of a state program to benefit communities that go above and beyond in trying to expand housing through local ordinances and programs, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
“Through strong local partnerships, we’re delivering results and creating more opportunities for Californians to have a safe, affordable place to call home,” he said in a press release.
Communities across California are required to add new housing under state laws designed to address the state’s housing shortage. Santa Barbara County communities need to build thousands of new housing units by 2031 to comply with Regional Housing Needs Allocation standards.
The county and city of Santa Barbara are among the 75 California jurisdictions with pro-housing designations.
Lucille Boss, the county’s housing programs manager, said the goal of the program is to incentivize local jurisdictions to pass policies to promote housing.
Santa Barbara County has been making an effort to speed up the permitting process and has rezoned properties as residential throughout the county to promote housing construction.
One of the ways the county plans to promote housing is by converting unused county-owned land to workforce housing. The Board of Supervisors approved a plan to convert the former county probation building into workforce housing in May.
Additionally, the county and several cities now offer pre-approved plans for accessory dwelling units. The goal of the pre-approved plans is to lower the costs for homeowners interested in converting part of their property into a standalone dwelling.
Earning the state’s pro-housing designation can help the county gain access to state funding and grants it priority, according to Boss.
Staff from the California Department of Housing and Community Services determine whether a jurisdiction qualifies for the rating. Among the requirements is having an adopted housing element.
Boss said the goal is to hold jurisdictions accountable to the timelines in their elements.
“It’s competitive to just apply for it in general,” Boss said. “You also want to get as high of a score as possible because that puts you ahead of other jurisdictions that might have the designation and also be applying for some state funding.”
Boss said the $1.25 million granted to the county will be used to support the county’s housing goals. The county plans to use the money toward acquiring housing developments, and it may be used to fund building repairs to keep people in their homes, Boss said.
Some of the money may also go to help people with down payments for homes, supporting homeless services and other fiscal incentives.
Boss said the pro-housing designation has already benefited the county and earned it extra money.
When Santa Barbara County’s homeless services department applied for a grant, it was awarded more money than expected because of the county’s high score on its pro-housing status.
“We’re also finding we’re applying for a Transformative Climate Communities grant,” Boss said. “(The) pro-housing designation gets us just a couple of extra points, but the couple extra points can make or break an application when it’s competitive statewide.”
