Construction is underway near the intersection of Haley and Garden streets. The County of Santa Barbara is required by the state of California to add 15,000 new units of housing.
Construction is underway near the intersection of Haley and Garden streets. The County of Santa Barbara is required by the state of California to add 15,000 new units of housing. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photo

Despite gains in building low-income and higher-income housing, Santa Barbara County is seeing a lack of development for moderately priced units, leaders shared at the Santa Barbara Housing Conference on Thursday.

The conference, hosted by the Coastal Housing Coalition, invited advocates, developers and local officials to hear how the county plans to achieve its goal of adding 15,000 more housing units by 2031.

The state requires counties and cities to develop plans to build thousands of new units to address housing shortages.

The county has not met its Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals in the past.

According to Craig Minus, executive director for the Coastal Housing Coalition, the region has seen a wave of new permits and plans for development in recent years.

“We have a gauge on that number. It’s not official, but it’s substantial,” Minus said. “It represents approximately 60% of the total South Coast RHNA allocation.”

There is a total of 10,406 units being planned throughout the county, according to slides shared with the crowd. The number includes permits issued in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and permits that are in the middle of or have completed planning reviews.

Out of that number, the City of Santa Barbara is on track to add 1,871 through multiple new projects, including the huge developments at La Cumbre Plaza.

Goleta has 932 units in development through projects on Calle Real, Hollister Avenue and more, the CHC shared.

Laura Benard, a partner at the Cearnal Collective and board member for the Coastal Housing Coalition, explains the difficulties of balancing state laws with local interests during the Coastal Housing Coalition's Housing Conference on Thursday.
Laura Benard, a partner at the Cearnal Collective and board member for the Coastal Housing Coalition, explains the difficulties of balancing state laws with local interests during the Coastal Housing Coalition’s Housing Conference on Thursday. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photo

Despite the positive stats around the number of units being built, an issue was raised with the type of housing being developed. Most of the new plans are for very low- or low-income apartments, or high-priced units.

One area that is not seeing development is moderately-priced units, which is an issue known as the “missing middle.”

A reason given for this was subsidies and programs being offered for affordable apartments that are not available for some market-rate projects. On the other hand, developers are pricing their more expensive projects higher to make back the cost of their investment.  

“It’s a problem,” Minus said. “There are no tools. There are no folks like Housing Authority (who are) going to build that because they need subsidies. The market rate does not want to build it because, again, it doesn’t pencil (out).”

Panel Talks Design, Fire Insurance

A workshop between members of the CHC board discussed the difficulties of balancing government requirements and local control.

Laura Benard, a partner at the Cearnal Collective LLP, discussed the difficulty of building multi-family housing in Santa Barbara because of its strict architectural rules.

“Santa Barbara is known for its view of architecture,” Benard said, “which is not big boxes with nice, flat roofs that you can just tack a bunch of stuff on. We have nuances in the facade. The roofs step forward, back, they pop up and down. And so, it creates a limited area.”

Benard added that the lack of space for mechanical equipment and pumps, and the requirement of batteries and solar panels are creating issues for designers.

“We’re getting to the point where we’re running out of room in a lot of ways,” she said. “It’s going to require some creativity to fit everything up there.”

A private project at 219 E. Haley St. will bring 34 housing units and two commercial spaces to Santa Barbara, part of the city’s broader push for more multi-unit housing.
A private project at 219 E. Haley St. will bring 34 housing units and two commercial spaces to Santa Barbara, part of the city’s broader push for more multi-unit housing. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photo

Another issue that was raised and is at the top of many residents’ minds was the topic of fire insurance.

Krista Pleiser, chief government relations officer for the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors, explained that the changes in fire insurance will have an impact on how homes are designed.

Pleiser said homes will now need to have defensible spaces — areas with any types of plants, structures or other flammable material — to better protect homes. She added that even things like a wooden fence may not be allowed.

She added that these changes will be for homes that are in high-risk areas, which include many communities in Santa Barbara County.

The high cost of fire insurance is also increasing the cost of development, she said.

“It’s actually adding a lot of costs to not only building (homes), but it’s also adding a lot of cost to those who already have those homes,” Pleiser said.

— Noozhawk staff writer Daniel Green can be reached at dgreen@noozhawk.com.