A brand-new community with 4,000 homes along with businesses, offices, a school, a fire station and more in the Solomon Hills took a key first step forward in the long approval process Wednesday.

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission agreed to accept the application from Solstra Communities California for what staff called the unprecedented Solomon Hills Project on 1,903 acres south of Orcutt.

Planning commissioners considered the project concept only, including whether to accept the application and kick off the lengthy process that will involve an environmental analysis and other reviews of the General Plan amendment and rezoning proposal.

Fourth District Commissioner Larry Ferini noted that the lack of housing has led to a rush for short-term solutions, creating unintended consequences such as more traffic for existing communities. 

“So, when we take an applicant who wants to really bite the bullet and harness up to the workload of establishing an all-new community to give us a better housing inventory, I think that should be supported,” Ferini said. 

First District Commissioner C. Michael Cooney said he had a lot of questions about the proposal.

“The primary reason that I think this project should be initiated is to start finding the answers to all those questions,” Cooney added.

“I think they definitely deserve the chance to go forward and answer all those questions that we all have in our mind and that several members of the public have also questioned, and it’s going to be very vibrant,” Second District Commissioner Laura Bridley said.

Solstra, a private equity firm with offices in Denmark and London, purchased the property more than three years ago from Pacific Coast Energy Co.

Primary access to the community would occur from Highway 101 with secondary access from Highway 135.

From the start, the development would seek to employ the latest standards and technology to lessen energy use and water consumption. They also want to offer a diverse mix of houses and apartments along with cutting-edge transportation concepts for the new community.

To make way for the development, oil and gas facilities on site would be abandoned.

Jackson Washburn, Solomon Hills development director, also noted that it wouldn’t be the first community on Orcutt Hill where early oil field workers once lived there decades ago before the site’s expansion led to families relocating to Old Town Orcutt.

The long-term project would happen over 25 years, according to Solstra representatives, who added that it would allow the North County to align the growth of jobs and housing needs. 

“The scale of this undertaking is large, but that scale is what provides for the project’s innovation, net-zero goals, thoughtful design and large-scale open space,” said Jay Higgins, Solstra’s land-use agent. “It’s a unique opportunity for the county to study and plan for a forward-thinking, net-zero emission community, which will provide jobs, housing and open space for future generations. And it will help North County stay ahead of the discrepancies we’re seeing play out on the South Coast today.”

Most speakers favored the project, saying the lack of affordable housing has created troubles for attracting and retaining employees.

Emphasizing that the planning commissioners should still hold robust discussions, staff had recommended that commissioners ultimately deny the project, only to send it to the Board of Supervisors for input and initiation of the application’s review.

“I think that a decision to not make a decision calls into question the credibility of our county leadership about whether we really, truly are serious about solving the housing problems, not just today but into the future, and whether we’re willing to think about unique and out-of-the-box solutions or if we’re going to continue on the same hamster wheel we’ve been on,” said Glenn Morris, president and chief executive officer of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce. 

He was one of several speakers who urged the panel to reject the planning staff’s recommendation to reject the project Wednesday. 

A couple of Orcutt residents and the leader of the Santa Barbara County Action Network raised concerns about the proposal, urging denial, so it moved to the Board of Supervisors for more community input.

“If this moves forward, we’d love to see the developer partner with organizations like the county Housing Authority or People’s Self-Help Housing to ensure that ample units are affordable for the long haul,” said Ken Hough, SBCAN executive director.

Consideration of a General Plan amendment and rezoning would take place in the future after multiple public meetings, environmental studies and more. That means the item likely won’t return to the Planning Commission for formal consideration for a couple of years. 

One of the early steps will include a yet-to-be-scheduled public scoping meeting to collect comments from people about issues to explore in the environmental review process.