Goleta City Councilman Stuart Kasdin said Santa Barbara County abandoned its values by suggesting a rezoning of agriculture land to build housing.
Kasdin spoke with journalist and college instructor Josh Molina in the latest episode of the video and streaming podcast Santa Barbara Talks.
“This is not their own principles, their own goals,” Kasdin said. “In the interest of being safe, in the interest of satisfying the state, they have abandoned all the things I believe they inherently stand for.”
The county’s proposed Housing Element has set off a firestorm of controversy over the proposal to rezone agricultural lands in Goleta, but nothing in Hope Ranch or Montecito, to plan for the city’s housing crisis.
Kasdin said that the county chose “low-hanging fruit,” and opted for the easy way out to satisfy state demands to build housing.
“Converting ag lands to residential should be a last case,” Kasdin said. “At first, before that, they should look at existing capacity.”
Kasdin also criticized the county’s transparency in the public outreach process. He said that the county only put sites on its list for rezoning where the property owners and developers have already agreed to build housing.
“It doesn’t make sense from a planning perspective,” Kasdin said. “You don’t need to have a planning department if you are going to let whoever comes in say, ‘I am going to do it.’ Why have a planning department if you are not going to plan?”
Watch the full 39-minute conversation by clicking on the link above .
Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College and Cal State University, Northridge. He formerly covered politics and land use for the San Jose Mercury News. Santa Barbara Talks is an independently owned podcast where Molina looks to bring together voices from all perspectives to discuss and provide solutions to the challenges related to housing, education, transportation and other community issues. Subscribe to his podcast here and consider a contribution here.