As , the Metropolis of Goleta has been coping with the Housing Factor (HE) for over a 12 months now, since we first submitted our draft to the State Division of Housing & Neighborhood Growth (HCD). Since then, we’ve got gone backwards and forwards with the state as we work to get it accredited, or licensed.
I need to be clear that this train of rezoning sure parcels all through the town is one thing that we had tried to keep away from. Town first submitted a draft of our HE to the State over a 12 months in the past, and since then we’ve got been going backwards and forwards with them to draft a doc that they’d settle for and certify. Up so far, we’ve got averted contemplating any rezones of vacant parcels. Importantly, no agricultural websites which can be protected by Measure G-2012 (together with Bishop Ranch, amongst others) had been thought of for rezoning at any level in our course of. We’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to incorporate solely under-utilized and nonvacant parcels, with the purpose of assembly the state’s necessities with out unduly impacting neighborhoods and areas of the town.
Sadly, the state isn’t shopping for it. For too lengthy, too many cities have included such websites of their Housing Components with out outcomes. Too usually, nonvacant websites like those we’ve included on our record haven’t resulted within the quantity of housing being constructed that was promised (or a minimum of hoped for). It has been our sincerely held perception that these nonvacant, under-utilized parcels actually do provide the chance to construct housing, and that it could be far superior to develop these websites relatively than look to vacant parcels. However regardless of our greatest efforts, we at the moment are right here wanting on the rezoning of vacant parcels in an effort to fulfill the state’s necessities and get our plan licensed.
I need to acknowledge that we’ve got acquired a substantial amount of public touch upon this matter, as properly we should always. This dialogue and the selections that comply with can have an important impression on the town and particular neighborhoods. The selections that we make now about how to answer the state’s necessities will have an effect on the character of the town for years to come back.
We’ve all heard in regards to the housing affordability disaster, and California has handed many legal guidelines in the previous few years to deal with it. Sadly, many of those legal guidelines have taken away native management and have lowered or eradicated cities’ means to say no to progress and growth. We merely don’t have the choice of claiming no. So, what we hope to perform by way of this train is to do what we will to plan for extra housing in a considerate and accountable means, in a means that satisfies the state’s necessities whereas minimizing or avoiding undesirable impacts to our metropolis or to explicit neighborhoods.
I believe all of us right here agree that we need to protect the character of Goleta, and this implies retaining what we will of our open areas and avoiding sprawling developments. I consider that the way in which to maintain what’s left of the nation really feel of Goleta is to struggle vigorously towards sprawl, particularly within the urban-rural interface across the metropolis. We have to take a look at infill tasks. This may occasionally imply growing densities of sure areas inside the metropolis. To me, it is sensible to maintain a mixture of open rural house with comparatively dense suburban areas in an effort to keep away from sprawl.
It’s essential to share our priorities for a way we make these selections, and listed here are among the issues:
• Inside strolling distance to retail or different companies? Is there a retailer or a market inside strolling distance? Can our youngsters stroll or bike to highschool safely? Are there close by parks to stroll or bike to? (Or another type of transportation or nonetheless you get round: wheelchair, scooter, and many others.)
• Is it accessible to public transportation? Is it handy to get on an MTD bus?
• We have to contemplate the impacts of parking and what it would imply for the rapid neighborhood.
• And in an effort to scale back the impacts of parking and site visitors, we have to consider how individuals will get round, and be sure that they’ll do as a lot of their getting round as attainable with out a automobile. We might not be capable of count on individuals to depart all their vehicles at residence, however we should always make it as straightforward as attainable for them to take action.
• Will it present a superb mixture of reasonably priced items, particularly for the low and really low classes? (And by the way in which, only for readability, once we put quite a few what number of in every earnings class, what we’re actually speaking about is a components based mostly on density.)
• How appropriate is it with the neighboring areas?
• There are different essential issues that may also be explored throughout the planning course of. Immediately, we aren’t reviewing the particulars of any particular venture; this in regards to the underlying zoning solely. When tasks are reviewed then we can have a chance to overview the peak, structure, the extent to which it preserves or enhances our creeks and environmentally delicate areas and protects our viewsheds.
There are not any good options through which we’re capable of present all of the wanted and reasonably priced housing with out having any impacts on the neighborhood. So, our purpose right here is to attenuate these impacts and plan in a means that spreads out impacts with out unduly impacting some areas.
Briefly, how can we guarantee the best public good whereas minimizing the potential adverse results?
I need to make it clear that the Metropolis of Goleta just isn’t proud of our lack of management in making these selections. We’ve opposed lots of the payments which have taken our management away. And whereas some might want us to push again more durable on the State, I’d say we’ve got to choose and select our battles. We’ve, in spite of everything, sued UC Santa Barbara for his or her impacts to the town, and I’m comfortable to see that UCSB has simply put out an RFQ [request for quote] to pursue constructing one other 3,500 items. I hope it is a signal that the college is lastly getting severe about offering housing to accommodate its speedy progress. We’re prepared to push again once we really feel like we’ve got an opportunity of a good struggle, and if we really feel it could be a worthwhile funding of public funds for probably expensive and drawn-out litigation.
Lastly, I need to emphasize how essential it’s that we get our housing plan licensed by the state. We submitted our first draft to the State over a 12 months in the past, and we’ve been working with them going backwards and forwards ever since. However with out getting that last stamp of approval, we’re open to the “Builder’s Treatment,” which might imply that we’ve got even much less (and even no) discretion on reviewing tasks. I consider it’s in our greatest curiosity to get our Housing Factor licensed by the state to additional scale back the chance of undesirable growth, or growth in undesirable areas.
Kyle Richards is a councilmember for the Metropolis of Goleta.
