New housing must find a home of its own

5/28/02
By JUNE RICH
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

State tells county to make room for 17,539 residences

Envision almost 7,700 new homes popping up in and around Santa Maria in the next six years.

Now, picture another 3,700 homes between Goleta and Summerland -- but not in Santa Barbara proper, which needs to find room for 2,100 houses of its own.

While the county doesn't have to build that many homes, it does have to set aside land for them, and more.

The state has told Santa Barbara County to find room for at least 17,539 new homes -- and will only certify housing plans in communities that comply. Those who ignore the requirement become ineligible for certain state and federal funds.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, which includes representatives from every city and the county, recently dissected the state's total housing number, tentatively assigning each community its share of homes. Now the cities and county have a 90-day comment period to debate who should take more homes, who should take fewer.

Comments from agencies and the public could sway the association to apportion the housing differently, although it has no power to lower the total number.

It looks like the Santa Maria area will probably have to absorb the most housing, especially with the number assigned to its rural fringes. Like several other jurisdictions, Santa Maria says it already has enough vacant land to meet the state's requirement.

"I won't say that we enjoy having a high number," said Bill Shipsey, a city planner in Santa Maria. "But it wasn't a surprise, which is why we aren't kicking and screaming."

Mr. Shipsey questioned whether assigning Santa Maria such a high number of houses worked toward remedying this region's imbalance between jobs and housing. As it is, many people choose to live in North County and commute to the South Coast. Some worry building so much housing in North County will simply aggravate the problem.

"Ideally, the best thing in the world would be for Santa Maria to stop building houses, and for the South Coast to stop creating jobs. But politically that's not going to happen," he said. "Home ownership is still within someone's grasp here. It may mean a 60- to 90-minute commute. But by L.A. standards, a 60-minute commute may become acceptable."

Goleta is another story. The new city is supposed to find room for 1,729 new homes, but only has land designated for about 1,400.

"Everybody thinks Goleta should solve the South Coast's housing problem," said Goleta councilman Jack Hawxhurst.

Goleta shouldn't be fooled by the number assigned to the city, he said, because more will likely accumulate on its unincorporated edge. The South Coast needs to find space for 1,601 new homes in its unincorporated areas.

"Do you think they'll be in Hope Ranch, or Toro Canyon?" Mr. Hawxhurst said. "They'll be on the outskirts of Goleta. Not that I expect a high-rise apartment complex in Hope Ranch, but you do notice that the same people keep on skating."

Officials in the cities of Carpinteria and Santa Barbara estimate that there is enough vacant land set aside for housing to meet the state's mandate. The problem in those communities, however, is that many of the houses may never get built because of environmental constraints, such as location within the coastal zone.

"For all I know this (housing) allocation may be eminently doable," Mr. Hawxhurst said. "But I think it sets a precedent for all sorts of future allocations."

That assumption is correct, in a way. Like clockwork, the state Department of Housing and Community Development assigns a new housing number to counties every time they update their housing plans, at least once per decade. Right now, 32 counties across California are going through the same process.

Still, Mr. Hawxhurst questions the value of following the state's rules.

"You find that every time you salute their unfunded mandate to build more, you get further and further behind in water, sewers, roads, schools, the list goes on," he said. "I think we have to ask, ÔIs it worth it?' ''

The debate in Santa Barbara County will likely become more colorful when the issue of who can buy enters the mix.

About 40 percent of the housing assigned by the state must be for low-income people, and the county is supposed to attempt to even out existing imbalances by assigning more affordable housing in areas where there is little.

Not surprisingly, the unincorporated areas received the largest share -- 2,728 of 7,191 units in the very-low, and low-income categories -- because such projects typically haven't located in Santa Barbara County's rural areas.

Again, Santa Maria's rural fringes are expected to absorb the highest proportion of the unincorporated affordable units -- 1,200 -- with the South Coast's unincorporated areas assigned half as many.

Among the cities, Santa Maria is expected to take the most, with Santa Barbara and Goleta a distant second and third, respectively.

Mr. Hawxhurst said it was important not to ignore the "800-pound gorillas in the room," the agents of growth that should play a greater role in providing housing.

"Think about the impact in our area from UCSB," he said. "And having the seat of county government on the South Coast. Does that make sense? Perhaps the place for them to be is in Santa Ynez. That would relieve some of the pressure on the South Coast housing market. So would North County campuses (for UCSB). And the employers really have to step up to the plate. I really question the idea that government has to provide employers with cheap labor" by providing affordable housing.

F. Y. I.

Where should all the homes go? The state requires us to help absorb some of its growth by setting aside land for a certain number of homes -- at least 17,531. The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments has divided that number between the cities and the rural areas. Copies of the draft plan are available at local libraries.

They want to know what you think in the 90-day comment period, which ends Aug. 23. Write to P.O. Box 8208, Goleta, CA 93118. Or attend one of two public workshops:

* Santa Maria
Tuesday, July 9, 6-8:30 p.m.
Betteravia Government Center
Board of Supervisors hearing room
511 East Lakeside Parkway

* Santa Barbara
Wednesday, July 10, 6-8:30 p.m.
County Administration building
Board of Supervisors hearing room, 4th floor
105 E. Anapamu St.

-- JUNE RICH