The developers behind the 642-unit housing project in La Cumbre Plaza want to build only 54 affordable units as part of the development on Santa Barbara’s upper State Street.
And that’s a problem for the City of Santa Barbara, some of its planning commissioners and members of the public.
Commissioner Lucille Boss spoke out against the developers for the lack of affordable housing and the weak public outreach effort leading up to last Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting.
The low number of affordable units, Boss said, “tells me you are not committed to adding the supply of housing that is actually needed in our community, so that’s really of great concern to me.”
Only six members of the public spoke at the meeting, three in person and three remote, which Boss said was unfortunate, considering the public consternation over the project. She was upset that she clicked a box online to be informed about the project but did not receive any communication.
“I checked a box that said please keep me informed, and I was not kept informed as a community member, so that’s really concerning,” Boss said. “I am sure there are hundreds of others who, whether they support or just wanted to learn more, they were not kept informed.”
From a public relations standpoint, the La Cumbre Plaza project has stumbled every step of the way. It first got introduced to the public during a Santa Barbara County Association of Governments meeting in December 2022, when Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams blasted Santa Barbara planners and volunteer architects and thwarted a city effort to create a Specific Plan for the site.
With a Specific Plan, the three property owners in La Cumbre Plaza could have come together to meet with the city to create an overall agreement for housing, which would have significantly increased the number of affordable housing units. Williams said a Specific Plan would slow down the La Cumbre Plaza project.
The city at the time was eligible for a $1.1 million grant from the state to fund the Specific Plan, but that disappeared because of Williams’ pushback against it.
Now, the father-and-son development team of Matthew and Jim Taylor are moving forward with the project with 54 affordable units proposed. The city, at a minimum, wants them to increase that number by 27, for very-low-income residents.
The developers’ plan is to knock down the Macy’s building and build 76 studio, 341 one-bedroom, 205 two-bedroom, 20 three-bedroom units, a total of 1,039 parking spaces, 13 loading spaces and 642 bicycle parking spaces. The current mall will remain, with the development wrapping around half of it, facing State Street and Hope Avenue.
Parts of the building would reach six stories.
While many agree that Santa Barbara needs more housing, there’s debate about what type of housing is most needed. New market-rate units run more than $4,500 a month for a two-bedroom, which is out of reach for most people in Santa Barbara. For example, at the nearby Marc apartment buildings, a two-bedroom, two-bath unit on Monday was advertised at $4,545 a month.
Housing activists say that simply building new housing units is not addressing the problem, and that developers should build more of the units as below market-rate.
Nearby resident Steve Fort said the project “is a little exciting and scary.”
“We are a little disheartened that this Specific Plan was pushed aside,” Fort said. “We thought the overall site would be well-served by a Specific Plan.”
He said he supports the vision of the project but wants more affordable housing.
“We just want to make sure that the community and neighborhood is getting something in return, and we hope that affordable conversation continues and continues upward,” said Fort, who spoke in person.
Santa Barbara resident Fred Sweeney was one of the people who called into the meeting. He said he would like to see more affordable housing.
“It is unfortunate that we weren’t able to do a Specific Plan for all of La Cumbre Plaza,” Sweeney said. “I am very encouraged by the fact that we are going to get some housing. I am not sure it is going to be really affordable, but we are going to get housing.”
Matthew Taylor spoke at the meeting. He presented an overview of the history of the project and with a smile on his face said the development would help address Santa Barbara’s housing needs because it would create more supply.
“This site presents a real opportunity to address the housing needs in our community,” Taylor said. “Right now, in the city of Santa Barbara, our lack of housing is creating a detrimental effect on our quality of life.”
Lead architect Brian Cearnal agreed and said the development would create “a new uptown” for Santa Barbara.
The project, however, hit another snag over the public outreach.
Commissioner Boss questioned why she has not received any noticing from the development team since she attended a public meeting on the project earlier this year.
Valerie Cantella, who is contracted with the development team to work on communications and public relations, said only people who supported the project received updates before Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting.
“We did not notice everybody,” Cantella said. “That wasn’t part of the expectation that we understood the community to have.”
Boss responded: “So, no one — the hundreds of people who signed up — no one got an invitation of this meeting or Architectural Board of Review?”
Cantella replied: “People who signed up as supporters, who wanted to support the project publicly, did get a notice.”
Boss then asked: “People who were on the fence, who wanted to learn more, or who were opposed, where not notified?”
Cantella said only people who checked the box that said they support the project were notified.
“That’s really disappointing,” Boss replied.
The developers are hoping to submit a formal application within 60 days. Thursday’s meeting was the only time the Planning Commission would offer comments on the project, unless it is appealed. A few of the commissioners commented that the process was backwards. They overall supported the idea of a redesign of the plaza, but the low number of affordable units is a sticking point.
The number of affordable units is a matter of dispute between the city and the Taylors, according to Assistant City Attorney Tava Ostrenger.
Commissioner Leslie Wiscomb said that with at least 81 units that are affordable, it “seems to me this isn’t an issue that is up for grabs, or negotiation.”
Ostrenger responded: “As far as the City Attorney’s Office is concerned, it is not.”
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