The Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review saw a new housing ordinance that explores incentives as a more effective way to permit housing projects than requirements on Monday.
The “Better Building Ordinance” introduces a five-year pilot program to accelerate housing production downtown with flexibility. In Santa Barbara, housing projects are often slowed down by rigid regulations and community pushback. The Better Building Ordinance proposes a point system — developers can provide certain additions, receive payoff in points and trade them in for permission of something else — to streamline housing production.
The City has used point systems in housing requirements before. For example, if a resident wishes to convert a residential unit to a condominium, the proposal’s merit will be evaluated based on how many points it accumulates, covering certain requirements.
“Think of it as the choose your own adventure novel of the development process,” said Alelia Parenteau, sustainability and resilience director for the City of Santa Barbara. “For example, you wouldn’t need a modification to reduce your open yard. You could ‘buy that’ with points by providing something else.”
Parenteau said this process would incentivize certain elements that the city commonly seeks for housing development. Commissioners suggested off-street parking and multi-bedroom units as elements that the point system should incentivise.
Commissioners also worried that the ordinance could compromise the quality of projects. Though the Better Building Ordinance is all about flexibility, Parenteau noted that some requirements, like height, will take reign over the point system. Instead, this ordinance will reward developers with slight definitional changes that allow them to meet requirements easier.
Still, commissioners asked for more concrete examples.
The Better Building Ordinance, which will only apply to the Central Business District, combines two main goals according to the staff — more housing and a thriving downtown. The Central Business District, anchored by State Street, is bordered by Garden Street, De La Vina Street, Sola Street, and the 101 Highway.
According to the State Street Master Plan, an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 housing units must be built in the Central Business District for State Street to become commercially viable. Housing production downtown has not been moving fast enough to reach this goal. From 2020-2025, 248 multi-family and mixed-use units were approved, around 41 units per year.
“This is exponentially below state targets,” Parenteau said.
In addition, the Better Building Ordinance is climate-oriented. Thoughtfully located housing located near peoples’ jobs, basic needs and public transit stops reduces greenhouse gas emissions. According to the staff, vehicle trips are the city’s largest carbon emission source.
As the deadline to the City Council’s carbon neutrality target approaches, Parenteau said ordinances like Better Building are a “tool in our toolbox.” The ordinance was designed based on an ecological rubric.
“New construction has the ability to lock in emissions for decades to come,” Parenteau said. “We need to get it right.”
The Landmarks Commission will review the Better Building Ordinance on July 29. It will then be seen twice in August — by the Sustainability Council Committee on the 6th and by the Planning Commission on the 17th.
