Santa Barbara is asking for public feedback to help develop new standards for multi-unit housing projects.
Through the city’s new community outreach program, residents can learn about the latest work effort and weigh in on proposed building size standards for new apartment and condominium projects.
The workshop will be available from now through March 3, offering community members an opportunity to provide input over a 13-day period, replacing a typical one- or two-day in-person workshop, and at any convenient time of day.
The information gathered will be shared with the Santa Barbara City Council to help guide changes to the city’s development standards for new apartments and condominiums. The objectives of the proposed building size standards are to promote better community design, provide sensitivity to the city’s historic resources, clarify community expectations and expand opportunities for additional, smaller housing units.
Step one is establishing what building sizes are appropriate in different locations in Santa Barbara.
Rebecca Bjork, the assistant city administrator and interim community development director, said, “The City of Santa Barbara is known for its robust public review processes. This last year we have continued to make progress on major work efforts and sought community input in a variety of ways – this new online platform is one more way for us to inform and engage community members, and even allow them to collaborate on specific topics.”
The new workshop also offers background information on the city’s efforts to prioritize housing and includes virtual and numerical information about the size of some existing buildings in the community.
Visit www.santabarbaraca.gov/bso by March 3 to provide feedback.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
