The Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department recently released an interactive map showing areas being considered for zoning as part of the county’s housing plan.
The county is required by state law to update its plan every eight years.
Under the law, the housing plan must show that the county has adequate land available to meet housing needs for all populations, including unhoused populations, persons with disabilities and senior populations. The county must ensure that at least 5,664 new housing units can be accommodated in the unincorporated areas, with 4,142 of those units located on the South Coast and 1,522 units in North County.
“The department inventoried all available land in the unincorporated county to see where new housing units can be accommodated. We found that there is not enough properly zoned land currently available to meet the state’s housing requirements,” county Senior Planner Selena Evilsizor Whitney said in a news release. “The department created the proposed rezone map to show a range of sites that could be rezoned to allow for new housing.”
The county is considering zoning changes to allow residential instead of commercial uses on certain properties and allowing both commercial and residential uses in commercial zones.
The proposed rezone map includes 45 sites on 59 parcels of land, about 0.04% of the county’s 132,901 total parcels. The map shows more potential rezones than are needed to meet the state’s housing requirements, according to the county.
To view the map, go to sbcopad.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9375e0705e864eada0ff535c23ba99ac.
The map will be discussed at two public workshops:
— 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Santa Barbara County Board Hearing Room, Betteravia Center 511 Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria.
The North County Housing Element Workshop will discuss potential housing opportunity sites in unincorporated communities (Orcutt, Mission Hills, Santa Ynez and New Cuyama).
To register, go to www.eventbrite.com/e/north-county-of-santa-barbara-housing-element-workshop-tickets-445601866177?lang=en-us&locale=en_US&status=30&view=listing.
South Coast Housing Element Workshop
– 6 p.m. Thursday at the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission Hearing Room, 123 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara.
The South Coast Housing Element Workshop will discuss potential housing opportunity sites in unincorporated communities, including the Goleta Valley and the Carpinteria Valley.
To register, go to eventbrite.com/e/south-coast-housing-element-workshop-tickets-453925823357?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&lang=en-us&locale=en_US&status=30&view=listing.
For more information, go to countyofsb.org/3177/Housing-Element-Update.
To sign up for project notifications, go to:
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
