[Updated: Tue., Jan. 23, 2024, 1:30pm]
Santa Barbara County’s Housing Element — which was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on December 5, 2023 — was found in “substantial compliance” with state law on Monday, with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) officially certifying the plan to accommodate at least 5,664 units of housing in the unincorporated areas of the county over the next eight years.
With the certification, the county is no longer under the threat of any new developments proposed under the builder’s remedy, which gives developers a fast track to approval if a project provides at least 20 percent affordable housing in jurisdictions without a certified housing element. The county had been without a certified Housing Element since February 2023, and at least 14 projects were submitted through the builder’s remedy before the state gave its full approval of the plan.
The finding of “substantial compliance” comes as the county is in the process of analyzing the potential impacts of the plan with the Housing Element Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which was released on December 20, 2023. The county is accepting public comment on the potential impacts, including potential rezones, through February 9. An in-person public comment hearing will take place this Tuesday, January 23, at the Planning Commission Hearing Room (first floor, 105 E. Anapamu St.) at 5:30 p.m. To attend virtually, visit countyofsb.org/3177/Housing-Element-Update. Comments can also be submitted by email at housingelement@countyofsb.org.
