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Santa Barbara Planning Commission OKs low-income apartment project

From the Daily Sound, By JOSHUA MOLINA -- JULY 16, 2010

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a 53-unit apartment building for low-income workers, but also directed the developers to move the project five feet away from Mission Creek – and five feet closer to Bath Street.

The city’s Housing Authority plans to demolish a two-story, 10-unit apartment complex at the site. The new project is geared toward low- and very-low income workers, and people transitioning out of homelessness. Ideally, the residents would work downtown and not need to drive cars.

Only four members of the commission were present for the meeting.

Just a few blocks from downtown, the units would range in size from 320 to 445 square feet. The project also includes a community center and recreation room.

“The city needs more rentals,” said commissioner Charmaine Jacobs. “The city needs smaller rentals. The city needs rentals that allow people to choose whether they have cars or not. I think this is a very good project. I find it to be commendable.”

Environmentalists raised concerns at the last-minute about the project’s proximity to Mission Creek. They argued for a 50-foot setback from the creek. Housing Authority Executive Director Rob Pearson said a majority of the project was set back at least 50 feet.

Date: 
16 Jul 2010 - 1:00pm

Four Companies Bid to Build County Waste Conversion Facility

Officials say the project would speed up decomposition and produce green energy and other byproducts

From Noozshawk.com - By Carlyle Johnston | Published on 07.12.2010

 

After a three-year process including the development of a feasibility report, extensive public outreach and an extensive request for proposal process, four companies have submitted formal proposals to build and operate a conversion technology facility to process solid waste disposed at the Tajiguas Landfill.

“We are impressed by the variety of technologies and number of companies who wish to participate in this unique public-private partnership,” said Mark Schleich, deputy director of public works for Santa Barbara County.

The proposed new conversion technology facility will recover recyclables and use bacteria or high levels of heat in a highly controlled environment to speed up the decomposition of the community’s waste, ultimately producing a local source of green energy and other useful byproducts.

The four companies that have submitted proposals are International Environmental Solutions, Mustang Renewable Power Ventures, NRG Energy and Plasco Energy Group.

The comprehensive proposals will be reviewed over the summer and results will be presented to the community in the fall. The evaluation of the project will be overseen by a partnership among Santa Barbara County and the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang and Buellton.

Date: 
12 Jul 2010 - 1:20pm

Steelhead survival at stake with Santa Barbara Mission Creek project

From the Daily Sound

By JOSHUA MOLINA -- July 9, 2010

Can the steelhead survive in Santa Barbara?

City officials, environmentalists, and water quality advocates sure hope so.

Starting next week, the city will begin work on a near -$800,000 project to help the endangered steelhead trout swim up Mission Creek and spawn.

Crews will remove concrete near the Tallant Road bridge, create pools for the fish to live and rest, and bury a protruding sewer main line deep into the creek to reduce sewage spills.

The construction will force the closure of Tallant Road from Samarkand Drive to Alamar Avenue from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays from July 12 to July 26.

The project is intended to improve the habitat for the fish, enhance creek water quality and restore native vegetation in Mission Creek. Officials will also plant 1,500 plants and trees in the creek

“Mission creek has really been neglected over the years,” said Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams. “There was a time when that fishery was a part of the local economy. It is my hope that 100 years from now it will be again.”

Dozens of years ago, steelhead were so plentiful that they could be fished out of the creeks with a pitchfork.

Date: 
9 Jul 2010 - 1:15pm

Supervisors Grant Conceptual Approval of Goleta Beach 2.0

The board also discusses California Coastal Commission policy recommendations for its Local Coastal Land Use Plan

By Ben Preston, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 07.06.2010

 

After a flurry of debate lasting a few weeks, the decade-old problem of how best to approach erosion protection at Goleta Beach Park received a big push forward Tuesday as the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0-1 to approve conceptual plans presented by county Parks Department staff.

Deputy Parks Director Eric Axelson said the plan, dubbed Goleta Beach 2.0, was an attempt by county staff to tackle the problem in an entirely different manner in the wake of the California Coastal Commission’s 9-1 defeat last summer of the previous proposal put forward by the county.

Where the former plan, called the permeable pile pier project, sought to use a series of wooden pilings placed alongside Goleta Pier to trap sand on Goleta Beach, Goleta Beach 2.0 is what planners said is a more natural approach, and calls for movement of infrastructure and parking areas away from parts of the park vulnerable to erosion.

 

Date: 
6 Jul 2010 - 1:20pm

County reviews tenant rights ordinance

 

Date: 
21 Apr 2010 - 1:20am

Williamson Act takes hit in state cuts

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wielded the budget-balancing pen on Tuesday, signing off on a $27 billion budget package, he tacked on an additional $489 million in extra cuts that essentially put the Williamson Act program on life support.

 

Established in the 1960s, the Williamson Act provides tax breaks to landowners who enter agricultural property into 10-year rolling contracts that restrict most development.

 

In Santa Barbara County about 550,000 acres are under Williamson Act contract, or roughly 75 percent of all local agricultural land.

 

In the cyclical agricultural industry, many landowners rely on the tax break to remain viable, while agricultural and open space advocates appreciate the contracts and the resulting blockade on most types of development.

 

Schwarzenegger stopped short of dismantling the program, opting instead to pull $27.8 million the state would have paid to counties this year to help offset the decreased property taxes paid by Williamson Act landowners.

 

According to county Supervisor Doreen Farr, whose 3rd district includes the Williamson Act-rich Santa Ynez Valley and Gaviota Coast, the county would have received $640,000.

 

Date: 
31 Jul 2009 - 6:55pm

Can’t Get There From Here

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By Nick Welsh

 

For the past 18 months, members of the Santa Barbara planning commission have been wrestling with various schemes to encourage high-density affordable housing in mixed-use developments built along existing transit lines and within a quarter of a mile jobs. The underlying notion is simple: By creating homes close to work, people might be reasonably able to walk, bicycle, or take the bus to work — anything but drive their cars.

 

Date: 
27 Jul 2009 - 9:15pm

Santa Barbara Planning Commission Takes Up Affordable Housing

 

Commissioners discuss a development feasibility study that examines creating a mobility-oriented development area

 

Adding affordable housing options to the city of Santa Barbara can be a touchy subject.

 

The city Planning Commission on Thursday discussed a development feasibility study that examined affordability and creating a mobility-oriented development area (MODA) — an area that has easy access to transit, commercial retail and affordable housing, and whose purpose is to create the opportunity for people to live, work and play without the need for a car, commissioners said.

 

Consultants Strategic Economics were paid to conduct the study. Its results recommended 60 dwelling units per acre for affordable housing, as well as shrinking the MODA to no longer include SBCC, the harbor area nor Casa de Las Fuentes, 922 Castillo St.

 

Residents who attended Thursday’s meeting questioned assumptions within the report and urged the commission to consider alternatives.

 

Date: 
24 Jul 2009 - 5:48pm