Urge the county to build housing on county-owned land

You can still speak up for affordable and workforce housing on county-owned land!

Please join with Santa Barbara County Action Network to urge the county Board of Supervisors to use underutilized plots of land owned by the county to develop affordable housing and workforce housing units.

We encourage you to voice your support for developing affordable and workforce housing units on underutilized county-owned land in the following three ways:

1) Sign this Petition, which SBCAN will submit to the Board of Supervisors

Thanks to those of you who have already signed!

2) Submit written comments to the Board of Supervisors at [email protected]

3) Attend the May 3 (South County sites) board rezone hearings in person or by Zoom and provide public comment. Register using this zoom link.

This county administration building's parking lot on West Anapamu Street could hold housing.

Developing housing on county-owned land can help guarantee that housing units will be affordable and will go directly to local employees rather than out-of-town investors. This can help disrupt additional gentrification and can promote stability for our hard-working residents.

County-owned land is funded by Santa Barbara County taxpayers and data shows that our greatest need is affordable housing units so that we can work, live, and play in the county. A third of the county’s employees (more than 1,000 employees) cannot afford to live within the county.

Urge the County, which is the sixth most expensive county in the nation, to show Santa Barbara County residents that our voices are being heard and that our need for affordable and workforce housing units is urgent.

For more information and possible talking points, read this article in the Santa Barbara Independent.

The May 3 meeting agenda and background information are here.

Your participation is crucial to ensure more housing equity for employees who help our community thrive.