The city of Santa Maria is advancing with plans to transform the site of the historic Hi-Way Drive-In into an affordable housing development. The proposed project, known as Skylight Homes, is moving closer to construction following the Santa Maria City Council’s unanimous approval of the Final Map and Subdivision Improvement Agreement on Tuesday night.
Principal Planner Frank Albro confirmed the council’s commitment to ensuring the subdivider completes the required subdivision enhancements. The project saw approvals for a General Plan Amendment three years prior and obtained the green light for a Tentative Subdivision Map and Plan Development Permit two years ago. This next phase will ensure that, with the Final Map’s approval, the developer commits to certain bond requirements to guarantee the completion of public improvements.
People’s Self-Help Housing, the non-profit organization spearheading Skylight Homes, has been dedicated to creating 49 single-family homes on the nearly nine-acre site, with a focus on aiding almost exclusively low-income families. Jimmy Summer, the Director of Home Ownership at People’s Self Help Housing, explained that these families will engage in a “light sweat equity program,” wherein they contribute to the finishing touches of their homes, such as installing flooring and painting, in exchange for down payment credits.
Each energy-efficient unit within the development will be a single-story structure featuring three to four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an attached two-car garage, ranging from 1,100 to 1,500 square feet. Additionally, at least half of the residences are reserved for those employed in the agricultural sector, a demographic substantial to Santa Maria. This focus is made possible through grants from the state’s Joe Serna Farmworker Housing Funding program.
Summer emphasized the gravity of this development, especially on the Central Coast, where expensive living conditions nearly nullify homeownership prospects for the hardworking low-income population. Skylight Homes is positioned as a beacon of hope, ensuring the operations stay within affordable margins due to state grants, down payment assistance, and sweat equity contributions.
The project is slated to start in January 2026, with the construction unfolding in four phases, each spanning nine to 12 months. If timelines hold, the first two phases are expected to be complete by early 2027. Applications for the first phase will become available in late fall of 2025.
Santa Maria’s Hi-Way Drive-In, a beloved family destination, closed in January 2022 due to economic stresses and shifts in the film industry. As drive-in theaters become a rarity, with only 15 remaining in California, Santa Maria focuses on repurposing the drive-in’s heritage site into a community asset that will offer affordable housing solutions for its residents.
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Just another subsidy for agricultural businesses. Farmers claim they can’t pay workers a living wage because labor costs exceed product value. Instead of improving efficiency, mechanizing, or growing more profitable crops, they rely on taxpayers to fund worker housing. Essentially, taxpayers are ensuring profits for agricultural businesses. The cost of food production—sold both locally and globally—is partially subsidized by state and local taxpayers, regardless of whether they purchase these products.
What happens if a low-income family moves in, and 10 years later, their income rises to an upper-middle-class level? Do they continue living there despite no longer needing assistance, or must they move out to make room for another low-income family in need?
And if housing shortages are so severe, why are they building single-family homes with attached garages? They should be constructing three-story high-density apartments. The median housing density across all tiers in Santa Barbara is 27 dwelling units per acre. Instead of providing 41 single-family homes with two-car garages, they could build 243 dwelling units (27 du/acre × 9 acres), significantly increasing housing availability for those in need.
The Michael Jackson song “thriller“ was almost named starlight and there are demos online with that name
Nice to provide 49 new affordable homes. There is an obvious flaw in the plan though – only one way in and one way out. Haven’t we learned from all of the fires the past few years???
They’re not affordable homes—they’re subsidized homes, funded by taxpayers, many of whom may not own a home themselves or are struggling with high rent due to the housing shortage.
Homes in California are expensive because of regulations, government fees, restrictions, and high property taxes. Securing an “affordable” home is like winning the lottery—everyone pays into the system, but only a select few reap the benefits.
BS. California homes are expensive because it’s California, and not West Virginia.
We’re both saying the same thing.
Nope. You’re blaming it on the laws that help make California a desirable place to live.