How SB's Latest Rental Development Scheme Could Remake Downtown into a Canyon of Tall Buildings

By Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
Sheila Lodge wrote the book -- literally -- about the history of planning policy in Santa Barbara, and she doesn't mince words about the latest bright idea before City Council to address our alleged "housing crisis."
The proposal, tagged with the beguiling name "Floor Area Ratio" (FAR), says the longtime Planning Commissioner and former Mayor, "should be dropped."
As Josh Molina and Nick Welsh both have reported, the debate has been put on hold pending a ....wait for it...new consultant's report about options for where and how to build apartments and condos that the middle class - think teachers, cops and firefighters - actually can afford.
Sheila, wielding Actual Facts, figures and the fundamentals of supply and demand, not to mention the laws of arithmetic, makes a persuasive case that substituting such a system -- in which building size replaces the number of units as the key criteria in approval of multi-unit developments - not only would fail to meet the goals of churning out "affordable" housing but also pave the way for 60-foot buildings that might signal the end of Santa Barbara's unique and carefully curated small town charm, design and aesthetic.
In our conversation, Lodge points to Santa Barbara's high construction costs -- three times the statewide per square foot average -- provides a precise and favorable accounting of the current pro-rental development policy -- that's the AUD, not the ADU, for those trying to keep their acronyms straight -- and offers historical perspective of how the city's housing debate has been underway for over a century -- her slim but indispensable volume "Santa Barbara: An Uncommonplace American Town/How Thoughtful Planning Shaped a City" should be required reading for anyone feeling the need to opine publicly on the issue.
Along the way, she also offers some intriguing political observations -- including her endorsements for Mayor and Council (spoiler alert: it's Randy and Kristen).
Watch our conversation with Sheila Lodge via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here.
46 Comments
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Apr 08, 2021 11:28 AM"Santa Barbara's high construction costs -- three times the statewide per square foot average" this is why we will not be able to provide any significant increase in affordable housing in Santa Barbara. If a developer can't pencil out a reasonable profit in exchange for risking considerable capital and lots of effort, then nothing will get built. The abnormally high cost to build here, combined with ever increasing affordability requirements and rent caps, only further discourages new projects from being built. In every debate on this issue in city council they need to ask themselves; "will this encourage or discourage developers from building new housing units"? If we want more affordable units we need to really incentivize developers to do so or simply have the city do it themselves. The biggest problem is people want to limit development, limit building heights, and keep our town "small" while also wanting affordable housing for the working class all the while people keep making more and more people. You simply can't have both.
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Apr 08, 2021 04:37 PMWould one of the two people who thumbs downed my post care to share an alternate solution to this or point of view I'm missing?
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Apr 08, 2021 05:02 PMYet developers still keep applying and building so it seems they can afford to do it.
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Apr 08, 2021 05:37 PM"The biggest problem is people want to limit development, limit building heights, and keep our town "small" while also wanting affordable housing for the working class all the while people keep making more and more people. You simply can't have both."
I think, for the most part, these are different groups, no? Don't they almost have to be? If you employ common sense anyway.
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Apr 09, 2021 10:56 AMHaha your comments are so spot on that anyone with a down vote is probably working off their third grade education.
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Apr 09, 2021 12:50 PMVoice, it’s oh so much easier to stand on the sidelines and hurl rocks and insults (or a downvote) than it is to offer a well-argued constructive suggestion.
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Apr 08, 2021 12:39 PMThe risk of listening to people like Sheila Lodge is little housing will get built and the city will fall well short of the state mandated housing production targets. Will the state enforce the new goals? Nobody knows but if they do, we’ll lose all control over local zoning and end up with LA and Orange County quality development. Seems pretty risky to me.
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Apr 08, 2021 02:54 PMThe state mandate is a pipe dream and an absolute joke.
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Apr 08, 2021 12:51 PMMaybe most of our problems are caused by too much population growth. Why treat the root cause when there is so much money to be made treating the symptoms?
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Apr 08, 2021 12:53 PMAnd how do you (specifically) treat that root problem Mr. Bumblebee...?
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Apr 08, 2021 01:49 PMThe US Census Bureau estimates the city of Santa Barbara's population is growing at a slower rate than both California and the US as a whole.[1] In my opinion, if you'd like an even slower growth rate than that, you'll need to seriously consider how disincentivize childbirth.
[1] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA,santabarbaracountycalifornia,US/PST045219
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Apr 08, 2021 04:34 PMNot that complicated. Look at what our population growth is being caused by and start there .
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Apr 08, 2021 04:38 PMThe growth is not only coming from our birthrate.
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Apr 08, 2021 05:34 PMhmmmm maybe the California Exodus will fix this...just in the last quarter of 2020, 3.5% or 1.4 million left California.
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Apr 09, 2021 11:55 AMBumblebee! BINGO!!!! DING! DING! DING! That's a fact.
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Apr 09, 2021 11:56 AMA_Villegas, We should be disincentivizing childbirth ANYWAY! There are far too many people in this state, on this planet. We are the problem. I am childless by choice and I encourage birth control incentives for ALL.
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Apr 09, 2021 11:57 AMMP805 I WISH!
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Apr 09, 2021 08:10 PMWe do NOT have a housing crisis no matter how much they are pushing it. What we have is an immigration crisis. Let's call it by it's correct name and then we can do something about it.
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Apr 08, 2021 03:07 PMYou guys are not watching the state legislation coming down the pipeline. They intend to supersede all local controls to spur building of housing supply in single-family neighborhoods. There's a real estate boom here, and a lot of the buyers are real estate investment trusts. They're not going to be your neighbors or community members. They're going to buy a house, jam 8 units on it, and flip it for multiple times what they paid for it.
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Apr 08, 2021 04:00 PMHousing prices are too high here in SB for that to be profitable, plus they can't get enough units to get some economies of scale. Elsewhere in CA that is for sure being done. It started after the 2008 housing crisis when well capitalized investment funds were buying up every SFR unit they could.
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Apr 08, 2021 06:40 PMIt's state, not federal. We can vote to change the direction of the state which under Newsom and the San Francisco developer pimp, Scott Weiner are dragging us. They are using "low cost housing" as a smoke screen to densify middle class neighborhoods and our low profile cities so that investors can cram more units into their properties. Vote these bums out.
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Apr 09, 2021 08:11 PMWe can start by changing our representatives to the State Legislature.
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Apr 08, 2021 04:02 PMSheila is right. Santa Barbara is unique and needs to protect it's old town. Find another part of town to jam a megalopolis of high priced apartments into.
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Apr 09, 2021 08:13 PMI consider my part of town also to be unique and in need of protection. Just because Sheila doesn't live here doesn't mean that it should be sacrificed.
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Apr 08, 2021 04:12 PMIn a nut-shell, the State of California, in all their present wisdom says, "You can build an Accessory Unit Dwelling (a granny or rental unit) up to 1200 sq ft. anywhere on your property without local ordinances limiting any factors.
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Apr 08, 2021 05:00 PMThere are a lot of limiting factors. The state made it easier, they didn't make it easy.
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Apr 08, 2021 05:59 PM...and they didn't take local costs out of it. Anyone who has done a home improvement or remodel that requires specialized labor, tools, and equipment (think new sewer line, main electrical service panel, concrete retaining wall) knows that those costs along with inspection and permit fees make local construction costs really high. New packed developments pencil out, but keeping existing housing affordable and well maintained is damn expensive.
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Apr 08, 2021 06:25 PMA-161 - You are absolutely WRONG.
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Apr 08, 2021 06:26 PMSheila Lodge has donned the mantle of the establishment Lodge's of Boston fame. Adopting a better than thou air and style. She offers a Disneyland Santa Barbara that will please her well situated friends and acquaintances. This makes me uncomfortable. But the truth is more dire than her aesthetic pretense. We have too many people. Population limits are all that will protect our earth from ravage. I am always pleased to see reports of the alleged CA exodus (welcome to Texas folks). But the problem is more basic. Corporations want more customers and more labor at less cost. We need to honor labor, give people space to breathe and save our world. Whether CA can do this alone is doubtful (although Europe was moderately successful before the emigration crisis). So what to do" 1. Stop giving benefits for child birth. 2. Establish a guaranteed minimum income for all legal US residents. 3. Fund real reform in the Central American states which means no more US money to support military governments for a start. 4. Make businesses pay a fair wage and comply with environmental rules no matter where they do business. This is for a start. It is not that hard to figure out what to do but almost impossible to do it in the face of huge money opposition. Still I hope.
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Apr 08, 2021 06:36 PMWe locals can only hope that, (according to RHS), "welcome to Texas folks". However, the traffic seems to be coming the only way.
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Apr 08, 2021 08:31 PMNot likely that Arcadia-born Sheila Lodge has "donned (any) mantle of Boston Lodges", especially since her late husband, Joe Lodge, was from St. Paul, Minn., says Wikipedia, psychologically as far from Back Bay Boston as is California, if not further.
I agree there are too many people and it will be interesting to see the next Census figures, how much of a population growth there is in SB, if any at all.
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Apr 09, 2021 11:58 AMRHS by far the best most intelligent comment on this thread. Thank you.
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Apr 08, 2021 08:44 PMIts called pay to play.
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Apr 08, 2021 09:39 PMWe don't have a housing crisis--we have a "too many people" crisis. We also have a pandemic crisis. So this is definitely the time to make "tiny homes" and "little boxes" housing. Yep, crunch all those people together in high rises and watch the virus spread.
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Apr 09, 2021 12:00 PMBENE, I believe there is both a housing crisis AND a 'too many people' crisis. Housing costs here are insane. Really bad. NOT at all ok. And I'm a NATIVE.
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Apr 09, 2021 12:39 PMI hear what you’re saying bene, but who gets to decide who stays and who leaves? And if too many other locales decide the same thing that you are suggesting, who gets to decide who lives and who dies?
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Apr 08, 2021 10:14 PMhttps://www.edhat.com/news/major-milestone-achieved-in-the-multi-year-regional-housing-needs-allocation-process
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Apr 09, 2021 09:09 AMThe State mandate is BS. All they want is new housing to get more property tax. Our streets are already packed with cars and near gridlock and these morons want to add more to our population? What made Santa Barbara beautiful and attractive was the open views to the mountains and ocean and set backs (once upon a time) of buildings to avoid the "canyon" feeling. What happened to the great ideal of "living within our resources"?
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Apr 09, 2021 09:18 AMLocal control WILL be taken away if CA SB 9 passes!!
RHNA #s haven't created affordable housing so Scott Weiner & Crew in Sacramento have a new option. Time to wake up and read up on SB 9.
Go to Unitedneighbors.net (or Unitedneighbors.org. ??) for complete explanation of Atkins/Weiner bill & how it will impact neighborhoods. A giveaway/ benefit for investors/developers. Sign up to be informed on action needed to stop this.
Economies of scale can be achieved in SB with lot splits and more units on each lot. All for cause of "affordable housing", yet it will never be affordable in SB just add traffic, out of area students, etc.
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Apr 09, 2021 08:21 PMElecting different state representatives should be our first step.
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Apr 09, 2021 09:20 AMCorrect website address:
Unitedneighbors.net
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Apr 09, 2021 10:52 AMThe challenge of integrating more housing into the downtown core without destroying the historic ambiance (which Ms. Lodge and others want) could be solved by adopting Form-Based zoning codes like Ventura did more than a decade ago. Such codes specify the streetscape desired (height, massing, setbacks, etc) and the owner decides what to put inside the building envelope. Such codes have been very successfully used in many areas, like Ventura, to preserve the city ambiance while allowing the effective use of the properties. But for some reason, the City staff has been, and remains, unwilling to even evaluate such coding and has instead taken up FAR in an attempt to deal with the challenge. While the use of FARs can solve some issues, it can cause unintended consequences as Ms. Lodge points out.
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Apr 09, 2021 11:00 AMNeed more affordable housing? Scrap the subsidized housing inventory and put it back out there at market rate. Make housing subsidies only available for the elderly and disabled.
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Apr 09, 2021 11:54 AM“A canyon of tall buildings?” Oh Lord. Please go away Sheila. We need residential development in the downtown core to bring people, who will live and spend money and hopefully someday maybe , just maybe, outnumber the vagrant population downtown.
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Apr 09, 2021 02:22 PMWhy is it a “right” to live in the City of SB or even the county?
If you choose to move here but can’t afford it, why did you move here?
And this is a coastal issue all over the country, expensive housing that is.
Plenty of land in Bakersfield and Fresno and many other inland areas.
Those areas have jobs, housing, supermarkets, malls, etc...
so why are we trying to make SB a clown car?
And today our infrastructure might be able to handle the current demand, but what is being done to increase those if we are to add thousands of additional housing?
And why is it that if you can’t afford new construction the govt says don’t worry we’ll force the developer to take a pay cut. Why not let free market prevail. Those that can afford the new construction will leave their old housing opening it up to those that can afford “not new”.
It’s like giving a 16yr a new Mercedes. They have t earned it snd can’t afford it. But the govt says everyone should have a Mercedes!
What a joke!
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Apr 09, 2021 04:45 PMI think it is a common complaint from people who have lived here for a long time and could afford to live here for decades, but now starting to get squeezed and wages have not kept up with the cost of living.