Mission LLC, the developers working on the two Santa Barbara Riviera projects that were sanctioned under builder’s remedy, have now sued the county over unpaid taxes, claiming that they rent to a church. They are also claiming a connection to the religious group in question — Unitarian Universalist Mission — who deny it, reports The Independent.
Highlights
- Mission LLC is claiming tax exemption for church rental; the Unitarian group has denied ties.
- Santa Barbara County has denied all exemptions, citing non-exclusive religious use of the property.
- Real estate advisor Ben Eilenberg is linked to both The Mission LLC and the church filing.
Developers are Claiming Church Rental Tax Exemption, Unitarian Universalist Mission Refuses Claims
The five-acre project that Mission LLC has been developing has come under fire several times over the last year. The property owners have proposed an eight-story project under the builder’s remedy provision of the state housing law. This allows developers to bypass any zoning restrictions if they include affordable units.
Now, the owners of the project have filed a lawsuit against Santa Barbara County regarding property tax payments. The county records reflect approximately $198,600 in unpaid property taxes for The Mission LLC.
The writ of mandate argues that the developers are exempt from property taxes since they lease the space to a church called the Unitarian Universalist Mission and the property has been used by various religious entities for religious activities and worship.
California allows buildings and land used for religious worship exempt from paying property taxes. However, Santa Barbara County denied this stating the property has not been used exclusively for religious worship.
Craig and Stephanie Smith are the chief officers at the Unitarian Universalist Mission and the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara has said that they are not connected to the group in any way.
The sparse website for the “Unitarian Universalist Mission” states their beliefs are diverse and inclusive with no “shared creed,” although they do post their 7 Principles that emphasize equity and community along with monthly membership rates from $50 to $150 per month for access to online classes and in-person trainings.
The website identifies the property near Old Mission Santa Barbara as “historic compound with ties to original Chumash settlers.” The Smiths are not included on the website.
The Mission project’s application was considered complete by the City of Santa Barbara on July 3, 2025. However, it came under fire for its potential impact on the community.
Additionally, Edhat previously reported the Smith’s are behind a project proposal for a six-story building at 1609-1615 Grand Ave in Santa Barbara. A preliminary application was approved in May 2023 for 30 units, also due to the Builder’s Remedy law.
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These developers are obviously deeply religious scumbags.
Couldn’t agree more. Deeply religious scumbags gotta scumbag.
It’s amazing how far down the rabbit hole of unscrupulous evil some people will venture. These developers have zero integrity . The architect and attorney are no better.
Just don’t understand how some folks are so friking disgusting. Gotta suspect if they could, they would be members of Club Mar-a-la-go-fuc*-yourself.
They do suck, but you saying they’re Trump supporters is kind of ridiculous. Newsom is the one responsible for the heavy development in our area now. Is he a MAGA?
Didn’t think so.
The city should deny this project due to the the lawyer noncompliance, filing false documents, and fraud. They have misrepresented their intent to use the location as a tax-break/church.
I hope this project dies off. Ive spoken to a lot of people about this and every single person explicitly doesn’t want this project to happen. Shut it down!
Which Craig Smith? Is the person named here the same fellow who worked for the courts and SB District Attorney or someone else.