The Santa Maria City Council voted 3-2 (with Councilmembers Gloria Soto and Carlos Escobedo dissenting) to adopt a land use alternative for the city’s general plan that will look at 985 acres east of the city for potential annexation, identify infill development within city limits, and provide direction to study a new area to the south for possible annexation to accommodate future growth.
“That direction, while it’s not a final decision by any means, it is a direction that gives indication as far as where potential growth could be,” Community Development Director Chuen Wu told the Sun. “Expansion is one component, but it also includes expansion of the Main and Broadway corridors; infill is a component of the hybrid scenario.”
The general plan acts as a blueprint for the city’s growth in the next two to three decades that considers housing, transportation, environmental justice, and land use. Known as the hybrid alternative, the land use alternative the council picked will guide the rest of the city’s development in the general plan.
During the City Council discussion, Wu highlighted a potential fourth option for the council to look at, which went south toward the Elks Rodeo Grounds, away from prime ag land but still expanded city limits.
Santa Barbara County Action Network Executive Director Ken Hough expressed dismay that the council approved an alternative that hadn’t been discusssed before.
“There were mouths dropping open in the audience; people had never heard of it,” Santa Barbara County Action Network Executive Director Ken Hough told the Sun. “How there happened to be a map already, it’s a mystery and a disappointment, and it’s not fair to the public that’s been paying attention to this at a decision point they’ve been working on for months.”
Wu told the Sun that the city had not proposed it as an initial option because it was farther away from existing infrastructure, and the Community Development Department was also aware of environmental constraints including tiger salamanders and oil wells but had it ready to go based on comments the team received on concerns about prime ag land.
Councilmember Soto emphasized the importance of protecting ag land for the sake of jobs in the community and wanted the city to focus on infill development.
“Let’s ground ourselves on the vast majority of folks who do live in the community, the sector that sustains this region, and the role Santa Maria has in protecting ag and uplifting our communities,” she said. “The more we can ensure that we are providing the housing our residents need … but absorbing as much as we can for the sake of absorbing is not environmentally sane.”
Claire Wineman, the president of the Santa Barbara and SLO counties Grower-Shipper Association, told the Sun that she was pleased that the city looked an alternative to the south that was away from prime ag land.
“We have consistently been in favor of exploring the areas south and east of the city; we know there’s been different specific or general locations discussed,” Wineman said. “If [the city] does feel the need to move forward with annexation, we would like to engage in convos that would be least detrimental to ag and ag resources.”