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Residents packed City Hall Tuesday for an emotional and long-awaited discussion about building height limits in Santa Barbara and, more significantly, what downtown should look like in the future.
Nothing was decided at the meeting except the need to have more meetings. Members of the City Council directed staff to set up a meeting for them with the Planning Commission, Architectural Board of Review and Historic Landmarks Commission to decipher what powers already exist to limit the size of buildings, and what new powers they can devise with the least amount of legal hassle.
 City Councilman Brian Barnwell
At the end of Tuesday’s discussion, however, Barnwell said “I couldn’t be more pleased and happy about what we’ve just done here,” he said, referring to the public debate.
More than 40 residents spoke during the three-hour hearing.
It was an odd mix of environmentalists agreeing with developers, with members of both groups arguing building heights should be left alone. And one of the biggest proponents of restricting building heights was Bill Mahan, a recently-retired member of the Planning Commission who approved the condominium project on Chapala Street that has generated disgust among residents who want to preserve the look and scenic views of downtown.
Mahan said he would have reconsidered the project had he known what it would look like. He and Barnwell both say they are concerned most about 10 projects now pending before various committees that could clutter the downtown with tall buildings, and the others that may follow before the city completes the lengthy task of updating its General Plan, a process that will begin next month.
Staff members cautioned against moving too quickly on the issue of building heights.
 Some residents pointed to the Chapala Street condominium complex under construction as a reason to limit building height. Photo by Melissa Evans/SBN
City Attorney Steve Wiley also warned council members that approving even an interim ordinance would open up a lot of legal issues. A full environmental impact report, which would take up to a year, would likely be necessary to change city ordinance on building height, he said.
About half of the residents who spoke Tuesday urged leaders to wait for the General Plan discussion to talk about new restrictions on heights -- a discussion that will also lead to possible changes in set back requirements, parking requirements and the scale and mass of buildings. Other issues to be considered include affordable housing, transportation and open space preservation.
“I don’t think that one size fits all is an appropriate outcome for this discussion,” said Dan George of the Santa Barbara Contractors Association.
He was joined in opposing Barnwell’s idea by members of the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association, the Coastal Housing Coalition, the Environmental Defense Center and the Homebuilders Association of the Central Coast.
Environmentalists argued that higher buildings make better use of land, and that bringing more affordable housing to the downtown would reduce worker commutes.
Others who spoke in favor of the restriction said the city desperately needs a “breather,” pointing to the large number of buildings that are coming through the pipeline in a seeming rush to beat the General Plan update.
“Something needs to be done so there can be a ‘time out’ during this discussion,” said Connie Hannah of the League of Women Voters.
City staff presented several options for the leaders, including a Charter Amendment that would be put to a vote of the people; a change in the city’s zoning ordinance; strengthening the requirements imposed on buildings during the planning stage; or waiting a few years for the General Plan process.
Wiley, the city attorney, stressed that the Planning Commission does have the right to deny projects, but somehow over the years that evolved to “the idea that somehow we have to get to ‘yes.’”
The City Council and other agencies will look at their existing powers during this joint meeting, which will likely take the form of a half-day workshop in June or July.The majority of Council members stressed the need for more public input, particularly because of the complexity of this issue.
Exemplifying the strangeness of the debate, City Councilman Das Williams, normally a slow-growth stalwart, said he may support taller buildings. He described higher buildings as the “least of evils” if the alternatives are developing open space or doing nothing to solve the city’s housing problems.
Others, including council members Roger Horton, Iya Falcone, Helene Schneider and Grant House, said they hadn’t decided their position on the issue but hoped the issues would be addressed in the General Plan process.
Barnwell said part of his goal was steering city staff toward issues that are important to people, rather than letting city staff bring issues to leaders.
Judging by the size of the crowd at Tuesday’s hearing, the rumblings that have taken place amongst various groups, impromptu conversations with city leaders and the number of people who spoke this week -- this issue “needs to be a major bullet point in the General Plan discussion,” Barnwell said.
Contact Melissa Evans at
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