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The following articles were printed from Santa Maria Sun [santamariasun.com] – Volume 22, Number 27
Affordable housing, zoning density addressed by the Guadalupe General Plan Draft
By Malea Martin
Guadalupe predicts future population growth of more than 50% and seeks to cope with this increase with higher density housing.
The city has published its 2021 general plan update project at the end of August, and the city council discussed it at a meeting on August 26. The council gave staff direction to move forward with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, planning director Larry Appel said so the plan can be finalized.
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Appel said the general plan is updated every 20 years and this time around the project presents a moderate growth plan in Guadalupe. From the current population of just over 8,000, the city expects to grow to around 12,500 in the coming years. But, Appel pointed out, the plan does not propose to expand Guadalupe’s urban boundary.
“The city of Santa Maria is go through a general update of the plan, and they want to expand east to incorporate hundreds of acres for future expansion, ”Appel said. “The Guadalupe is surrounded by prime farmland and the city council didn’t think it was appropriate to expand.
Instead, Guadalupe’s draft plan proposes to change zoning and designations so that the city can have a higher density in certain areas. For example, the land west of the central business district is currently zoned for general commerce, but the plan recommends changing that area to high-density residential zoning, Appel said.
The draft plan also increases the maximum allowances for housing units for the three different categories of residential zoning: low, medium and high.
Increasing housing and creating space for expansion, what Appel called overzoning, are efforts to meet the allocation of the city’s regional housing needs.
“The state says, ‘Santa Barbara County, you have to give us X number of affordable units in the next housing item cycle,” which lasts eight years, ”Appel said.
The next cycle begins in 2023.
The current cycle required Guadalupe to make room for 49 new affordable housing units, which the city was able to achieve. But in the next, that number jumps to 431. Appel said the proposed zoning and density adjustments would be enough to reach that number, but whether these affordable units actually get built is largely out of the city’s hands.
“It is important to understand that the city does not have to develop the units but must have adequate land and densities for these units to be possible,” said Appel. “It’s totally up to the developers, it’s up to the economy.”
Appel said there are a few local developers with family roots in Guadalupe who want to build affordable housing. There are also great developments in the works, like the houses of Pasadera, which are approved to add hundreds of units when fully built. But, this project is not considered affordable by state standards, so it does not count towards the city’s regional housing needs allocation.
California also requires jurisdictions to allow people to add an additional unit to their property if they choose, called an accessory housing unit (ADU). These units do not contribute to the density figures, but they do increase the pressure on parking, city water and sewer supplies and other infrastructure.
If ADUs are affordable, “we can get credit for it,” Appel said. “But the impact they have on the city may catch up with us at some point due to issues with parking and the provision of utilities.”
Despite some of the utility challenges the city may face as it expands, compounded by ongoing drought issues, “the city of Guadalupe is on track to meet all related national and regional requirements. to water, sewage, solid waste and drainage. facilities and is well positioned to cope with anticipated future growth, ”indicates the draft general plan.
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