The City of Goleta suffered a huge legal defeat Wednesday when Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle ruled that it should have processed a housing development known as the Shelby property.
The developers in March 2023 submitted a Senate Bill 330 builder's remedy project that included 56 apartments with 13 units affordable to lower-income households. The city declined to process the application, so the developers filed a lawsuit.
The developers, however, submitted the application before the City of Goleta had an official Housing Element certified. State housing law states that developers can submit what's known as builder's remedy projects, which limit city review to five meetings or fewer and remove most discretionary elements, if a jurisdiction does not have a Housing Element certified at the time the project was submitted.
Anderle ruled on Wednesday that the city violated state housing law by not processing the application and, therefore, must now do so. It is unclear whether the City of Goleta will appeal and fight again in court over the project.
As of Wednesday afternoon, city representatives had not responded to Noozhawk requests for information about how much money the city has spent so far on fighting the application.
"We are pleased with the court's ruling today, and appreciate the state attorney general's intervention in support of our petition," the developers said in a statement. "We hope that the city will work with us to move this much-needed housing project forward."
In December, Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a brief in support of the Shelby developers.
"Goleta's refusal to accept an application that would add desperately needed affordable housing is both deeply disappointing and unlawful," Bonta said in December. "As I've said many times before, no city or county alone will be able to solve our state's housing crisis, but they all can and must do something.
"We respectfully urge the Santa Barbara County Superior Court to order Goleta to process this application and allow the affordable housing project to move forward."
The Shelby developers said they hope the city gives up its fight over the project.
"We all know we need more housing," they said. "This property is in the perfect location. It is surrounded entirely by residential zoning, it fronts Cathedral Oaks, and is walking distance to two schools, a bus stop and bike lanes. We hope the city does the right thing and starts to process this affordable housing project."
Goleta issued a news release Wednesday, apparently before the City Council had an opportunity to discuss the situation in closed session to determine a strategy on how to proceed.
"The City of Goleta is disappointed with today's ruling by the Santa Barbara County Superior Court, which allows a 'builder's remedy' application for a 56-unit, low-density residential development to proceed on a roughly 14-acre, agriculturally zoned property owned by Shelby Family Partnership L.P.," the city said in a statement. "The property is located along a congested stretch of Cathedral Oaks adjacent to the Glen Annie Golf Course property near Dos Pueblos High School."
The city argued that it did not have to process the SB 330 application because the developers had a previous application from 2011 submitted for the same site.
"At issue in the Shelby case was whether two different sets of laws, from two different time periods, could apply to the Shelby housing project located at 7400 Cathedral Oaks Road," city officials said. "The city's position was that only one set of rules, at the developer's selection, can apply to the housing project. The court's ruling essentially rejects the city's position and allows for the rules from both time periods to apply to the project and its processing."
The project is proposed for 7400 Cathedral Oaks Road, next to a separate multi-unit housing project at the site of the Glen Annie Golf Club.
Kristen Miller, president and CEO of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, said she supports the housing project.
"The Shelby property is the perfect place for a new neighborhood in Goleta and has long been a part of the chamber's plan for new housing," Miller said. "We've never understood the city's opposition to this, given the proximity to other housing, the future plans for housing in that area, and the local ownership and developer. We will be very glad to see this move forward."