Over the next eight years, Santa Barbara County leaders must find the space for more than 5,000 housing units.
More than 40% of those units will be designated for low, and very-low-income households.
“That is really awesome. I see a lot of people that are struggling out here and there, so that makes me happy,” said Santa Maria resident Heidi Smith.
On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to approve the County’s Housing Element Update.
Smith tells KSBY she was pleasantly surprised to hear the plans for more affordable units.
“Prices are extremely high. For a two-bedroom, it is going for like $3,000. For apartments that are over here for instance, I have friends who live there, for a two-bedroom it is going for $4,000 and up,” she explained.
According to data from UC Santa Barbara, the median home price in Santa Barbara County is nearly double that of the statewide average.
“There is a big disparity between rental and buying a home and here, it is very expensive,” said Val Eriano-Galvez, who grew up in Santa Maria and is in town visiting from Indianapolis.
He says home prices here are more than four times more expensive than what he sees back home.
The newly approved Housing Element also calls for the rezoning of land to accommodate the proposed 5,000+ units, and EJ Saucier from Nipomo says doing so is necessary to meet the demand.
“Well, it is needed. I mean, there is a shortage of housing definitely throughout Santa Barbara County itself,” he said.
Meanwhile, new county data shows that a market-rate two-bedroom rental unit requires an income of over $100,000 per year.
Heidi Smith adds that the proposals for more affordable options could bring relief to the community.
“It just makes me happy that they will be making more houses for people who can't really afford it. That is awesome,” she said.
Following Tuesday’s vote of approval, county leaders will have through 2031 to meet their state housing requirements.
