Santa Barbara County Planning Commission Approves 72 Bedrooms in Isla Vista

Tucked between the duplexes, apartment buildings, and houses in Isla Vista are empty lots. They are few and far between these days — largely spots that weren’t developed during I.V.’s building boom of the 1950s and ’60s. 

You can find one of these lots off Camino Pescadero and Picasso Lane, surrounded by apartment buildings and a sorority house, and near Chabad at UCSB, a Jewish community center. That site will soon see a three-story building, headed up by local developer Ed St. George. It will add options for students, who often live three or four to a bedroom. But it will likely also add cars to I.V.’s overcrowded streets. 

The Site Plan

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The project includes 24 three-bedroom units across two buildings and 37 parking spaces; 26 of those spaces will be tandem spaces, meaning two cars park one behind the other. St. George’s team plans to widen an existing private driveway, which will connect the complex to Camino Pescadero. 

The project will include six affordable units — three marked for very low-income tenants and three marked for moderate-income tenants. That qualifies the project for density bonuses and concessions. Called Senate Bill 330, state law says that housing projects with some portion of affordable units are allowed to go beyond zoning regulations — the more affordable units, the more concessions a project can get. 

This project is requesting a 50 percent density bonus, allowing it to add eight additional units. It’s also requesting to increase bedroom density from 29 to 72. Finally, it asks for a small height increase —39½ feet versus the maximum 35 feet. 

Lastly, the project does not need to undergo environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, due to a law that came into play this year. That law mandates that urban infill projects on nonsensitive habitats that meet certain requirements — such as adhering to an area’s general plan policies — are exempt. 

The Area

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This part of Isla Vista is overwhelmingly student housing, and has been zoned for density since the 1950s. Mostly two-story buildings surround the site, with one three-story building nearby. Prices in I.V. are generally high, with students paying anywhere from $700 a month to $1,200 a month to share a room or triple up, depending on the apartment’s location. 

Parking Concerns

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Many students drive to commute to work or to buy cheap groceries at Costco or Trader Joe’s. For this reason, they bring cars with them to school. 

A traffic study conducted by Dixon Resources Unlimited in partnership with the Isla Vista Community Services District in 2023 and 2024 found that Isla Vista’s street parking often exceeded 100 percent capacity, with cars frequently parked in red zones. 

During public comment, Santa Barbara attorney Marc Chytilo raised this concern. Chytilo was speaking on behalf of Pegeen and Jon Soutar, two longtime I.V. residents. He said they recognize the need for student and community housing in Isla Vista 

“It’s not without limits and it’s not without consideration of the direct and cumulative impacts associated with projects like this,” he said. 

In a letter to the county, Chytilo said that the project was one of 47 current or recently approved housing projects in Isla Vista, which would add more cars to the streets. 

According to county numbers, I.V. has seen 54 housing projects since 2020 — 44 Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) projects and 10 multifamily housing projects. 

“The cumulative impacts of direct and compounded underparking for this and other projects in Isla Vista include safety risks to bicyclists and pedestrians, impaired emergency access, chronic illegal parking blocking curb cuts, crosswalks, fire hydrants and routing and extensive double-parking,” it said. 

By law, the developer doesn’t actually have to provide parking; that’s because the development is within a half mile of a transit stop. 

The Commissioners Comments

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By and large, the commission approved of the project, saying it provides needed housing on an infill site. 

“This project takes a severely underused piece of landlocked property in the middle of Isla Vista and brings it up to a much more necessary, useful level of use,” said Commissioner Roy Reed. 

State law has made it such that the Planning Commission can only turn down projects if they create an unavoidable negative impact on health or safety. Commissioner John Parke says there are some cases where he has voted against a project due to parking creating this unavoidable safety impact. 

“But it’s a tool I’d want to use advisedly, because if I made that argument with every case, then I could never vote to approve any case in Isla Vista,” he said. 

Parke further said that he wants to see affordable housing, which may attract non-students in Isla Vista.  

Chair Laura Bridley spoke last. This was her last meeting before her resignation. She said she heard and understood the parking problem loud and clear — and the lack of local discretion to address project’s impacts on problems like a lack of parking was one of her reasons for stepping down. 

“In the matter of parking in Isla Vista, we really have to rely on the Community Services District Management of it and just meet the codes that we have. And these guys are meeting the codes that we have,” she said. 

St. George owns more than two dozen properties in Isla Vista, as well as properties across the county. Another Isla Vista housing project he is involved with, on Sueno Road, will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. 

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correct the spelling of Jon Soutar’s name.