Goleta Takes Small Step Toward Expanding Its Borders to Include Outskirts of Town Where Thousands of Homes Are Planned

The tricky task of adding landmass to a city involves multiple steps, among them the voice of the people, but on Tuesday night, the City of Goleta took one step toward expanding its borders. Well after the clock struck nine, a majority of the Goleta City Council voted to apply for a Sphere of Influence over farmland recently rezoned to high-density residential by Goleta’s neighbor — the County of Santa Barbara.

The city’s influence over these rectangular and L-shaped spheres, once they are built out, is limited to the services it would provide. For one of them, Glen Annie Golf Club, Councilmember Stuart Kasdin noted that the residents would have no choice but to use Goleta streets to go anywhere. The proposed projects are quite controversial for the consequences that will result from the development of thousands of homes on the outskirts of the city, but Goleta’s incremental action on Tuesday night was limited to the changes to the city’s General Plan map regarding services to the golf course and the farmland known as the South Patterson tracts.

The county converted these agricultural lands to residential purposes in 2024 in order to fulfill California’s housing quota through rezoning. Between 800 and 1,000 units of housing are projected for 94 acres at the golf course, while 64 acres remain zoned as agriculture. At South Patterson, more than 3,000 homes will go up across seven parcels that total 192 acres under the flight path of nearby Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. One of the parcels — the 65-acre Giorgi property — applied in 2023 through the builder’s remedy, which allows the development to avoid all but ministerial planning rules for the 1,096 proposed homes.

[Click to zoom] Goleta’s draft Sphere of Influence map showing the Glenn Annie Golf Course Area (left) and South Patterson Area (right). | Credit: City of Goleta

The Sphere of Influence step confers no planning authority to the city; that wouldn’t come unless Goleta succeeded at annexing the land. Until then, the city has no more ability to influence the ag land zoning than any member of the public. In tackling the sphere for the second time in as many years, what exists now that didn’t in 2024 is positive talks with the County of Santa Barbara. The county’s executive team “expressed verbal support” for the idea, said city planner Anne Wells. That would be meaningful to the Local Agency Formation Commission, which would approve or disapprove the application. Known as LAFCO, the agency is made up of seven voting members from among the public and county and city governments — including Goleta Councilmember James Kyriaco; the commission has four nonvoting alternates, among whom is former Goleta councilmember Roger Aceves.

Councilmember Jennifer Smith, who had attended the meeting with the county in November 2025, said staff and supervisor representatives voiced no opposition to the city’s intent to add Glen Annie and South Patterson to its sphere, a marked changed from previous conversations. It was also clear that a sphere gave a city no ability to disrupt planning already underway, yet it would be Goleta that would be providing support like roads to its new neighbors.

Councilmember Luz Reyes-Martín pointed out that a sphere did not commit the city to annexation but only sets up the future potential. Before that happened, a lot of work, effort, and a “big community conversation” would occur, she said.

For the moment, the only things on the city’s to-do list in this regard are to submit the Sphere of Influence application and begin the process of revising the General Plan. Annexation — and the property taxes it would bring — may be years down the road.