Goleta City Council Approves Shelby Housing Project

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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Goleta’s City Council unanimously approved the Shelby housing project at its March 17 City Council meeting. The project will create a neighborhood of 56 single-family homes, including 11 homes sold for below market rate, off Cathedral Oaks Road and next to the Glen Annie Golf Course.

This approval comes after nearly two decades of project applications. The City of Goleta initially began to consider the project for development in 2008. In 2011, the project received permit entitlement rights. 

Then, in 2023, the development team modified the project by designating 20 percent of the homes to be sold for below market rate. That change allowed them to introduce the project under state housing provisions, including builder’s remedy, that enable projects with affordable units to bypass some zoning and development restrictions. 

At this time, Goleta argued that the project could not retain its 2011 entitlement rights to the modified project but the courts disagreed. Shelby’s developers sued the city of Goleta over its handling of the project in 2024. In 2025, the Superior Court of Santa Barbara County ruled that the city needed to process the project’s application. One point of the lawsuit remained: that Goleta’s housing element — that’s its formal plan to build more housing — was out of compliance with state laws. Later that year, the project’s developers and Goleta settled on that point. 

Councilmember Luz Reyes-Martín said that it was important for the city to go through the litigation and settlement process, but that now, it was time to turn a new page. 

“I do think that sometimes tension can lead to a better outcome, and I think there are definitely some aspects of this project that, potentially, are better than what we might have otherwise had, and that’s a benefit to the community,” she said.

The homes to be sold for below market rate are earmarked for different income levels: four for extremely low-income buyers, one for a low-income buyer, three for moderate-income buyers, and three for above-moderate-income buyers. The prices will be determined by the county’s area median income, but were not included on the project presentation. These homes will be distributed through the community, rather than placed in the same section of the neighborhood. 

Councilmember James Kyriaco said the affordable-rate single-family homes helped fill an important part of the city’s affordable housing offerings.

“We need a diversity of housing choices if we want to have a diverse community,” he said. 

The project does come with one unmitigable environmental impact, according to city staff. The project’s environmental impact report finds that the vehicle miles traveled, or how many vehicle trips and the length of those trips in the area, will exceed the city’s set threshold. 

But, the city contended at Tuesday’s meeting, the benefit the housing would bring outweighed the negatives of the impact. The city also listed several measures taken to reduce the amount of added traffic. Shelby’s developers have included a bike path and an additional 20-foot right-of-way easement, for example. 

Mayor Paula Perotte said that generally, the city will have work to do with reducing traffic in the area. 

“Maybe not so much now, but traffic is coming. It’s coming our way, and things are going to have to change,” she said, adding that she thought working with Dos Pueblos High School, as councilmember Reyes-Martín had recommended earlier in the meeting, could help manage traffic. 

Commissioners also discussed fire safety concerns. The project lies primarily within a zone of very high fire-hazard severity. Several design steps are proposed to keep the project safe, including building with fire-resistant materials and constructing a wall surrounding the area. 

Robert Lewin, a former county emergency management director now involved with the project, said the property was also protected by the golf course, which helped create a buffer. 

Councilmember Stuart Kasdin asked about the increased fire risk in relation to another potential housing project from Santa Barbara County — one that would bring up to 1,000 homes, at Glenn Annie. 

Mark Lloyd — who represented the Couvillion family, which owns the property, at Tuesday’s meeting — said that while they didn’t know what, exactly, would happen to the Glen Annie Golf Course, the developers had worked to maintain a buffer with an area that is likely to stay open space on the west side of the property area. 

Because the project falls under the Affordable Housing Act law, it can only have five hearings. Tuesday’s City Council meeting was the fourth.