Large Housing Project on Horizon for Little Los Alamos

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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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More housing is headed to Los Alamos. On Wednesday, Santa Barbara County’s planning commission approved a new planned community near the small town’s eastern boundary. The Cottonwoods Housing Project will include 67 new single-family homes and townhomes, community green space and gardens, and a pool.

The project will bolster the town’s modest population and housing stock. Los Alamos has 1,800 people, one main street, and small neighborhood sections. At Wednesday’s meeting, Commissioner Roy Reed said in the past it had been a “cowboy” town and fairly affordable. More recently, the area’s restaurants (including Michelin-starred Bell’s), nearby wineries, and antique shops have drawn visitors and housing prices have shot up. 

It’s also a town that both Commissioner Reed and Commissioner John Parke said is divided in terms of housing, with newer homes going for high prices. 

Seven of the 67 proposed rental homes are deed-restricted for very-low income households — a status determined by HUD and state guidelines and based on the number of people. The other homes and townhomes (ranging from two to four bedrooms) will go for market rate. The real estate website Zillow reports the average home value in Los Alamos is about $910,000. 

Planning Commissioner Roy Reed, who represents the 4th District (which includes Los Alamos), said that in the past 20 years, Los Alamos has grown increasingly unaffordable. 

“This really fits a need for the community,” he said, referring to the homes, some of which are modest in size, and the deed-restricted units. 

The project’s owner, Tyler Rameson, said that he initiated the project after starting a business in Santa Barbara and discovering how hard it was to employ people because of the cost of housing. 

“I realized first-hand how important housing is and providing housing to lower the cost of living here,” he said, later adding, “My degree is in economics, and I know the best way to lower the price is to increase the supply.” 

Because of the seven affordable homes, the Cottonwoods fall under the state’s affordable housing law. That allows the project to take advantage of what’s called state density bonuses, or exceptions to zoning rules. Unlike with builder’s remedy projects, Senate Bill 330 projects have limited bonuses and exceptions based on how much affordable housing is provided. This project can build 50 percent above what the land was zoned for. It also allows the developers to waive three requirements. Specifically, the project does not need to put in street-facing porches or patios, can reduce the landscape buffer between homes and can increase light-level along property lines. 

The project’s architect, Kevin Moore, said they organized homes around communal green space, rather than roads. 

He pointed out an aerial of the proposed project and how the homes were organized around open space, compared to a nearby neighborhood where houses lined a street. 

“Our project is structured around a series of interconnected open spaces,” Moore said. “Those key principles include homes that front onto shared greens, landscape areas, and common amenities. Streets are secondary [and] garages are located behind the units to minimize visual impact.” 

Environmental review found that new residents would likely travel 39.7 miles in vehicles per-day while the county threshold is 14.8 miles. Even with efforts to mitigate the amount of driving residents (reduced-price public transit passes and bike spaces), the vehicle miles travel estimate is 35.3 miles-by-car per person each day. To approve the project, the commission had to override this finding. 

When asked about this impact, county staff said that Los Alamos was a rural community and, like other rural communities in the north county, had many commuters. 

One Los Alamos resident spoke at the project’s hearing. He said he and his neighbors think the project is too dense but understand state restrictions and requirements, given the affordable housing that the project includes. He said a public presentation to the larger Los Alamos community, where Rameson could gather input, would benefit the community. 

Commissioner comments, meanwhile, were largely positive. Commissioner Parke, like Commissioner Reed, thought the project was “in the right place,” in a town he said was divided in where high-end and more affordable housing is located. 

“[Los Alamos] has got some high-end housing and some low-end housing and not very much in between,” Parke said. “And the low-end [housing is] at one end of the town and the high end’s at the other end of the town, and it’s just not healthy.” 

Commissioner Vincent Martinez said he had concerns over the amount of parking the project will include (one-and-a-half spaces for two- and three-bedroom homes, two spaces for four-bedroom homes, and 40 visitor spots), as well as how open space at the back of the property will be maintained. But, he said, state regulations tie the commission’s hands. 

“Compliance is compliance. That’s the square we’re in,” he said.