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.
When California lawmakers voted to allow many housing project proposals in urban areas to bypass environmental review in June, some housing development advocates celebrated the move as a means to build more affordable housing in cities.
State senators and assemblymembers approved legislation that amended this bill on Saturday, including language that specifically de-exempts one project: the proposed eight-story building behind the Santa Barbara Mission. Those amendments as part of a new bill, Senate Bill 158, now head to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.
The developers, known collectively as the Mission LLC, have called the move an attempt by wealthy NIMBYs to obstruct low-income housing. The project would build 270 units of housing — including 54 affordable units — on a roughly five-acre sloping property.
Last Monday, State Senator Monique Limón, who represents Santa Barbara County as well as parts of Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties, introduced amendments to Senate Bill 131 (SB 131), the bill that exempted many urban residential projects from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Limón said she added amendments to several parts of the bill — not just the language impacting the project behind the Mission.
“I provided feedback in order to address a number of pieces related to SB 131, including tribal consultation, habitat definition for protected species, advanced manufacturing, and local impact,” she said.
The Mission LLC’s project is largely unpopular with locals, with some residents organizing to oppose it.
Because the project was filed under the housing provision “builder’s remedy,” the City of Santa Barbara can only disapprove it if it causes an unmitigable public health or safety impact.
Questions remain on how the project will impact traffic — especially in the case of an evacuation. The project is located along a narrow road near a fault line in a Cal Fire identified “very high fire hazard severity zone.” Traffic operations would be included as part of a CEQA review.
Before last weekend’s vote, in a letter to the Mission LLC’s manager Ben Eilenberg, the City of Santa Barbara said the project was not exempt from environmental review. Why? It was not consistent with the city’s general plan or zoning regulations, and because it did not satisfy necessary environmental criteria, as the site contained wetlands and protected species and was within a floodway.
The Mission LLC currently has active lawsuits against the City of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County. The Mission LLC alleges that the city illegally found the fourth iteration of the project’s plans incomplete in May. In the county suit, the developers allege they do not have to pay property taxes, as they rent to Unitarian Universalist Mission, a religious organization. The organization’s CEO and CFO, Craig and Stephanie Smith, are connected to the Mission LLC’s project manager, Ben Eilenberg — the three are working on another builder’s remedy project on Grand Avenue. The project owes the county about $200,000 in property taxes.
It is unclear whether the Mission LLC will oppose the state legislation requiring CEQA review for their project in court. The group has called it illegal.
Senator Limón will transition to Senate President on November 17 — earlier than the originally planned start in early 2026.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correct the bill Senator Monique Limón amended. It was a Senate Bill 131 not Assembly Bill 130.
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