After the Santa Barbara City Council decided to put a pause on the proposed redevelopment of Paseo Nuevo — refusing to sign an agreement to transfer over city-owned parcels until the project proved more beneficial to the city — the negotiations between the city and developer AllianceBernstein have also been put on hold while a new council subcommittee works toward a better version of the plan to add hundreds of housing units to the downtown mall.
Mayor Randy Rowse appointed three councilmembers to serve on the Paseo Nuevo Ad Hoc Committee, which is tasked with leading the next stage of negotiations with AllianceBernstein (AB Commercial). The three committee members — councilmembers Mike Jordan, Meagan Harmon, and Eric Friedman — will meet with city staff to present several suggestions to be sent to AB Commercial. In the meantime, AB Commercial has halted any further spending on the project, and representatives from the developer have reportedly told city staff that the “ball is in the city’s court.”
The new committee met for the first time on December 9, and while the city’s demands have not been made public, the council made it clear during the previous hearing that the city would like more units of guaranteed affordable housing (the previous agreement allowed AB Commercial to build only 24 low-income units instead of the originally proposed 80). Councilmembers also asked that the owners of the Nordstrom parcel be involved in negotiations to ensure all three ownership parties agree to allow housing at the mall, and requested more details about alternative pathways to redevelopment.
Councilmember Jordan, one of the three members of the Paseo Nuevo committee, said that the contract as proposed last week seemed like a “finished cake with candles” being delivered to council without them having a chance to weigh in on the flavor. “There’s a pathway to yes, but I don’t know what that is,” he said during the December 2 meeting.
There is no guarantee that AB Commercial will come to the table after the previously proposed Disposition and Development Agreement with the city fell through. Representatives from AB Commercial have not issued a public statement, but City Administrator Kelly McAdoo said that the company has vowed not to spend any money, hire more consultants, or use any more staff time at this point.
