Santa Barbara County Updates Its Inclusionary Housing Policy to Address Habitat for Humanity’s Concerns

Changes Come After Discussions with Nonprofit Revealed Ordinance Could Have Unintentionally Impeded Affordable Housing Projects

Habitat for Humanity cranes in an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) near its former office building on Cota Street. | Credit: Elaine Sanders File Photo

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Santa Barbara County’s Board of Supervisors voted to amend its inclusionary housing ordinance on Tuesday. Those changes are part of the county’s efforts to update the law, which county staff said was adopted over a decade ago and until this year had not been updated.

The inclusionary housing ordinance is the county’s policy that outlines requirements and incentives for developers to include affordable units.

Tuesday’s changes included adding definitions for nonprofit housing providers, allowing nonprofit housing to provide the right of first refusal for deed-restricted homes, and amending the ordinance’s language to allow nonprofit housing providers to use their own marketing and resident selection processes if they are consistent with fair housing laws. County staff said these changes came after discussions with Habitat for Humanity, who had expressed concerns that the ordinance, as written, could cause unintentional impediments for the nonprofit in its effort to partner with developers and provide affordable housing.

The changes presented to the board on Tuesday are a continuation of changes made in April to update the ordinance, where the ordinance was updated to allow developers to place affordable units on a nearby lot from a project. That allowed the developers to leverage affordable housing funds for the property that included 100 percent of the overall project’s affordable unit.

These changes passed 3-0, with Supervisors Joan Hartmann, Steve Lavagnino, and Roy Lee supporting the change. Supervisor Laura Capps was not present at the meeting. Supervisor Bob Nelson abstained from the vote, saying he prefers to let market forces give people the opportunity to “move up the ladder” when it comes to home ownership and equity. He also said that the economics of North and South County differed when it comes to housing production costs.

This was the update ordinance’s first reading, meaning it will appear for a second vote on December 8.

At Tuesday’s meeting, county staff said they planned to continue meeting with developers and updating the ordinance.