State mandated housing, at its inception many years ago, had many worthwhile goals, but virtually none of these high-minded goals has been achieved, and it has become a bonanza for developers who are selected for high density rezoning and for those state and county workers who administer this unnecessary program that causes excessive growth. The sad result is that rezoning does not result in low-income housing, only high-density, expensive new homes.
Recently, the Board of Directors of the Orcutt Area Advisory Group unanimously went on record against this program and successfully encouraged the Board of Supervisors on a vote of 3-2 to challenge the state of California. Planning should be done by local officials based on supply and demand, and not by bureaucrats in Sacramento.
The recent state allocation for Santa Barbara County shows how badly this law functions in reality. First, each county district squabbled about who would take the allocations. Next, each neighborhood around key sites 3, 16, and 30 squabbled about who would take the 370 high-density homes for the Orcutt area. No neighborhood should be required to accept unnecessary high-density growth with hundreds of homes already sitting vacant. It is time for each county district and each neighborhood to stand together and say no!
Some supervisors have developed cold feet and want a re-vote on Feb. 24. Please join with me, again, in insisting that they stand firm and aggressively challenge the state. This outdated law needs to go back to the drawing board in Sacramento.
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2009.
