Vital affordability

In a time when affordable housing is in such high demand, when the California Legislature tries over and over again to alleviate the housing crisis and stimulate building, Buellton is trying to figure out how to kick certain residents out of long-term housing situations and turn those spaces into hotel rooms again. 

“Those motel uses were transitioned in violation of our municipal code into these long-term residential uses,” City Manager Scott Wolfe told the Planning Commission on July 17. 

In the interest of revitalizing Avenue of Flags, city staff found a loophole in state rules designed to keep people in housing. 

If those who qualify for affordable housing can get on a waitlist associated with an affordable housing project, they’ll eventually leave whatever situation the city is hoping to commercialize again. Those who don’t qualify for affordable housing? 

Best of luck finding a place to live! 

The rental vacancy rate in Buellton is between 2 and 4 percent, meaning housing is tight. Tight! I’d hate to be someone in long-term housing and be told to beat feet so Buellton can “revitalize” Avenue of the Flags. 

And, if you’re a “motel” owner who needs to get to revitalizing, good luck!

“The owners of the motel units would be on the hook for things like relocation assistance,” Wolfe added.

Nice. I bet that will go over well. 

At least Santa Barbara County is trying to keep people in their housing situations and maintain affordable housing stock. On July 15, the Board of Supervisors voted to place an overlay over 19 mobile home parks in unincorporated areas of the county to keep them as they are: mobile home parks. 

The county is also placing a specific carve-out for senior mobile home parks to hold them for seniors. Almost 7,000 seniors are on local housing authorities’ waitlists for affordable senior housing.

“In the face of such high demand, the preservation of existing affordable housing, including mobile home parks, is clearly important,” planner Lila Spring told the board. 

Well, unless you’re Buellton. 

And unless you own and/or manage Del Cielo Mobile Estates in Orcutt, which is a senior mobile home park, according to both park residents and the county. But it’s an all-ages park if you speak to Harmony Communities, the park manager that took over the park last year and pulled the rules out from under the residents. 

Residents call Harmony Communities a bully that fails to comply with county rules: “They are schoolyard bullies in suits. … Like bullies, they look for weaknesses, emotion, that moment when we flinch so they can pounce,” resident Gary Halter said during public comment. 

Regional Property Manager Nick Ubaldi again accused the county of discriminating against families by holding housing specifically for seniors, and continued to hammer Harmony’s line: “Legally, Del Cielo has always been an all-ages park. All it did was update the rules to reflect his reality.”

Interesting. I guess the folks who bought homes in a senior park weren’t living in reality? Or can park owners just make reality whatever they’d like it to be? 

That’s the whole purpose of this ordinance. To put a stamp on reality in perpetuity so new park owners can’t just change it.

The Canary lives in a revitalized cage. Send newspaper to canary@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Jul 24 – Aug 3, 2025.