A proposal to build hundreds of new homes and apartments west of Lompoc has reignited a decades-long debate over development and farmland.
The project, known as Bodger Meadows, would bring about 200 single-family homes and 140 apartments to roughly 50 acres of farmland along Bailey Avenue. The site stretches between Ocean Avenue and Olive Avenue, just outside the city limits. Because the land is in unincorporated territory, Santa Barbara County, not the City of Lompoc, will decide the fate of the project.
The county recently provided the developer with a consistency letter and is expecting a refile this month. Once that happens, the next step will be an environmental impact report, a review that can take up to a year before any decision is made. Planner Laurie Tamura, who works with the city, says it could take one to two years before the project is even considered for approval.
For longtime residents like Jim Silva, who has lived in Lompoc since the 1980s, the issue is complicated.
“We need more affordable housing in Lompoc. Everywhere, really, because houses are so expensive and people can’t afford to even rent,” Silva said.
But he also worries about the cost of losing agricultural land, which has long defined the western edge of the city.
“How I feel about taking farmland — not a good thing. So that’s why it’s good to have housing in town. We should save the farmland and have it in the town,” he said.
Andy Schaeffer, another longtime resident, said he is also torn.
“I have mixed feelings. I think that we need more affordable housing. It’s a question of whether they are going to make it affordable or not, and I do worry about losing farmland,” he said.
Schaeffer added that development should happen inside the city before it expands outward.
“I really think people should develop in town first before they creep out,” he said.
For Peggy Isaac, who has lived in the Lompoc Valley since the 1980s, the concerns are less about expansion and more about reinvestment in existing neighborhoods.
“I think it’s not a good idea, but I think we need to keep the agriculture in the area,” she said.
She added that the city should focus on addressing issues within its current limits before looking to annex more land.
“I’m kind of discouraged at times because I look around our present city and there’s so much that needs to be done to clean up what we’ve got and it doesn’t seem like a lot of times we have the funding to do that,” she said.
The Bailey Avenue corridor has been eyed for development for decades, with multiple annexation attempts failing in past years. This latest proposal uses a state housing law, known as the Builder’s Remedy, to press forward despite local zoning restrictions. The law allows projects to move ahead in jurisdictions that have not met state housing element requirements.
