It's been 90 days since the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury said that local officials “failed” to address the ongoing housing crisis in the county, outlining in a report what they believe to be the county’s shortcomings in addressing the needs of low to moderate-income renters.
On Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors responded to the report.
The board agreed with the Grand Jury’s assessment that “the permitting for affordable housing developments is costly, time-consuming, and complicated.”
“We are absolutely in a housing crisis,” said Rob Fredericks, Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara CEO. “We haven’t produced enough housing, and we haven’t produced enough of the right kind of housing.”
Supervisors will not be implementing the Grand Jury’s recommendation to create an ombudsman position to oversee all housing development, citing that such a position would duplicate existing county processes. However, during the discussion, Supervisor Bob Nelson pushed back.
“Having someone who’s an ombudsman who doesn’t work for public works, or fire, or the planning commission is really important to move these things along,” he said. “Unfortunately, those things fall upon our office or the CEO’s office when they fall apart.”
Unlike the county, the City of Santa Barbara has an ombudsman for housing, which Fredericks says has made a big difference.
“I think the city's program of having a person dedicated to shepherding the affordable housing developments through the process is wise and very helpful,” he said.
Since the report, the county has implemented reduced fees for new affordable housing projects as recommended by the Grand Jury.
