How Tall?

Measure B on November's ballot and the issue of building heights in Santa Barbara continues to be discussed. Here are some recent articles. Follow the links for full text, images and comments:

[ From: B Is for Bad, by Nick Welsh, SB Independent, August 20, 2009 ]


... Measure B supporters, who qualified the initiative for the November ballot by collecting 11,500 signatures, contend that City Hall failed to take any action in response to their concerns over the three new large buildings that sprouted up on Chapala Street. Architect Brian Cearnal acknowledged, “There are lessons to be learned” from the Chapala Street buildings, most notably the need for greater setbacks from the sidewalk. But Measure B, he argued, lacks any such language.

Das Williams... noted that City Hall adopted clearer design guidelines that would empower members of Planning Commission, Architectural Board of Review, and Historic Landmarks Commission to reject proposed developments they deemed inappropriate. Council efforts to craft a more nuanced alternative measure for voter approval — with new limits at 45 feet — were blasted by supporters of Measure B as an attempt to subvert the democratic process, and it was subsequently withdrawn.

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[ From Opponents Form United Front Against City’s Building-Height Initiative, By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk, 08.18.2009 ]


Measure B opponents... expressed concerns about “ballot box planning” and the impacts of the initiative if it is approved.

Thirty-five percent of Santa Barbara’s most treasured buildings are taller than 40 feet, according to SB4All co-chair and affordable housing advocate Mickey Flacks. “This is not a town of two-story, flat-roofed buildings,” she said...

Local architect Detty Peikert of Peikert Group Architects... said the proposed lower limit on building heights would prove challenging for architects. He said it’s possible to get three stories out of a 40-foot limit, but it’s tough. Most likely there would be more flat-roofed buildings so more could fit in the building envelope.

It also could be more difficult for affordable housing and mixed-use projects, said Peikert, who designed affordable-housing building Casa de las Granadas.

Concerns over the initiative’s effects include the local economy, environment and social equity.

“It’s a measure that advocates sprawl,” Peikert said.

Dave Davis, executive director of the Community Environmental Council, said the initiative “will increase our city’s carbon footprint.”

Reducing density in the downtown core would put more pressure on Gaviota and less dense neighborhoods, CEC vice president Kim Kimbell said.

“It would limit opportunity to house local workers downtown near their jobs,” Davis said.

Hundreds of millions of dollars would be lost in property values between immediate effects and potential losses, Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce member Michael Holiday said. “It’s flawed and untimely,” he said.

The No on B coalition says “ballot box planning” isn’t the way to go with an initiative like this. Rather, planning decisions should go through Plan Santa Barbara and have a less simplistic definition, speakers said Tuesday.

Other design considerations such as setbacks, unit size and affordability should be considered, City Councilman Das Williams said. “Good public policy is not determined by one side — it’s better to have both working together,” he said.

Efforts at getting the word out for the fall election will include workshops, phone banks and a debate.

Representatives on both sides of the height initiative will participate in a debate Sept. 9 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Workshops will target low-income families, who tend to have lower voter turnout, Pueblo executive director Belen Seara said. “Low-income voters tend not to vote in these elections,” Seara said.

Other organizations that support No on B include the Santa Barbara Community Action Network, the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara County Central Committee, the American Planning Association’s Central Coast Section, the American Institute of Architects’ Santa Barbara Chapter, the Coalition for Sustainable Transportation, the Homebuilders Association of the Central Coast, the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors and the Coastal Housing Coalition.

The mail-only election begins Oct. 5 and ends Nov. 3. Ballots can be dropped off at various locations around Santa Barbara on Election Day or mailed in any time before the deadline.