November 24, 2023
Mayor Alice Patino
Santa Maria City Council
110 E. Cook Street
Santa Maria, CA 93454
Dear Mayor Patino, Santa Maria City Council:
Please accept these comments on behalf of the HBA of the Central Coast regarding the Santa Maria General Plan Update:
We need more land for housing. There is not enough infill land to build your assigned RHNA units. The city is already crowded with excessive traffic West of the 101. Annexing East of the 101 will balance the city, lessen traffic, and thereby lower greenhouse gas emissions.
As the community continues to grow, the need to add community amenities that benefit existing and new residents increases with it. Many of those amenities (expanded recreation facilities, schools, open space, libraries, health care facilities, youth and senior centers, etc.) require space to build and operate.
Beyond housing, and amenities, the general plan needs to identify space where new head-of-household jobs can be located. Few to no parcels exist within current city limits that can accommodate significant new businesses, jobs, and housing. Once jobs are created, we will need more housing of all types, including Market Rate, affordable by design, and Workforce Housing. Creating head-of-household jobs locally reduces the need for residents to travel to work, reducing VMT, congestion, and pollution impacts.
We ask that you change zoning in advance in the specific areas that you want to encourage growth.
Grover Beach did something similar along West Grand Ave – extending height limits, greater density, etc. This will expedite permit processes and keep costs down, thus keeping housing more affordable.
While annexation would convert some ag land, the conversion represents 2-3% of the total land available for Ag in the Santa Maria Valley while providing much needed housing, schools, and jobsites.
Whatever option you choose, please keep in mind the hybrid map anticipates adding roughly 1,000 acres to the city over the next 30 years - not all at once. You will not have 40,000 new people in your city tomorrow or need 10 schools tomorrow. It will happen gradually and thoughtfully planned over the next 30 years.
We support the annexation and hybrid options that accommodate the same amount of population and job growth over the next 30 years as we have seen in the last 30 years – with significantly less new land.
Thank you.
Lindy Hatcher
Lindy Hatcher,
Executive Director
Home Builders Association of the Central Coast
[email protected] / 406-750-7682