A Proposed New Building on the
North Side of Santa Barbara brings protest

Bill Brunner doesn't like what he sees in his neighborhood: Parking is tight. Traffic is heavy. The streets are narrow.

And now he and others are raging over a proposal for his neighborhood near upper De La Vina Street, behind Longs Drugs. A 47-foot-tall building there would house the DesignArc architecture offices, along with underground parking, commercial offices and market-rate condominiums.

Too much stuff, he feels, on too little space. All of this activity will bring more people and cars to an area where parking is already at a premium.

"This is precedent-setting because this is going to set the direction the city is going," said Mr. Brunner.

He's right

Faced with a lack of vacant land, Santa Barbara is looking at parking lots throughout the city as ideal spots for building new housing.

The same project that Mr. Brunner and nearby residents agonize over is one that city p1anners describe as a model for how to build new housing in a Santa Barbara they say is on the verge of being built out as far as a it can be.

Those concerns don't sway Mr. Brunner and property owners, who are banding together to oppose the project, proposed by DesignArc architects.

But these opponents have a tall order.

Putting parking underground, with commercial office space on the first floor and residential on top, is precisely the type of urban development that the city is embracing.

The city even envisions revamping La Cumbre Plaza someday, creating an "urban village" where parking goes underground and businesses and residences go above.

Planners say it is smart because it maximizes the use of land. It covers unsightly parking by placing it underground. People can live near where they work, eliminating the need to hop in a car. Mixing homes with businesses can create a vibrant community, they say.

"Wouldn't it be great to live at a place where you could just go down and have your choice of different restaurants?" asked Grant House, a city planning commissioner, who backs the Calle Laureles project. "What we want to do is provide more of those opportunities for people. We should be looking for other opportunities to do similar kinds of downtown living. It brings vitality into the urban areas".

But as the city embraces the ideals of what it calls "mixed-use" housing, some people are saying that the concept doesn't make sense everywhere.

The city's Planning Commission has unanimously approved the DesignArc project, but neighbors have appealed and the matter is headed to the City Council in April.

Some neighbors complain that their neighborhood is overcrowded and that parking is scarce. The opening of the popular Trader Joes and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, they say, has intensified activity in the area.

The new project, they say, will just make matters worse.

"While we agree that mixed-use projects may be desirable in many areas, the problem with this one is location," according to a letter from the appellants, who call themselves the Friends of West Calle Crespis.

DesignArc plans to move its architectural firm from Calle Cesar Chavez to the site, 29 West Calle Laureles. He said they have about 16 employees. Five condominiums would go above ground and each homeowner would get a parking space.

If built, the Calle Laureles project would result in the loss of two parking spaces from 25 to 23.

But the way the developers see it, that still leaves about two extra parking spaces if everybody were working and at home all at the same time. Michael Holliday, an architect with the firm, said the project exemplifies the concept of combining underground parking, commercial and residential development.

Mr. Holliday said the area opponents have valid concerns about traffic congestion in the area — but that the DesignArc project is not what's wrong.

"We're not the problem," Mr. Holliday said. "It's a totally separate issue. Our heart is to be good neighbors, is to really work with the community."

Opponents counter that companies grow and homeowners invite guests over. They say that "shared parking proposed as part of the project, doesn't always work." They say the developers are being idealistic in how they see the project.

And they also say that the 47-foot-tall building is just too big.

"The building is a monstrosity," said Owen Aylesworth. "It's like putting the Carrillo Hotel on a side street"

Dave Gustafson, the city's Housing and Redevelopment manager, said people can expect more mixed-use projects in the future.

"Land is scarce in town and affordable housing, and housing general, is in such need" he said "We're a built-out city. We have very little developable land."