Ordinance would allow
for tiny apartment

When it comes to housing in Santa Barbara, size does matter.

In an effort to help very-low-income people find a place to live, the city is pushing an ordinance that would allow for 150-square-foot studio apartments.

The ordinance is intended to replace Santa Barbara's depleted stock of residential-type hotel rooms. The current minimum size is 220 square feet, but the new ordinance would allow the city's Housing Authority and other nonprofit housing developers to build smaller units.

The city has lost more than 450 rooms for the poor at residential hotels in the past few years, watching them turn into high-end tourist hotels.

The result, some say, is a growing homeless population challenged by high rents in a city where the median price of a home has soared to about $1 million.

A 150-square-foot studio - called an efficiency unit by city officials - would be affordable design, supporters say. The unit would include separate bathroom, kitchenette and closet.

"With design innovations you can create a very nice unit at 150 square-feet," said Robert Pearson director of the Housing Authority, the city's affordable-housing arm. "People live on boats smaller than that space. It will hopefully take care of some of the homeless on the street and low-wage earner".

The plan will go before the city's three-member ordinance committee 12:30 p.m. today at City Hall. The matter is expected to go before the full council incoming weeks.

D.L Sears, who is homeless, said Monday that creating smaller units for low rents is what Santa Barbara needs.

"I love the idea," he said. "I think some kind of program where you encourage people to move on is a wonderful idea."

Mr. Sears lives at Santa Barbara's homeless shelter, Casa Esperanza. The retired man lives on $810 a month in Social Security disability payments. He’s saving up money to buy a van and drive to Northern California. Already, the Housing Authority plans to build 61 studios at 315-321W. Carrillo St. Those units are intended to be about 212 square feet. The city spent $1.7 million in redevelopment agency money to buy the properties at the site. Those rooms, smaller than an average garage, are expected to rent from $300 to $400 a month. Current market-rate studio rentals hover around $800 to $1,000, depending on the size.

In recent years, the Virginian and the Schooner Inn were converted into market-rate hotels after they were upgraded. The Carrillo Hotel was demolished, and transformed into a hotel catering to business travelers is under construction there.

Developer Bill Levy plans to build timeshares at the site of the Californian Hotel, which once housed low-income people. More than 460 residential hotel rooms have been lost in the past decade, according to a report prepared by Don Olson, the city's special projects manager.

From the practical to the outlandish, Santa Barbara's housing market has prompted people to be creative in how they find lodging. Dave Davis, longtime former Santa Barbara community development director, estimates that there could be more than 7,000 illegal dwellings among more than 37,000 homes in the city - units that provide much-needed affordable housing.

Earlier this year, Santa Barbara resident Neil Ablitt convinced the City Council to approve his small, but tall, four-story house on a 200-square-foot downtown lot In the meantime, Mr. Ablitt lives on his boat in the harbor.

David Fortson, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Action Network, a nonprofit organization focused on affordable housing, said small units are an example of a creative way to adapt to the pricey housing market.

"This type of ordinance essentially zeroes in on a target that is clearly needed in Santa Barbara - affordable housing that really only the government and nonprofits can provide," Mr. Fortson said.

RV dweller Bob Hansen agreed that Santa Barbara needs more small affordable rooms.

"It would be almost like having your own little RV without wheels," Mr. Hansen said. "I think the city needs to help people out."

The chair of the city's Ordinance Committee, Councilwoman Helene Schneider, said this type of housing serves a "missing rung" on the ladder for working homeless, retired seniors and other people with low monthly incomes.

"Ideally, people are going to want a little more elbow room, and as they are able to afford additional space they will be able to move out and allow someone else to move into that space," Ms. Schneider said.