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Housing authority reports Buena Tierra has kept most residents housed but logged 14 vacancies in first year
Summary
Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara told the Goleta City Council that Buena Tierra, a 60-unit Homekey conversion, has kept 77% of tenants housed after one year while 14 units became vacant for a range of reasons including death, evictions and relocations.
The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara updated the City Council of Goleta on the first-year operation of Buena Tierra, a 60-unit Homekey motel conversion that opened to residents in May 2024.
In a presentation to the council, John Polanski, development director for the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, described Buena Tierra as “a 60 unit project with 59 permanent supportive housing units and 1 manager unit” that included funding and operational support intended to deliver on the Housing First model. The city previously contributed $600,000 to the project as part of the Homekey funding package, Polanski said.
The presentation was framed around outcomes at the one-year mark. Polanski said 14 of the original 60 tenants have left the site in some manner. He provided a detailed breakdown: two tenants died (one in a vehicle-pedestrian crash, one of cancer); two were placed in rehousing or higher-level care; two are…
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