Commission approves mixed-use plan for 102 W. De La Guerra: 760 storage units, 44 micro-units; commissioners split on housing-vs-storage balance

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission on May 1 approved a set of discretionary entitlements for a mixed-use redevelopment at 102 West De La Guerra Street that pairs a large self-storage facility with a separate multi-unit residential building. The commission’s vote (5–1) authorized two development plans, a transfer of existing development rights and a tentative subdivision map; Vice Chair Boss cast the lone “no” vote and stated concerns about whether the project priorities sufficiently advance housing goals for the downtown.

Applicant Greg Wright of Rethink Development told the commission the project finances a historically significant rehabilitation on the site and enables a separate, new residential building. “This building was built in 1927 … it is probably the most beautiful building we have in Santa Barbara that nobody knows exists,” Wright said, explaining why adaptive reuse plus new construction were paired to make the overall proposal feasible. The applicant’s team said the combined campus would supply roughly 760 personal storage units in the rear building and 44 residential micro-units in the front building, and that the privately operated storage partner expects strong downtown demand.

Project specifics presented by city staff planner Miss Buckhart and the applicant team: - Lot split: one existing parcel would be divided into Lot 1 (self-storage building to the rear) and Lot 2 (residential building fronting De La Guerra). All allowable residential density…