Planning commission workshop narrows Recreation Benefit Program choices; stakeholders press for setbacks and strong AEO safeguards

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission used a Feb. 11 workshop to narrow policy choices that will define the Recreation Benefit Program (RBP) and related Land Use and Development Code amendments and to shape assumptions for the programmatic environmental impact report.

Staff from the Planning and Development Department and the Community Services Department summarized months of public input and asked the commission for direction on four core topics: the range of incentives to entice private partners (examples include country inns, trailside cafes, day‑use wellness facilities and overnight camps), the zoning eligibility and minimum parcel sizes for incentive uses, setbacks from active agricultural uses, and the permitting path (use of land use permits vs conditional use permits and possible waivers of development plan requirements).

Staff said the RBP is a separate program from the Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance (AEO) though it borrows some ideas; eligibility will be determined by staff with a director‑level decision in Community Services and an appeal process is being considered. Proposed incentives are intended to be narrow and tied to in‑kind recreational contributions that provide public benefit; staff emphasized that existing development standards (infrastructure, building codes, environmental health) would still…