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Goleta council certifies EIR and approves 56‑home Shelby subdivision, citing VMT as unavoidable impact
Summary
The City Council certified the final EIR and approved the Shelby Residential Project (56 single‑family homes, 11 deed‑restricted for‑sale units) after concluding mitigation would reduce but not eliminate vehicle‑miles‑traveled impacts; council also accepted multiple mitigation measures and fire‑safety improvements.
The Goleta City Council on March 17 certified the final Environmental Impact Report and approved the Shelby Residential Project, a 56‑home subdivision at 7400 Cathedral Oaks Road that includes 11 deed‑restricted affordable for‑sale units.
Staff and the CEQA consultant identified one significant and unavoidable impact under CEQA: vehicle‑miles traveled (VMT). CEQA consultant Maddie Majors told the council that even with mitigation the project’s per‑resident VMT could be reduced to an estimated 17.03 but would not fall below the city’s adopted threshold of 16.79. “Even with implementation of TRA‑1, the project is a low‑density single family housing project, which inherently is VMT intensive,” Majors said.
The EIR includes a VMT reduction plan (TRA‑1) with measures such as deed‑restricted affordable units, pedestrian connections to transit, Class I bike facilities, a bus stop on Cathedral Oaks Road and school‑ and employer‑based rideshare programs. The council adopted a statement of overriding considerations for the unavoidable VMT effect and adopted the mitigation monitoring and reporting program.
Applicant Mark Lloyd said the project provides housing diversity and deed‑restricted homeownership opportunities. “A family of five with an income of $53,000 qualifies for the three low affordable units,” Lloyd said, describing the developer’s allocation of deed‑restricted units and the goal of integrating the affordable units across the site rather than clustering them.
Public comment included business and housing advocates who supported the project as workforce housing close to jobs and schools, and neighbors who raised environmental and traffic concerns. Dustin Hoiseth of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber said the project would “add 56 much‑needed homes … close to jobs, schools, parks and public transit.” Neighbors and environmental commenters urged the council to preserve streamside buffers and questioned flood and creek impacts.
Council members pressed staff and consultants on defensible space and fire‑resilient construction because much of the parcel sits in state high or very‑high fire severity zones; county fire reviewed the project and approved a local fire safety plan and evacuation routes. The developer described hardening strategies (materials, defensible landscaping, perimeter walls) that the team said would exceed current code requirements.
Action: On a unanimous roll call vote the council (motion by Councilmember Kyriakko; second and recorded votes entered) adopted resolutions to certify the EIR, adopt mitigation and findings, adopt the vesting tentative map and approve the development plan.
What the approvals mean: The developer may proceed to post‑entitlement phases (building permits and plan check) subject to conditions of approval, mitigation monitoring and later plan‑check reviews by the fire and building departments.
Authorities cited in the hearing included the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), state density bonus law, the Housing Accountability Act and references to Assembly Bill 940 and SB 330 procedures that framed the project’s builder’s‑remedy context.
