The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors moved on a wide-ranging housing agenda May 12, taking up everything from a first-of-its-kind program to reserve new homes for local buyers, to nearly a dozen homeless services contracts, to a preview of major changes coming to how housing gets permitted across the unincorporated county.
A new “buy local” rule for newly built homes
The headline item was Chapter 52 — the Local Housing Marketing Program (Case No. 26ORD-00003), a new ordinance that affects parts of the First, Second, and Third Supervisorial Districts (which cover communities including Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, the Santa Ynez Valley, and Los Olivos).
In plain terms, the ordinance requires developers of certain new housing to market homes first to people who already live or work in Santa Barbara County before opening sales to outside buyers. The goal is to slow the trend of newly built homes being snapped up by second-home buyers and out-of-area investors — a long-running complaint in coastal and wine-country neighborhoods where local workers have been priced out.
For residents, the practical effect is a head start: when a qualifying new subdivision comes on the market, locals get an exclusive window to make offers. The ordinance does not cap prices or guarantee affordability, but it does shape who gets first crack at the inventory. The Board considered the recommendations as part of its housing package; the program is among the more unusual local-preference tools attempted in California, where most cities rely on inclusionary zoning rather than buyer-residency rules.
A preview of “ministerial streamlining” — fewer hearings for housing
Supervisors also held a 45-minute hearing on a Zoning Ordinance Ministerial Streamlining Briefing from the Planning and Development Department. “Ministerial” approval means a project that meets the rules gets a permit over the counter — no public hearing, no discretionary vote, no chance for neighbors to appeal on subjective grounds like “neighborhood character.”
For homeowners and buyers, this matters in two opposite ways. If you want to build an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit — a smaller second home on your lot, like a backyard cottage), a duplex, or a small infill project, ministerial review means faster, cheaper, and more predictable approvals — often months instead of a year or more. If you’re a neighbor who would normally weigh in at a Planning Commission hearing, ministerial review removes that opportunity for the streamlined categories.
The Board received the briefing as a “receive and file” item, meaning no vote yet — staff laid out what’s coming, and formal ordinance changes will return later for public hearings. Residents who want to influence the shape of streamlining should watch for those follow-up hearings in the coming months.
Homeless services: three major funding actions
Three separate items advanced the county’s homeless response, drawing on a mix of state bond money and federal grants.
First, supervisors took up a Program Funding Agreement with Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), Inc., tied to the state’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) — a multi-billion-dollar state bond program that pays to build mental health and substance use treatment beds. The Round 2 “Unmet Needs” funding is meant to add residential treatment capacity, which directly affects how quickly people experiencing homelessness with mental health or addiction issues can be moved off the street into care.
Second, the Board authorized the Community Services Director to submit an Encampment Resolution Funding application to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (State HCD — the state’s main housing agency). Encampment Resolution grants pay for outreach, interim shelter, and permanent housing placement at specific encampment sites. If awarded, the money funds the kind of intensive case-by-case work that has cleared encampments in Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties over the past two years.
Third, supervisors approved sub-recipient agreements for the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP), a state program that helps homeless residents who likely qualify for disability benefits navigate the federal SSI application process while providing housing assistance during the wait — typically many months. For residents, HDAP is one of the few programs that pairs an income source with a roof, making placements more durable.
A new subdivision in the Santa Ynez Valley
The Board accepted the Final Map of Tract No. 14,786 — Zaca Preserve LLC (Case No. 12TRM-00000-00001) in the Third District, which covers the Santa Ynez Valley and Goleta Valley. A final map is the last step in the subdivision process — it locks in lot lines and triggers acceptance of utility easements, after which lots can be sold and built on individually. The Board also set the monument deposit, the standard cash bond that ensures survey markers get installed.
Zaca Preserve is a rural-residential subdivision; the action means the lots are now legally recognized and ready to be transferred. It does not by itself add affordable units, but it does formally expand the inventory of buildable parcels in the valley.
Planning commission appointments
Two First District appointments will shape how housing projects get reviewed in the coming months. Supervisors approved Steven Amerikaner to the county Planning Commission and Dante Di Loreto to the Montecito Planning Commission, both with terms running through December 31, 2026. The Planning Commission is the body that votes on most discretionary housing projects — subdivisions, larger developments, and zoning changes — before they reach the Board of Supervisors on appeal. Who sits on it directly affects which projects move forward and how quickly.
Other housing-adjacent business
Supervisors also set a June 9 hearing on updates to the Public Works Subdivision Map and Document Review Fee Schedule — the fees the county charges developers and homeowners to process lot splits, final maps, and related surveying documents. Fee changes flow through to the cost of building or subdividing, and ultimately to home prices. The hearing is scheduled for 15 minutes, suggesting a routine adjustment rather than a major overhaul, but the actual numbers will be public when the staff report posts.
The Board also adopted a resolution authorizing the County Treasurer to make temporary inter-fund transfers between July 1, 2026 and April 26, 2027 to cover cash-flow gaps — a routine housekeeping measure that keeps grant-funded housing and homeless programs running smoothly when reimbursements from the state arrive late. A closed session on anticipated litigation and an unrelated $118,920 donation to County Animal Services rounded out the agenda.
What’s coming up
The June 9 hearing on Public Works subdivision fees is the next firm date for housing-watchers. Beyond that, the ministerial streamlining briefing signals that a substantive zoning ordinance overhaul will return to the Board later this year for public hearings — that will be the moment for residents to weigh in on which housing types get approved without hearings and which still go through full review. The Local Housing Marketing Program will also be one to watch as implementation details, including which subdivisions it applies to and how long the local-buyer window lasts, are finalized.