COASTAL HOUSING COALITION STATEMENT ABOUT
GOLETA’S INITIATION OF THE BISHOP RANCH PROPERTY

The Coastal Housing Coalition (CHC), supported by 60 local employers collectively employing more than 45,000 South Coast workers, is dedicated to finding solutions to our region’s housing crisis.  We believe that the lack of available, affordable housing in close proximity to jobs is adversely affecting our region’s economy, environment and civic life, all of which will worsen if we don’t address this crucial problem.  

As an organization that is looking for opportunities to provide more sorely needed workforce housing on the South Coast, we would welcome the opportunity to study the Bishop Ranch property to determine whether it is suitable for housing and whether it might provide a unique opportunity for a significant amount of workforce housing for our local employees. 

If Bishop Ranch is rezoned residential, it is critical that the project provide the maximum benefit possible to our community within the economic realities of any development. 

CHC has a rigorous set of residential guidelines that we use to determine support for specific projects, and we encourage the developers to consider incorporating these guidelines into the Bishop Ranch proposal:

• Ensuring the project includes a mix of affordable housing for upper moderate-income households – workforce housing (120% - 200% of AMI), at a significantly higher percentage than required, and protecting affordability as long as legally possible;

• Building at maximum allowed density to make the most efficient use of land, but keeping unit sizes small as smaller units are generally less expensive to build and therefore more affordable by design;                 

• Providing for mixed uses within a neighborhood, including housing, working, recreation, shopping, entertainment, etc; 

• Designing for neighborhood compatibility, and integrating or improving existing street patterns, walkways and bicycle baths, with connections between adjacent neighborhoods, services and public transportation to enhance pedestrian-oriented circulation and strengthen a sense of community. 

• Utilizing green building techniques; and

• Soliciting significant neighborhood and community input. 

If the City feels it is timely, CHC would welcome the opportunity to study Bishop Ranch as a potentially unique opportunity to help mitigate our region’s housing crisis and we look forward to more opportunities for public comment on this important issue.