$5.3 million for Santa Barbara County infrastructure and housing projects await state approval

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Association of Governments await approval of $5.3 million requested from the California Department of Housing and Community Development for multiple infrastructure and housing projects.

The seven projects included in the grant application were selected at the SBCAG Board of Directors December meeting.

“For the first time flexible state dollars are being made available to help implement local and
regional sustainable community strategies,” said SBCAG planning director Michael Becker.

The Regional Early Action Planning grants were created by Assembly Bill 140 in 2021 and provide $600 million to meet statewide housing goals and climate initiatives.

Santa Barbara County was allocated $5.3 million dollars from the REAP grant program.

Michael Baker explained, “With 24 applications requesting a total of $33 million and only $5.3 available for the region, this was a highly competitive process with limited funds to meet needs countywide.”

SBCAG’s application now will be reviewed by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development alongside the Strategic Growth Council and the Air Resources Board.

The seven projects included in the application are:

1. City of Santa Maria Downtown Revitalization Infrastructure Improvements ($2.5 million) to increase sewer capacity, build a bus rapid transit station and make traffic calming developments in the downtown area.
2. Permit Ready Accessory Dwelling Unit Program ($450,000) for the City of Lompoc to speed up the permitting process and pay down pre-construction fees for housing
3. Prototype 3D Printed Affordable Home Houses ($375,000) to the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County to build 3D-printed affordable housing as a demonstration of concept.
4. Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Data Dashboard ($525,538) to University of California Santa Barbara researchers to create area bicycle and pedestrian accessibility maps of the county.
5. Jacaranda Court project ($395,000) to the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara for a 63-unit middle income housing development to replace a city-owned commuter parking lot.
6. San Jose Creek Multipurpose Path ($734,933) to the City of Goleta to build a 1.5 mile bikeway connecting Calle Real, Old Town Goleta, UCSB and the Coast Route.
7. EV Charging Infrastructure and Alternative Transit Incentives Perkins Place Project ($275,000) to the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and amenities for multimodal transportation in New Cuyama.