History of this legislation:

California Senate Leadership passed several bills, some of which could help the Montecito community, and some of which can harm it greatly. We have hired our former State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson to navigate us through this process and to the extent we can, get amendments that can protect Montecito.  We participated in Senate and Assembly committee hearings to testify, submitted position letters, and joined with other communities as part of United Neighbors, CALE, and CATALYST.

The Worst Bills:  SB9 and 10

Senate Bill 9 allows lot splits, and creating 2 units where 1 single family home stood. Under existing law, you can already add an ADU (and it can be a second floor) and a Junior ADU. We could see 4-6 housing units now per lot.

Senate Bill 10 allows putting up 10 unit apartment buildings on single family residential lots.

Both bills remove CEQA, and override local controls, so that approvals are ministerial only. No hearings, no reviews. There are no protections written into the bills for High Fire and coastal zones. 

Here are additional articles we've published in the Montecito Journal:

Legislators - Stand With YOUR Community! 3/19/21

Update On Housing Bills - 3/26/2021

Pack 'em and Stack 'em in Montecito? Act Now Before It's Too Late 4/15/2021