Las Positas Valley Development

[Excerpted from SBN-P, 2/2/2005: "Las Positas area residents fight housing projects," by Joshua Molina]:

... When the Las Positas Valley residents sent a letter to the City Council, members Helene Schneider and Das Williams persuaded the rest of the council to talk about the issue in a public meeting.

While Mr. Williams is supportive of Hillside House's mission, he has problems with both projects. He questions building dense housing in a rural area.

"Maybe I am just a Santa Barbara traditionalist, and I have this belief that Santa Barbara government is supposed to protect the environment, but I think this is vitally important," he said. "We are discussing something that hasn't been done in decades. The policy of the city has been to encourage urban infill. To me, this is very dangerous. This is something that is a reversal of that."

Councilman Brian Barnwell believes that the city should come up with a comprehensive plan for the Las Positas Valley, which would include nearby Hidden Valley, but that the Veronica Meadows and Hillside House projects shouldn't be held up until such a plan is approved...

[ SB City planning document: Veronica Meadows Project Plan ]