Building Heights Confusion

Reading the various reportings on the building heights issue, I asked my son to help with my confusion. He explained where we are on the building heights issue and later put it in an email:

"I do admit that the conclusion was not very clear. We cannot pass a draft interim ordinance as is in one hearing, and we are not likely to do so as is. To ensure that there is enough public input, we need to have some process. We [the City Council] instructed the Ordinance Committee to draft an interim ordinance on height limits, incorporating the issues of open space, setbacks and type and mix of units; to come back to Council after the GPU workshop, check-in with Council is complete, and to possibly include a sunset date which would coincide with the adoption and implementation of the ordinances."

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The following are excerpts from "City Council Waits for More Data Before Capping Downtown Structures - No Building Height Ordinance — Yet," By Martha Sadler, SB INDEPENDENT, April 24, 2008:

"On Thursday, April 17, Councilmember Das Williams called a press conference to announce an historic compromise between smart-growth advocates and preservationists regarding the question of building heights and density... The spokesperson for the new coalition was architect Bill Mahan, a former city planning commissioner and one of the authors of the Save El Pueblo petition, which aims to place on the ballot an initiative that would impose a 45-foot building height maximum throughout the city... Former mayor Sheila Lodge, another leader in the signature drive, stood by his side on the steps... according to Lodge, they had crafted this compromise with those who favor tall buildings downtown to prevent horizontal sprawl  —  including Williams, housing advocate Mickey Flacks, and high-profile architects Detlev Peikert, Brian Cearnal, and Bruce Bartlett...

"... It turned out that the compromise came as a surprise to most of those who had gathered signatures for the ballot initiative, signed it, or contributed money to the effort...

"The council on Tuesday night concluded that there was no point in a temporary height-limiting ordinance if it wouldn’t stop the ballot initiative...

"In a gesture demonstrating their understanding of the public’s concern about building heights, a majority of council members directed planning staff to work on a height-limiting ordinance, but not to rush it. The consensus was that height limits and associated questions about open space and affordable housing were best addressed as part of the Plan Santa Barbara process, now underway, which is leading up to the update of the city’s General Plan..."

For full-text of the SB INDEPENDENT article of 4/24/2008, please go to:
SBI: Building Heights