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Strong Pressure to build collides with desie to preserve open space
| Convinced they’ll be swamped by runaway development, residents from Orcutt to Goleta are in revolt over a county plant to make way for more than 7,200 new apartments, condos and houses. With the plan calling for dense housing, the residents fear their roomy suburban way of life with its spacious landscaping is under siege. The plan to rezone land in unincorporated areas is Santa Barbara County’s answer to a desperate need for housing. Under a statewide mandate, the county and its eight cities must collectively demonstrate they have land zoned for 17,531 new housing units. But the battle is in the county’s unincorporated areas, where “elbow room” defines the good life. Widespread resistance in the north and south is putting heavy pressure on the supervisors, leading to a face-off based on regional lines where many passionate differences have clashed before. |