CityofGoleta
By the City of Goleta
This fall, 59 people living on the streets or in shelters will have a new home at Buena Tierra, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara’s (HASBARCO) Permanent Supportive Housing development located in Old Town Goleta. The Housing Authority is accepting applications through Santa Barbara County’s Coordinated Entry System.
The Coordinated Entry System verifies eligibility for housing programs and assists in matching persons experiencing homelessness to housing and services. To make it easier for potential applicants, a site is open in Goleta where people can go in person and start the housing assessment process. The site is located at the Showers of Blessings center at St. Athanasius Church (300 S. Sumida Gardens) on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
City of Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said, “We are heartened to learn that this October the transformation of the former Super 8 Hotel into Buena Tierra will be complete. We are also pleased that people experiencing homelessness in Goleta can access a Coordinated Entry System site to be connected to services.”
Buena Tierra is located at 6021 Hollister Avenue and is a 60-unit permanent supportive housing development for people experiencing chronic homelessness, homelessness and homeless youth or youth at risk of homelessness. It will include one unit to house an onsite property manager, plus five existing units that will be converted to community space in which a robust offering of services will be provided.
- Thirty-six units are reserved for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Chronic homelessness is defined as an individual with a permanent disability and has been homeless for at least 12 months.
- Fifteen units are reserved for youth (persons ages 18-24) that are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness
For more information on the Coordinated Entry System and housing process for Buena Tierra or other housing opportunities, please call a Housing Specialist at 805-519-1302 to speak to someone in English, or 805-518-2679 to speak to someone in Spanish. For more information on the Coordinated Entry System, go to https://www.countyofsb.org/447/Coordinated-Entry-System.
To learn more about the City of Goleta’s response to homelessness, contact Chuck Flacks, Homelessness Services Coordinator, at cflacks@cityofgoleta.org.
(file photo)
Background
Buena Tierra will be run by the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, which received almost $19 million in State Funding for the project. The funding, announced on April 13, 2022, by Governor Gavin Newsom, is a part of $70 million in State awards for six new Homekey projects throughout California.
This state funding includes rental subsidy and operating costs. Generous additional funding has been reserved for this development by the County of Santa Barbara and City of Goleta. Under recent State law (AB 140 and AB 2162), supportive housing projects funded through the Homekey program are automatically deemed consistent and in conformity with local General Plan and zoning requirements and allowed by right as a permitted use.
Related Articles
April 18, 2022: Super 8 Motel Supportive Housing Project Receives $19M in State Funding
February 7, 2022: Community Informational Meeting on Super 8 Motel Project
January 12, 2022: County to Pursue Funding to Purchase Super 8 Motel for Homeless Housing
This is definitely a good start and kudos to the City of Goleta. I believe there are several other locations identified where the much-needed housing for the homeless will be built in Goleta. My hope is that some day soon they will build on the Fairview Gardens site, which looks pretty bad these days. Better to have homeless housing there than letting it simply go to waste. I know that property is supposed to be a farm forever, but I think everyone will agree it should be put to use as some sort of public housing
Nope, not everyone will agree to having housing instead of a farm.
I miss Fairview Gardens.
We miss Fairview Gardens quite a bit, even though we live in SB. We used to go there regularly when they operated the veggie/egg stand. We really loved having fresh eggs!!! I think for the greater good though, it would be best to use the land for some very badly needed housing for the less fortunate. It’s nice that the Super 8 is converted, but there are many more folks who need housing….not more bushes and undersides of bridges and overpasses. Fairview Gardens is simply sitting there unused and in my opinion (and others as well), being wasted. The land is there, so let’s use it to help those in dire/dire need. Plenty of other places to raise a few tomatoes and pumpkins.
Is this part of the old town revitalization project? To help business and to help bring people there?
Nice to see this project moving ahead. Congratulations to the city of Goleta for stepping up and providing its support after a decade of trying to avoid taking a role in addressing the problem.
That was a Motel 6 when I was younger(5th grade) and I see its just as classy as it was then
The cigarette machine is probably still there that we could buy ciggies from when we were younger. All it will need is a liquor store.
This is good news. It appears Goleta is ahead of Santa Barbara in some respects.
A few years ago, old town goleta seemed to be an up and coming place. Grand plans to bypass hollister, widen sidewalks, and develop the old town corridor into bustling destination for shoppers and diners seemed destined for success. Now old town has turned in a different direction. Instead of becoming a destination for shoppers, diners, and tourists, old town will be a premier destination for drug users and criminals. Residents and business owners in the area will need to take a hard look at the security measures they have in place and prepare for the zombie invasion.
Dear United States homeless population:
Please come to Santa Barbara and Goleta as soon as possible. If the housing is full when you get here, you can stay at the home of an Edhat down voter.
2 referrals already.
Dear Santa Barbara working person:
Please don’t come to Santa Barbara or Goleta or Carpineria as you will find that the housing that was available to the middle class and blue collar folks has been bought up by funds and rich folks who will rent it to fellow rich folks (and their subsidized “student” children touring here) so that you have no hope of making it here. But if you do have to camp out perhaps you can get access to Oprah’s place , or maybe Harry’s acreage, or perhaps the lawns around the Miramar or the trails in Hope Ranch, etc. Alternatively, a more acceptable arrangement is to live in the railroad right of way, along the freeways or in the doors of downtown businesses I guess.
Build it and they will come.
Dear Santa Barbara people;
When will you learn that UCSB is allowing foreign students to attend a State public institution largely funded by taxpayer dollars who’s original purpose was to provide a good quality education that was affordable and accessible to California residents and their children is to blame. No local guaranteed admission via SBCC!
Wealthy Foreign Maserati, BMW, Tesla driving students (kids) who parents will pay anything (triple tuition and crazy rental prices) have ruined the local housing market rates for local workers. The greed and corruption of the UC system is to blame also.
The excuse that UC system needs the money is a lie. Bloated admin salaries, departments and studies are to blame also.
Let me go. You report the data from the end of the corruption. When we were young the state of California promised us a “free” education as a benefit of living in this state. That promise was abandoned as the UC system sold out to corporate “labs” and others who stole the work product that we the taxpayers paid for. If the copyrights were kept by the UC there would be no need to import higher paying out of state students. UC is on a downhill slide. UC is one of the most important research universities in the world and should be self-supporting from that research. This is not to say that the teaching corps as not sold out. They want to do “research” not teach as we paid them to do. This should be stopped. Having TA’s (indentured servants) teaching 500 plus classes is not the sort of education that we want. and so on
Dear Clueless: approximately 11 to 15% of the University of California budget (it’s about 15% for UCSB) comes from the state, aka Taxpayer dollars. This is by no means “largely funded”. Decades ago, UCs were “largely funded” by the taxpayers. That is no longer the case. In state tuition for UCSB: $14,617. Out of state tuition: $44,689. Approximately 75% of students are CA residents. (With 25k students, my rough math says $187M additional dollars from out of state tuition).
All true, but what’s the connection with the topic at hand – homeless housing project? Are you trying to suggest the project would be better suited for UCSB students, local affordable housing, or what?
Maybe the argument is that locals are without housing because rich foreigners are taking too much housing, as well as driving up prices? I’ve heard that opinion. But this old motel wasn’t being used much (was it?) so it really is beside the point.
Here is a Golden Opportunity for the City of Goleta to work with a private (and quite healthy/wealthy) company to do the right thing (from NH):
“Real estate management software technology company Yardi Systems wants to……. convert an existing 100,000-square-foot commercial office building into 374 apartments and a childcare center. The building is at 490 S. Fairview Avenue.”
Wow! To “seal the deal” I bet I am sure Yardi Systems could be convinced to donate some of those units for the chronic homeless. Mr. Yardi and his sons are all about helping people for the greater good of the community (of course, they’ll make a couple of bucks along the way).