City of Santa Barbara Leaders Are Split on Proposed 66

After a Heated Debate and a Split Vote, City Planning Commission Kicks Project Down the Road

A proposed four-story, 66-room hotel that would take the place of longtime downtown hangout The Press Room sparked a heated debate last week at the Planning Commission, where the six commissioners were split down the middle over the development, eventually agreeing to kick the project down the road until the applicants could prove the hotel wouldn’t have an adverse effect on the city’s housing crisis.

The hotel, which is on property owned by SIMA and designed by architect Kevin Moore, was originally proposed with housing in 2020, but since then the developers pivoted to a hotel project, citing higher costs for construction that would make building housing financially unfeasible.

Community members flooded the city with public comments after hearing The Press Room would be demolished, and the fact that the city has been prioritizing housing has earned the project a “significant outpour of opposition,” according to Commissioner Devon Wardlow.

Wardlow expressed concerns over the housing crisis and was especially disappointed in applicants for their lack of engagement with the community and with the owners of The Press Room, saying that there was “no engagement” and that the developers planned on doing outreach after the project was approved.

“There’s two issues right there: This does not create housing, and this displaces a tenant that has overwhelming support from our community,” Wardlow said.

Vice Chair John Baucke agreed, even taking it a step further and suggesting the city reconsider bringing back the hotel moratorium or require all new hotels to get a conditional-use permit rather than allowing them by right.

But Commissioners Sheila Lodge and Lesley Wiscomb were in favor of moving the project ahead more quickly, fearing that the commission was forcing applicants to return for reviews, at their cost, far too often.

Wiscomb said she didn’t want it to be “all about The Press Room,” whose owners had signed an agreement to relocate, and that the city “won’t get any affordable housing” at that location.

“What’s done with The Press Room is done, and that’s a private agreement,” she said.

After a split vote on a motion that would have required the applicants to come back after “significant public outreach,” the commissioners agreed in a 5-1 vote, with Wiscomb opposed, to return to a later date with a full commission of seven members.