Eagle-eyed residents may have noticed story poles for a new development in western Goleta during the past few weeks.
The story poles outline a proposed 202,920-square-foot self-storage facility at 7780 Hollister Ave., which is currently the site of a parking lot. The site is next to Westmont of Santa Barbara, an assisted-living facility, and across the street from the Ellwood Mesa butterfly grove.
Earlier this month, Goleta’s Design Review Board held a conceptual review for the project and encouraged developers to scale back the size and go for a rural design that was more in character with Goleta.
The development calls for 1,632 storage units spread across six buildings. There will also be a manager’s office and a caretaker’s apartment.
The parking lot has been used by Venoco for oil rig workers and, in more recent years, it’s been used for hotel staff parking, according to Troy White with TW Land Planning and Development.
There are 159 trees on the site, 145 of which are proposed for removal. The trees to be removed are mostly eucalyptus and a few unhealthy oaks and would be replaced by 85 new native trees, according to the applicants.
The Design Review Board and residents expressed concern with the number of trees being removed and that the younger trees planted would not be enough to screen the property.
Robert Miller, a nearby resident in the Hideaway Bungalows, said the project will dramatically change the neighborhood and that he fears it will look like a prison with guard towers.
“The project will fundamentally alter the character of our residential neighborhood,” Miller said. “In my view, the city should have rezoned it for housing. There are already many self-storage facilities in Goleta, but none of them are located in the middle of two residential neighborhoods, a senior citizen home and an elementary school.”
Gary Lapman, another Hideaway resident, said he was concerned with the heights of the building facing the condos, but that it was the least offensive development for that site.
“None of us wants to see this place developed, but I guess this is probably the least offensive kind of development that there would be, given that it doesn’t come across as a gigantic, enormous eyesore,” Lapman said.
The project is set to return to the Design Review Board after a California Environmental Quality Act analysis, and then the project will be reviewed by the Goleta Planning Commission.
