The Comprehensive Plan (General Plan): Under California law, each city and county must adopt a General Plan to document its goals and policies for future development of the community. A General Plan must include the following mandatory elements: Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Open Space, Conservation, Noise, and Safety. Santa Barbara's also addresses Agriculture, Environmental Resource Management, Energy Conservation, Scenic Roadways, Seismic Safety and Hazardous Waste. Counties and cities which contain land within the coastal zone, as Santa Barbara County does, must also prepare a Local Coastal Program (LCP). Santa Barbara County also has community plans for Montecito, Summerland, Goleta, and Los Alamos. Orcutt and Santa Ynez are pending. Each element contains goals and policies pertaining to its subject. Under State law, your project cannot be approved, and your application will be recommended for denial if it is inconsistent with any policy of the Comprehensive Plan.
Local Zoning Ordinances: State law requires that zoning be consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan. Each piece of property has been assigned to a specific zone district (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial) which describes the rules under which that land may be used. A development proposal must comply with the property's zone district requirements, including its permitted uses, density, setbacks, parking requirements, minimum lot size, etc. In addition, the zoning ordinance contains general regulations and permit regulations which further describe the way property may be developed and the conditions under which projects may be approved.
The County's Zoning Ordinances (Chapter 35 of the County Code) include:
Article I -- Sign Regulations -- applies to all unincorporated areas of the County.
Article II -- Coastal Zone -- applies to all unincorporated lands within the Coastal Zone (which includes all lands within 300' of shore -- in some places it extends a half mile or more) and all offshore islands. Unlike non-coastal areas, both the County and the California Coastal Commission must approve changes to Article II. The Coastal Commission also has final permit authority in areas of the Coastal Zone designated as "Appeals Jurisdiction".
Article III -- Inland -- applies to all unincorporated areas of the County not subject to Article II or Article IV.
Article IV -- Montecito -- applies to areas in the unincorporated area defined as Montecito which lie outside the Coastal Zone.
Ordinance 661 applies to certain rural areas outside the Coastal Zone which are not covered by Articles III and IV. However, only Ordinance 661's zone district regulations apply, all other zoning regulations are covered by Article III or IV as appropriate.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) CEQA was enacted by the State of California in 1970. It requires that: 1) all potential environmental impacts of a proposed project be disclosed; 2) the public be notified of all projects that have the potential for environmental impacts; 3) feasible mitigation for those impacts be included as conditions of approval; 4) mitigation measures be monitored to ensure they are implemented. An application may be denied if significant environmental impacts cannot be avoided or lessened.
State and Local Subdivision Regulations: In general, land cannot be subdivided in California without local government approval. Dividing land for sale, lease or financing is regulated by the local Subdivision Regulations (Chapter 21 of the County Code) which are based on the State Subdivision Map Act.
Every year State Planning and Zoning laws are added, deleted and changed by the State legislature, and court cases interpret these laws. P&D staff must review your application in compliance with all of these laws and regulations. Copies of all of the above referenced documents, as well as copies of Comprehensive Plan and Zoning maps are available for review or purchase at P&D.