Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) submits state application for nearly $5.3 million to support projects that will catalyze development in Santa Maria’s downtown core, build a prototype 3D printed affordable home in Goleta, pave the way for a countywide data dashboard for bicyclists and pedestrians, and invest in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the most remote community in Santa Barbara County. 

Seven transformative housing and sustainable transportation projects are being reviewed by the state after SBCAG submitted a nearly $5.3 million application this week for Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) grant funding. The SBCAG Board of Directors selected seven out of 24 projects to include in the state application at their December meeting.  

REAP 2.0 grants seek to accelerate progress toward the state’s housing goals and climate commitments.

The program was created by AB 140 (2021) that provides $600 million statewide for planning and capital projects that support each region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy. In Santa Barbara County, this is known as Connected 2050. Of the $600 million, approximately $5.3 million is available to Santa Barbara County region through SBCAG.  

SBCAG invited housing authorities, school districts, special districts, community-based organizations, cities, and the county of Santa Barbara to submit project proposals for funding. 

“For the first time flexible state dollars are being made available to help implement local and regional sustainable community strategies,” said Michael Becker, planning director for SBCAG. “With 24 applications requesting a total of $33 million and only $5.3 available for the region, this was a highly competitive process with limited funds to meet needs countywide.”

A public outreach campaign between September 5 and October 7 indicated a strong preference for capital projects over planning. 

Overall, the SBCAG Board approved slightly more than 80 percent of funds to go to directly to implement projects of which 61 percent of the funds to be spent in north county, 29 percent in south coast and 10 percent countywide.

Projects selected demonstrate an investment in housing, planning, or infill housing supportive infrastructure that reduces vehicle miles traveled, increases housing affordability, and advances equity consistent with state goals.  

The California Department of Housing and Community Development in partnership with the Strategic Growth Council and the Air Resources Board, will review SBCAG’s application and approve use of the approximately $5.3 million or request changes. 

The seven projects selected by the SBCAG Board in December to be included in the state application are the following: 

1. City of Santa Maria Downtown Revitalization Infrastructure Improvements ($2.5 million) to increase sewer capacity and multimodal improvements in downtown Santa Maria including a bus rapid transit station and traffic calming improvements. The city seeks to make improvements needed to catalyze development in its urban core.  
   
2. Permit Ready Accessory Dwelling Unit Program ($450,000) for the City of Lompoc to expedite the permitting process and reduce pre-construction fees for housing. The city seeks to spur accessory dwelling unit development to provide choice and affordability in housing and will share its work with other municipalities. 
   
3. Prototype 3D Printed Affordable Home House ($375,000) by the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County to build the first 3D-printed affordable housing unit in Santa Barbara County as a demonstration of concept. Despite its one-unit nature, it will provide for a proof of concept for low-cost housing construction and navigate building codes and permitting for novel construction methods.
   
4. Santa Barbara County Active Transportation Data Dashboard ($525,538) by University of California Santa Barbara researchers to develop regional bicycle and pedestrian data and maps countywide that will inform future bike, walking, safety and accessibility planning efforts and funding opportunities.  
   
5. Jacaranda Court project ($395,000) by the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara to accelerate the architectural process for a 63-unit middle income housing development to replace a city-owned commuter parking lot downtown Santa Barbara. 
   
6. San Jose Creek Multipurpose Path ($734,933) in the City of Goleta to support a 1.5 mile Class 1 bikeway connecting Calle Real, Old Town Goleta, UCSB and the Coast Route. It provides safe and convenient connections to employment, commerce, and services. 
   
7. EV Charging Infrastructure and Alternative Transit Incentives Perkins Place Project ($275,000) by the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara for EV charging infrastructure, transit ridership, and multimodal amenities in the most remote community in Santa Barbara County - New Cuyama. This project represents an investment in a historically underinvested portion of the region.

The California Transportation Commission funds a historic number of active transportation projects in the cities of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Santa Barbara as well as the County of Santa Barbara

The California Transportation Commission approved a total of $80 million in 2023 Active Transportation Program funding for projects in the cities of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Santa Barbara as well as the County of Santa Barbara, and Caltrans District 5 at their meeting in Riverside on December 7.  
 
A historic number of critical active transportation projects were funded locally and statewide because of the California Budget Act of 2022 which added $1 billion of one-time State funds to the Active Transportation Program to address significant unmet needs for critical pedestrian, bicycle, and safe routes to school projects. Notably, Caltrans District 5 representing Santa Barbara County in the Central Coast became the first-ever California Department of Transportation District to be awarded active transportation program funds to receive more than $8 million for the Los Alamos Connected Community Project. 
 
“I am excited the state was able to allocate crucial funding to communities throughout Santa Barbara County,” said Senator Monique Limón. “$80 million of funding dedicated to active transportation will be invested into communities like Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and other organizations throughout the county focused on expanding transportation. This level of collaboration between state officials and local governments is critical in creating opportunities that will benefit all in our communities. Congratulations to all of communities receiving funding.”
 
The Active Transportation Program continues to be competitive statewide, over 433 applications were submitted representing a total of $3.1 billion of requests and only 93 applications requesting at total of $1.02 billion were funded. Seven projects in Santa Barbara County were approved for funding by the California Transportation Commission representing the greatest number of projects funded in any year since the inception of the Active Transportation Program in 2013.  
 
“This historic funding to build bicycle and pedestrian projects throughout Santa Barbara County is life-changing for our families, neighbors, and schools,” said SBCAG Chair Das Williams. “Many of these funded projects are reflective of long, hard-fought battles by community members for their own safety and for a more sustainable future. Previously, there was a lack of adequate funding to accomplish critical projects like these, so I am proud to see the success of our region in the 2023 Active Transportation Program.”
 
The success of projects funded in the Central Coast were praised by the California Transportation Commission staff on Wednesday for working collaboratively as a region, advocating for in-person and virtual site visits, and participating in California Transportation Commission workshops to provide feedback on upcoming grant guidelines. Santa Barbara County Association of Governments serves as a liaison between the state and local cities and the county, assists and encourages project grant submissions to the Active Transportation Program, and actively participate in workshops to provide Santa Barbara County specific feedback into the program’s funding opportunities.
 
Seven funded Santa Barbara County projects include 19 miles of new or improved sidewalks, bicycle lanes and local road rehabilitation, 133 crosswalks, 174 accessible curb ramps, and 27 streetscape amenities like signs, lights, greenways as well as safety improvements, and seven community education events.
 
A complete listing of seven funded projects, include:

1. Isla Vista Bike and Pedestrian Improvements Project (Santa Barbara County) - ATP Award Amount: $7,107,000 This project includes curb extensions, sidewalks and crosswalks for pedestrians, and protected bike lanes, boulevards, lane extensions/conflict striping, and bike left-hand turn lanes to improve safety. The project is in an unincorporated neighborhood located south of El Colegio Road, west of Ocean Road, north of and including Del Playa Drive, and east of Camino Majorca within Santa Barbara County.          
2. Cliff Drive: Urban Highway to Complete Street Transformation Project (City of Santa Barbara) - ATP Award Amount: $27,191,000 This project includes the design and construction of 3.1 miles of new multi-use path along Cliff Drive from the Arroyo Burro Beach entrance to Castillo Street, and construction of 11 new pedestrian crossings to improve pedestrian and access to the new path.
3. Westside and Lower West Neighborhoods Active Transportation Plan Implementation Project (City of Santa Barbara) - ATP Award Amount $19,182,000 This project will include a separated bike path along Modoc Road, a new bike route connecting the Westside and Lower West, safety enhancements to 15 neighborhood crosswalks, sidewalk infill along six neighborhood streets, and lighting along San Andres Street and Modoc Road.
4. Milpas Street Crosswalk Safety and Sidewalk Widening Project (City of Santa Barbara) - ATP Award Amount: $7,995,000 This project creates a safe corridor for active transportation users by widening the sidewalks at street corners; installing curb extensions, lighting and high visibility crosswalks at intersections; mast-arm flasher at an intersection, and incorporating accessibility improvements.
5. Active Santa Maria Safe Routes to School Corridor Improvements Project (City of Santa Maria) - ATP Award Amount: $7,721,000 This project will construct active transportation improvements on three corridors serving five Santa Maria schools and Allan Hancock College. A combination of bicycle lanes and a Class III bicycle route on Fesler Street provide a low-stress alternative to Main Street from Blosser Road to Bradley Road. On Bradley Road, a protected bikeway and new shared-use path provide a connection between the new Fesler Street bikeway and existing bicycle lanes south of Main Street. New bicycle lanes and sharrows between Jones Street and Stowell Road close a gap between existing bicycle lanes on Bradley Road, creating a continuous north-south bikeway from Fesler Street to the southern end of Bradley Road at S. College Drive. A new Class I shared use path on Jones Street from College Drive to Suey Road extends an existing path to create a continuous off-street bikeway from Miller Street to Suey Road and providing a low-stress connection across the Highway 101 corridor.
6. Los Alamos Connected Community Project (Caltrans District 5) - ATP Award Amount: $8,075,000 On SR 135 from Main St. east of US 101/SR 135 junction to Den St. and along Centennial St. in the unincorporated rural community of Los Alamos, Santa Barbara County, CA. Construct pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure for 0.9 miles of SR 135 to connect residential areas to downtown community corridor and Olga Reed elementary school in Los Alamos.
7. City of Lompoc Walkability, Community Safety and School Investments Project (City of Lompoc) - ATP Award Amount: $2,795,000​ This project will enhance pedestrian safety corridors to Lompoc High School, Lompoc Valley Middle School, Hapgood Elementary School, Clarence Ruth Elementary School, the Lompoc Family YMCA, the Skate Park, the Lompoc Aquatic Center, the newly renovated Lompoc Community Track and Field, the Half Century Senior Club and high density low-income housing which is prevalent in this area. Additionally, the project will infill missing sidewalks, add lighting, install five crossing improvements to include two flashing beacons, laddered crosswalks, curb ramps and speed calming signage. The project will also include pedestrian safety-related community outreach, education, and events as well as restorative justice staff, parent outreach, and SRTS Peace Builder training to ensure safe passage for youth at the four identified schools.