After Five Years, What’s Happening with the Richards Ranch Annexation?

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            It has been over four years since developer Michael Stoltey applied to Santa Barbara County with an application to develop forty-four acres with ninety-five town homes, four hundred apartments, plus retail: a convenience market, gas station and commercial services. The Richards Ranch development would span both sides of the intersection of Union Valley Parkway and Highway 135.  

The project has been the most controversial development in Orcutt in decades.       

            Stoltey argues he has unsuccessfully attempted to secure water for the project from Santa Barbara County.  County residents voted to not purchase water from the State Water Aqueduct in the 1990’s and an unforeseen consequence was commercial development in the Orcutt area was constricted. Because the County does not have access to State Water, it has no provisions to supply water for commercial development. So Stoltey applied for annexation to the City of Santa Maria, which purchased State Water late last century.

Many Orcutt residents oppose the proposed annexation, saying the development area is central to the 1997 Orcutt Community Plan. In response, local citizens argue the City is “cherry picking” valuable Orcutt locations.  In response, hundreds of “I love Orcutt” signs have popped up at residences and businesses. 

In November 2024, the Santa Maria City Council unanimously voted to start the annexation process.    

A major component of any annexation is agreement with the City and County regarding splitting up tax revenues from the area in question.  That complicated process involving representatives from the City and County has been ongoing with an arbitrator authorized to make a non-binding decision. 

            The arbitrator is expected to announce a decision about the tax exchange issue in the spring.

            If both the County and the City decline to approve the tax exchange decision, the application ends; however, the developer can submit a new proposal to the County.   

If the City and County reach an agreement and move forward with the annexation process, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), made up of representatives from cities, special districts, and the County, will review the potential impacts of the annexation.     LAFCO’s mission is to ensure orderly formation of local government agencies and to discourage urban sprawl.

If all 14 LAFCO members back the project's annexation to Santa Maria, the City will move forward with the application and expand its boundaries to cover the intersection. Currently, the City southern boundary east of Highway135 is north of Waller Lane.  The Santa Maria Airport District and the townhomes west of Union Valley Parkway to Stansbury Drive are also within the City.  

            Stoltey’s request to develop the site followed an earlier application by Walmart at Union Valley Parkway and Highway 135.   Walmart envisioned a super-mart at the intersection. The project died because the retailer could not get water.

            When Stoltey purchased the site in 2021, Walmart applied deed restrictions including, the property shall not be used as a grocery store/supermarket which may include but not limited to the sale of dry, refrigerated or frozen groceries, meat, seafood, poultry, produce, bakery products frozen dairy or any grocery products normally sold in such stores or departments. (Editor's note: deed language summarized).

            While this process has been winding its way through the system, developer Stoltey also applied for a Builder’s Remedy which allows developers in areas not in compliance with the State of California Housing Element law to either allocate 20 percent of their units for lower-income households or offer all units to moderate-income households.  This would mean housing densities would be much higher than the four hundred units in the current application.

            Under Builder’s Remedy, Stoltey would have to provide another Environmental Impact Report, however the County would have less authority to apply development standards. 

            Two lawsuits have been filed against Santa Barbara County contending the “respondents are flouting their responsibilities to process a housing project that is protected by state law.”  Stoltey filed the first lawsuit while Californians for Homeownership, linked to the California Association of Realtors, filed the second.             

      The Richards Ranch website says the development would be a secure, gated community with amenities such as private garages, pool and spa, dog park, outdoor kitchen and tables, pickle ball courts and gym fitness classes.  According to Stoltey, the Builder’s Remedy process would lead to fewer amenities.   

            After almost five years, whether the developer gets approval from the City or the County, it is impossible to estimate when any kind of development will be approved.  

Steve Southwick reporting