Housing at La Cumbre Plaza
Two applications would turn La Cumbre Plaza's Macy's and former Sears sites into 1,123 rental apartments plus shops and public space. The projects use the city's density incentive program, and the city is weighing whether a new state law exempts them from environmental review entirely. The decisions run through design boards and the Planning Commission, not the City Council.
- Renters and buyers: over a thousand units at several income levels are on the table.
- The Plaza's neighbors: a shopping mall would become a neighborhood, with years of construction in between.
- Existing Plaza tenants and shoppers: the retail center changes shape around them.
- Drivers on upper State Street: more residents would live on the corridor.
THE FULL FRAMING · THE AUDITED WORDING OF RECORD ↓COLLAPSE THE FULL FRAMING ↑
Two applications would replace La Cumbre Plaza's two anchor-store sites — the Macy's site (its lease runs to 2028) and the former Sears site — with a combined 1,123 rental units: a 680-unit mixed-use project on the Macy's site (moderate- and very-low-income units, market-rate units, and retail, dining, and public spaces) and a 443-unit project on the former Sears site (10% moderate-income). Both use the city's AUD housing-incentive overlay, and the city is evaluating whether new state law (AB 130) exempts them from CEQA environmental review entirely. Where things stand: the Macy's-site application has been complete since February 2025 and awaits its environmental determination, while the Sears-site project was continued indefinitely by the Architectural Board of Review in November 2025 for design revisions. The remaining approval path runs through the Staff Hearing Officer, the Planning Commission, and design review — no City Council vote appears among the remaining steps the city has published. Construction, if approved, is anticipated to begin around 2028.
Both applications are live before city bodies: the Macy's-site application has been complete since February 2025 and awaits its environmental determination, and the Sears-site project was continued indefinitely by the Architectural Board of Review in November 2025 for design revisions. Active rather than pre-docket because a body has taken the matter up — the distinction from 505 E. Los Olivos, whose application has never been deemed complete.
Watching: An environmental determination (whether AB 130's statutory CEQA exemption applies), then the Tentative Maps — Staff Hearing Officer for 3805 State, Planning Commission for 3845 — and Architectural Board of Review design approvals.
WHAT THIS STATE MEANS ↓COLLAPSE ↑
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chose “Build both as proposed”
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SHOW THE 1 EARLIER ACTION ↓COLLAPSE EARLIER ACTIONS ↑
How this gets decided
Unusually for a project this size, no City Council vote appears among the remaining steps the city has published. Both sites sit in the AUD Priority Housing Overlay (37–63 units/acre) under existing zoning, so the decisions are: an environmental determination (the city is evaluating whether AB 130's statutory CEQA exemption applies — review happens only "if required"), then the Tentative Maps — decided by the Staff Hearing Officer for the Macy's site and the Planning Commission for the Sears site — and Architectural Board of Review design approvals (3805 process; 3845 process).
Council's one action so far: in August 2024 it voted unanimously to direct staff to negotiate a development agreement for the Macy's site — which "could allow the City to secure a commitment for more affordable housing than is currently proposed" — but no agreement was reached, and the city states it will continue processing the application under applicable legal timelines (city project page).
READ THE FULL EXPLAINER · 3 MIN ↓COLLAPSE THE EXPLAINER ↑
Design review is where the city's discretion is most visibly active: on November 10, 2025 the ABR voted unanimously to continue the Sears-site project indefinitely, asking for architecture "more in line with Santa Barbara's style" (Independent, Nov 11, 2025).
How much room does the city have to say no? The record extracted here does not state the legal limits: both sites sit in the AUD overlay under existing zoning, state density-bonus law applies to the Macy's-site project, and AB 130 may remove CEQA review — while the 2024 development-agreement episode shows the city seeking leverage through negotiation rather than denial. Residents' positions here are preferences; the platform records them regardless of how much discretion the deciding bodies ultimately have.
How to be heard, right now
- Join the interested-parties list by emailing CDAdmin@SantaBarbaraCA.gov with the project numbers (PLN2024-00227 and/or PLN2025-00238) — you'll receive mailed notice of each project's *first* hearing before each body plus any CEQA notices. The city warns that continued hearings are not re-noticed, so watch agendas after a first hearing (city project pages).
- Public comment is taken at ABR and Planning Commission meetings when the projects are heard; no hearing dates were posted as of 2026-07-09.
- Full plans for the Macy's site are viewable in person at 630 Garden Street (state law, Gov. Code § 65103.5, keeps some plans off the web).
What the record says (each claim links to its source)
- Combined proposal: 1,123 rental units — 680 at 3805 State (AUD + State Density Bonus) and 443 at 3845 State (AUD; "10 percent of which would be for moderate income households") (3805; applicant project description).
- The AUD overlay requires rental projects of 10+ units to provide at least 10% moderate-income units to qualify for its densities (La Cumbre Plaza FAQ).
- The Macy's-site application was deemed complete February 13, 2025; the environmental determination is "in progress," with the city's own timeline reading "Months–1 Year depending on level of CEQA review" (3805).
- The Sears-site application has been in completeness review since May 2025 (3845).
- Reported unit counts for the Macy's site vary slightly across sources — the city page says 680, the applicant's site "650–700," the Housing Element table 685 (sources on file).
- The 3845 application describes demolition of about 142,461 sq ft of existing structures, export of about 41,900 cubic yards of soil, and construction from January 2028 to December 2030 (continuous) or to December 2033 (phased), with first occupancies in early 2031. For 3805, news coverage reports construction is not expected to begin until after the Macy's lease ends in 2028. During construction and after completion, nearby residents, Plaza tenants and customers, and street users would experience the demolition, grading, building activity, and changes in site use described in these materials (applicant materials).
- The City's Land Use Element identifies the La Cumbre Plaza/Five Points area as one of the locations where the City's highest residential densities should be located, citing proximity to services and transit (source).
- The Sears-site applicant anticipates construction from January 2028 to as late as December 2033 if phased (applicant project description); news coverage reports Macy's-site construction would follow the Macy's lease ending in 2028.
- Honesty note: the city's 3845 page had not been updated since before the November 2025 ABR continuance as of this drafting — posted statuses can lag reality.
Drafted from the cited records and neutrality-audited on 2026-07-09; approved through the editorial gate the same day (batch authorization) — the full genesis record (extraction, audit findings, revision log) is public at /radar/packet-la-cumbre. Corrections: every claim above must trace to its linked source; report anything that doesn't.
Next Council meeting: Tuesday, September 1, 2:00 PM at City Hall, 735 Anacapa St.
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