This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.
The development team that’s proposing to build an eight-story apartment building behind the Santa Barbara Mission filed a lawsuit against the State of California and the City of Santa Barbara on October 24 in federal court. The lawsuit alleges that the state trailer bill that passed last month, Senate Bill 158, illegally singles out the Mission LLC’s project by requiring it to undergo environmental review. It also alleges that the city’s housing element is noncompliant.
In June, state lawmakers voted to pass a bill that made major reforms to California’s environmental review process (CEQA). The reforms exempt many housing projects that include affordable units and are in urban areas from environmental review…