As part of its commitment to honoring Santa Barbara County’s roots, Solstra engaged a robust team led by trusted consultants, many of whom have lived and worked in this area for decades.
AO Architects
BrightView Landscape
Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber & Schreck
David Wolff Environmental
Economic Development Service of CA.
H&H Environmental
Land Development Consultants
Leftwich Archaeology
Pacific Kies Development
Palmer Consulting
Resolute & Associates
RRM Design Group
Terrain Consulting
Wallace Group
We are committed to creating a thriving and sustainable socially connected community that is within reach for working families. Our approach will bring social, economic and environmental benefits through thoughtful reuse of industrial land while incorporating innovative environmental and technological practices.
Local, Regional, State, and Federal Plans and Programs that Guide Our Efforts
The Solomon Hills project will have a significant economic impact on the local economy through the creation of new homes and jobs, taxes and development fees.
The proposal/preliminary concept plan for the project consists of a new planned community on approximately 2,000 acres currently used as an active oil field, with cattle grazing and telecommunications facilities. Up to 4,000 residential units targeting a full range of housing options, including affordable and workforce housing for families, are proposed onsite. Commercial and retail space is proposed to meet the immediate needs of the community and within walking distance of many of the residences. A component of the commercial space may be the development of an employment campus for one or more major employers.
Solomon Hills is south of Orcutt and north east of Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Solstra Communities CA, LLC owns the property and is a U.S.-based Company with experience building sustainable communities in Europe. The company has also retained local consultants familiar with the political, entitlement, planning and development processes.
The Solomon Hills property is distinctly different from a planning perspective and geographically separated from the Orcutt Community Plan (OCP) Urban/Rural Boundary by the Orcutt Hill ridgeline which separates the Santa Maria Valley to the north from the Los Alamos Valley to the south. The landowner is proposing to work with the County to plan a new community to meet North County’s housing and jobs needs. This independent planning area will address and incorporate the County’s goals and policies in a planning document separate from the OCP. The applicant is not proposing to amend the OCP to expand the Planning Area boundary or to extend the existing Urban/Rural Boundary to the south.
Solstra Communities will establish the infrastructure services needed for the new, independent community. Roads, water supply, wastewater, stormwater systems, law enforcement, fire protection, and a school campus are the main infrastructure features needed to support the project. All the proposed on-site infrastructure improvements will be paid for through impact fees or direct construction by Solstra, financed, in part, with a Community Facilities District (CFD).
The project envisions dedicating approximately 1,143 acres of the 1,903-acre project site as open space and parks (which is ±60% total project area). This will include passive and active open space, trails, bike paths, conservation easements and the historic Newlove Picnic Grounds sport fields as a public park.
As part of the project approvals, all future oil and gas extraction activities occurring on the proposed 1,903-acre development area will be permanently abandoned. In addition, there will be a complete abandonment and closure of all existing oil and gas wells located within the proposed development area. The cleanup effort will also include the removal of pipelines, equipment, and sumps. The cleanup process will be permitted and overseen by the State and County.
The initial project is a request to initiate a Comprehensive Plan Amendment/Rezone for the 1,903-acre site to change the current land use/zoning designation from Commercial Agriculture (AC), 40-acre minimum parcel size to a new Comprehensive Pan/zoning designation allowing for a mixed-use community of up to 4,000 residential units and 50 acres of commercial/retail space.
Initiation of a Comprehensive Plan Amendment/Rezone would not commit the County to any particular outcome, rather it would allow the applicant the opportunity to submit companion applications for full study and public review of the project.
If the initiation request is approved, Solstra will submit several accompanying applications for planning analysis and environmental review, including the following: • Specific Plan – outlining a specific set of criteria, including goals, policies and development standards to govern development of the site; • Tract Map(s)– establishing the different development areas, including identification of major access, infrastructure, and phasing for each area; • Phasing Plans – outlining how the development areas would be built-out over time; and • Development Agreement – establishing a time frame for County entitlements and specific requirements for facility and other improvements by the project applicant.