Housing affordability is not a new conversation in Santa Barbara. We talk about it constantly. We talk about the need for housing for people who work here, housing for young families, housing for seniors, housing for teachers, housing for public safety workers, and housing for the next generation of Santa Barbara residents.
The harder part has always been moving from conversation to production.
That is why the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is worth paying attention to. If signed by the President, the bill could create new federal incentives for communities that take meaningful steps to increase their housing supply. In simple terms, the federal government may be preparing to reward cities that actually allow more homes to be built.
One of the most interesting pieces of the bill is an Innovation Fund that would provide competitive grants to cities and local governments that can show measurable improvement in housing supply. Those grants could range from $250,000 to $10 million. That’s real money for a city where every conversation about infrastructure, planning, permitting, staffing, and housing policy eventually comes back to cost.
This isn’t automatic funding. A city can’t just say “We support housing” and receive money. The bill is for those willing to make real changes. That could include streamlining permits, allowing more housing by right, reducing unnecessary parking requirements, expanding ADU opportunities, updating zoning standards, and removing barriers that make housing harder and more expensive to build.
That distinction matters. Currently, our city is more focused on policies that will discourage new housing like the egregious rent control measures that certain city council members seem to love so much. Those efforts will do nothing to increase the supply of housing or reduce the cost of housing.
We care about more housing choices. More homes of all shapes and sizes. Yes, there are planning concerns. Design, neighborhood character, infrastructure, wildfire risk, water, traffic, and quality of life are issues that should not be dismissed. But they also cannot become a permanent excuse for inaction.
If federal housing policy is moving toward rewarding production, Santa Barbara has a choice to make. We can continue to treat housing as something we support in theory but resist in practice, or we can have a more honest conversation about what it would take to responsibly allow more homes.
The bill also includes planning and implementation grants that could help cities do the less visible work that often determines whether housing happens or not. That includes updating zoning codes, improving housing strategies, and reducing regulatory barriers.
The bill also supports practical tools such as adaptive reuse of underused commercial properties and pre-reviewed housing designs. Santa Barbara is already seeing efforts to convert underused commercial properties into housing. That makes this portion of the bill especially relevant. If federal funding can help cities plan for these conversions, improve approval processes, address infrastructure needs, or make difficult projects more financially feasible, then it could support work that is already beginning locally. Both could be useful locally.
Pre-reviewed designs could allow a city to identify housing types that meet local standards in advance. That might include ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, cottage courts, townhomes, and other small-scale housing types. For Santa Barbara, this could be especially helpful. We spend a lot of time debating what new housing should look like. Pre-reviewed designs could allow us to set high expectations up front and then move appropriate projects through the process more efficiently.
None of these ideas will solve Santa Barbara’s housing challenges on their own. Our situation is too complex for one bill, one grant, or one zoning change. But the larger message is important.
Housing affordability is, at its core, a supply issue. Financing programs matter. Rental assistance matters. First-time buyer support matters. But none of those tools can help someone buy or rent a home that was never allowed to be built.
As REALTORS®, we see the effects of limited supply every day. We see buyers stretched beyond their comfort level. We see renters who want to become owners but cannot find a realistic path. We see employers struggling to recruit and retain workers because housing costs are so high.
For years, Santa Barbara has said housing is a priority. If this bill becomes law, there may be new federal resources available to communities that prove it.
The question is whether we are willing to do the hard work necessary to compete for them.
Jennifer Berger is a top producing, third generation California REALTOR® with Compass, bringing 28 years of experience in residential real estate serving Santa Barbara and its surrounding communities. She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. She can be reached at 805-451-5484 or jennifer.berger@compass.com