Santa Barbara — Transfer of Development Rights

Sending Site and Receiving Site Rules

A Sending Site is the property from which rights are moved; a Receiving Site is the property to which they are moved. Rights may move by sale, exchange, gift, or another approved legal method, but the transaction has no effect until City approval and satisfaction of all conditions. § 28.95.020

The transferable amount from a sending property is the difference between eliminated floor area and the floor area of all nonresidential structures constructed or proposed on that same sending property. This means a transfer cannot simply monetize a building area while leaving the same amount of nonresidential development in place. § 28.95.040

A receiving property may receive rights from multiple sending properties, and one sending property may divide rights among multiple receiving properties. § 28.95.030

Applicable Receiving-Site Zoning

Chapter 28.95 does not name any eligible or ineligible zoning districts, such as specific residential, commercial, industrial, or overlay designations. Instead, it requires that the receiving site remain within the maximum development allowed by its applicable zoning and all other City rules. § 28.95.040; § 28.95.060

Accordingly, the transferred amount is not an automatic density or floor-area bonus. Confirm the property’s underlying Santa Barbara Zoning, applicable Santa Barbara Development Standards, and site-specific constraints before relying on transferred floor area.

Review, Findings, and Development Plan Approval

The Community Development Department first determines whether an application and its supporting documentation are complete; a complete filing then follows the City’s standard application process. § 28.95.030

The Planning Commission, or the City Council on appeal, cannot approve a transfer unless it finds all of the following:

• Both sending- and receiving-site plans are consistent with the General Plan and Municipal Code. § 28.95.060
• The proposed development will not be detrimental to either site, the neighborhood, or surrounding areas. § 28.95.060
• Receiving-site nonresidential floor area stays within both the transferred-plus-existing-rights calculation and the site’s zoning maximum. § 28.95.060
• Each proposed nonresidential development satisfies the Chapter 28.85 review standards, Chapter 28.95, and transfer-specific conditions. § 28.95.060
• Development remaining or proposed on the sending property is appropriate in size, scale, use, and configuration for the neighborhood and benefits the community. § 28.95.060

Development Plan approval is required for:

Once a Sending Site Development Plan is approved, it may support later transfers if the Community Development Director finds that the post-transfer sending-site condition substantially conforms to that original approval. § 28.95.050

Traffic, Community Priorities, and Project Changes

Every transfer must comply with the Council-approved Traffic Management Strategy as implemented through § 28.85.050, and transferred rights must qualify for allocation at the receiving property. Traffic impacts are analyzed with the City’s most recently Council-approved Traffic Model. § 28.95.030; § 28.95.020

A right designated as a community priority on the sending property can transfer only to a receiving-site development that is also approved as a community priority. § 28.95.030

After approval, a nonconforming project change at either property is treated as a new project requiring new application, review, and approval. Verify whether a proposed revision is substantially conforming before changing a site plan; Santa Barbara Design Review may be relevant under other provisions, but Chapter 28.95 does not state its own design-review trigger. § 28.95.030

Conditions, Recordation, and Disclosure

The Planning Commission or City Council may impose conditions, restrictions, security, and potentially a development agreement involving the City and one or both property owners. § 28.95.070

For projects requiring Development Plan approval, both site plans must clearly identify the transferred rights, their measurement, and whether they derive from existing, approved, demolished, or converted floor area. Before the receiving-site building permit, the Community Development Director must accept proof that the transfer instrument was recorded and that the transferred area was eliminated from the sending site. § 28.95.070

The legal instrument—such as an option, deed, easement, or covenant—must be submitted with the development plan, then recorded with the County recorder after City approval. The City must be a party to the transfer instrument in a form acceptable to the City Attorney. § 28.95.070; § 28.95.090

Before conveying an approved sending property, the owner must provide a signed written disclosure identifying the property, rights existing before transfer, rights already transferred, the source category of those rights, and certification of accuracy. The City disclaims liability for errors or omissions in that owner disclosure. § 28.95.090

For a project involving demolition and a required offer of dedication, the owner must make that offer before the demolition permit issues. If the City or approved governmental entity rejects the offer, the Planning Commission approval or transfer, as applicable, is void. § 28.95.070

Chapter 28.95 does not establish independent Santa Barbara Parking, Santa Barbara Overlay Districts, Santa Barbara Historic Preservation, Santa Barbara ADUs, or California Building Standards Code standards. Verify those separate requirements with the jurisdiction where they apply.

Expiration, Enforcement, and Penalties

The City may terminate an approved sending-site or receiving-site development plan after notice and hearing if a transfer condition is violated or another necessary approval expires or ends. § 28.95.100

A recorded transfer itself does not terminate merely because an approved development plan later expires or terminates. The recorded rights remain at the receiving property and may be developed under a newly approved plan or transferred again to another receiving property under Chapter 28.95. § 28.95.100

Enforcement proceeds under Chapter 28.98, and violations are penalized under § 28.98.002. § 28.95.120; § 28.95.130

Information Gaps

Chapter 28.95 does not identify a district-by-district list of sending or receiving zones, permitted uses, dimensional standards, setbacks, FAR limits, parking ratios, fees, or a separate map of eligible properties. Those items are Not found in source materials; verify with the jurisdiction and the applicable zoning rules.

Checklist

• Identify the sending and receiving properties and document qualifying Existing Development Rights by category. § 28.95.020
• Calculate the sending-site transferable amount after accounting for eliminated and retained/proposed nonresidential floor area. § 28.95.040
• Confirm that the receiving-site proposal remains within applicable zoning and other City rules. § 28.95.040
• Confirm that the proposal qualifies for allocation and complies with the Traffic Management Strategy. § 28.95.030
• Determine whether the transfer exceeds 1,000 square feet, involves room-for-room hotel transfers, or triggers a receiving-site Development Plan. § 28.95.050
• Prepare plans for both sites that accurately label the transferred rights and their source category. § 28.95.070
• Submit the transfer legal instrument with the development plan or transfer application. § 28.95.090
• Obtain City review and approval of the transfer, both development plans, and applicable conditions. § 28.95.030
• Obtain Director approval of elimination evidence and record the approved transfer instrument. § 28.95.070
• Before a receiving-site building permit, provide accepted proof of recordation and elimination of the sending-site rights. § 28.95.070
• Provide the required disclosure before conveying an approved sending property. § 28.95.090

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

Santa Barbara allows a property owner to move qualifying nonresidential building area from one property to another, but the receiving property still cannot exceed its own zoning limit. The City must approve both sides of the transaction, the sending-site area must be eliminated and documented, and a transfer over 1,000 square feet generally needs Development Plan approval. § 28.95.040; § 28.95.050

Source References

• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.010 — purposes.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.020 — definitions and qualifying Existing Development Rights.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.030 — application review, approval, community priorities, multiple sites, and traffic compliance.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.040 — transferable amount and receiving-site limits.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.050 — Development Plan approval thresholds.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.060 — required review findings.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.070 — conditions, elimination, instruments, and recordation.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.090 — recordation and disclosure.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.100 — expiration and recorded-transfer status.
• Santa Barbara Municipal Code, § 28.95.120 and § 28.95.130 — enforcement and penalty.