Santa Barbara, California — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Santa Barbara during 2025.
Santa Barbara County indexed 697 projects with at least one decision in 2025, leading to 957 approved and 6 denied actions. Approval was effectively unanimous at 99.4% — typical for a county where most agenda items are administrative or staff-recommended. Solvang led with 253 projects (36% of the county), followed by Lompoc at 190.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
697
Projects with decisions
957
Approved actions
6
Denied actions
99.4%
Approval rate (of actions)
By city
| City | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballard | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Buellton | 100 | 120 | 2 | 98.4% |
| Carpinteria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Eastern Goleta Valley | 136 | 201 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Guadalupe | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Lompoc | 190 | 236 | 1 | 99.6% |
| Solvang | 253 | 382 | 3 | 99.2% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities are included.