After years of delay, the developers of a shopping center in unincorporated Orcutt are moving forward, but this time as part of the city of Santa Maria.

A controversial annexation proposal that would bring nearly 60 acres at the corner of Santa Maria Way and Bradley Road into the city cleared its last hurdle when officials for the Local Agency Formation Commission announced that not enough protests to the so-called Orcutt Plaza project were received to force an election.

The annexation, dubbed Quail Run Reorganization, includes property from the southern border of the city adjacent to the Sunrise Hills neighborhood and extends south to include the homes in Quail Meadows West, The Quail Meadows Condominiums, a gas station and a 22-acre, vacant commercial site at the corner of Santa Maria Way, College Drive and Bradley Road.

Members of the Local Agency Formation Commission, the regional agency that regulates local government and service boundaries, voted unanimously to approve the annexation in September. But since the area is inhabited, a protest hearing was held where registered voters and land owners within the annexation area could officially file any opposition.

If 25 percent or more of the voters who are registered at addresses within the annexation area protested, then an election would be required.

However, only 19.3 percent of registered voters and 18.3 percent of land owners sent in valid protests, officials said, not enough to require an election.

Bob Braitman, executive officer for Santa Barbara County LAFCO, said he intends to record the annexation as soon as he receives the final map and legal description of the property from the county surveyor.

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Once the map and description are recorded the annexation is effective, Braitman said, which he expected will occur in the next few days.

He did note, however, in a letter to City Manager Tim Ness that 25 protest letters were ruled invalid because they were not dated as required by the protest process. In an e-mail to the City Council, Ness noted that had those letters been ruled valid, an election would have been required.

Representatives of the Adam family, who requested the annexation, said Monday that the announcement is good news.

“I think it's what's best for the area and what's best for the community,” said Dave Cross of Fletcher Cross and Associates, who represented the Adam family in the annexation process.

Plans to annex the property involved years of wrangling over the development of a 22-acre vacant lot. The owners of the property, called Key Site 25 in the Orcutt Community Plan, had a Santa Barbara County-approved proposal for a 225,000-square-foot shopping center. However, under county regulations the project needed a source of water other than groundwater.

As part of the Orcutt Community Plan, no development can occur unless the developer finds a source of water other than groundwater because the groundwater basin is believed to be at its limit.

It was that requirement that stalled the project from its initial county approval in 2003.

Many residential developments in Orcutt buy water from Santa Maria, but the city refused to sell water to the property owner for commercial development.

City officials noted that if people purchase items outside the city then the sales tax, which is a prime source of revenue for the city, on those products goes to the county not the city.

Unable to purchase water, the property owners requested annexation into the city, since then there would be no question about water service. But to annex, the Adams had to make the property contiguous to the city limit, which is a requirement of annexation.

The family owns a five-acre site adjacent to Sunrise Hills, which is the northern boundary of the annexation application; the Orcutt Plaza site is at the southern end. The final application included those properties plus the 115-unit mobile home park, the 96 condos, and a gas station.

With the property annexed, Cross noted, work can begin to plan a new project for the 22 vacant acres.

The original Orcutt Plaza project had committed tenants, including Kohl's and Vons, but many retailers have since pulled out of the project. This time around, Cross said, the development can work on finding tenants while it is scrutinized by the city Planning Commission.

As for the opposition to the project, Cross said he is confident that everyone will be able to have input into the development of Orcutt Plaza as part of the Planning Commission application.

“We feel that the majority of people want this and think it's best for the area,” he said of the annexation and development. “Of course during the process everyone will have a say through the hearing process.”

Malia Spencer can be reached at 739-2219 or mspencer@santamariatimes.com.

January 1, 2008