After eight hours discussing the intricate details of a housing proposal on the Gaviota Coast, Santa Barbara County planning commissioners postponed any vote Wednesday on whether to allow dozens of luxury homes at Naples.

The commission majority has previously indicated a preference for an option that would allow the Santa Barbara Ranch project to include 72 homes, split between that property and the adjacent Dos Pueblos Ranch.

That so-called Alternative 1 includes 40 large-lot homes on Santa Barbara Ranch and 32 on Dos Pueblos Ranch, to the north and west.

Of the total, 22 units - including nine bluff-top homes - would be south of the freeway and 50 would be north of Highway 101, in an area two miles west of Goleta.

Although commissioners have yet to vote on the controversial project, they labored Wednesday over the tedious details of proposed conditions, mitigation measures and findings for the 72-home proposal. The five-member panel unanimously agreed to conclude those discussions next week and probably will vote Aug. 20 on whether to recommend that the county Board of Supervisors approve the Santa Barbara Ranch project and necessary zoning changes.

To the dismay of project critics, including the Naples Coalition of citizen and environmental groups, the county considers 72 homes the “environmentally superior” alternative.

The coalition sought a different alternative: Allowing 64 homes, all north of the freeway in areas invisible to drivers on Highway 101.

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Under the larger option, 11 of the homes north of the freeway would be visible - to varying degrees - but their size and height would be strictly limited, said county staff planner Tom Figg.

Among the environmental advantages of that option, according to an environmental impact report, would be the creation of a 2,629-acre agricultural preserve on Dos Pueblos Ranch. No additional development would ever be allowed on those agricultural lands.

Chuck Schultz can be reached at 925-2691, Ext. 2241, or cschultz@santamariatimes.com.

August 14, 2008