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Supervisors Vote No Confidence On Naples Project

Written by KEY News Staff

Story Created: May 15, 2012 at 10:40 PM PDT

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors are questioning whether the potential new developers of the proposed Naples housing project along the Gaviota Coast can actually complete the development.

In a statement released by Naples Coalition, "This was a vote of no confidence in the proposed new owners" explained Naples Coalition Board member Mike Lunsford.

The Naples Coalition is made up of local non-profit groups whose mission it is to preserve the rural character of the Naples property and the Gaviota coast. Specifically, the coalition is responding to Vintage Communities, an Orange County development company that wants to build between 54 and 72 large luxury homes on the coastal bluffs at Naples.

According to the Coalition, the new developers reportedly include a bank and a private equity firm who are in the process of buying the property. They want the County to approve the transfer of one part of the preliminary entitlements tentatively approved by the County in October 2008. The County has 45 days to approve, reject or take no action on the proposed transfer.

Lunsford said in the statement, "These potential new developers have never successfully processed a development in Santa Barbara County, or in California's coastal zone. Their experience has mostly been in Las Vegas, Dallas and Wyoming. I expect that they may be gaining an appreciation for the magnitude of the obstacles they will face in attempting development at Naples on the Gaviota Coast".