Zoning Ordinance Reformatting Project (ZORP)

The ZORP project was originally established as part of Planning and Development’s Process Improvement efforts under the direction of the Board of Supervisors and included architects, attorneys, community interest group representatives and permit processors from throughout the County.





Phase 1 - Reformatting

This phase saw the production of two new documents: Section 35-1 - County Land Use Development Code and Section 35-2 - Montecito Land Use Development Code. The County Land Use Development Code (LUDC) resulted from combining and reformatting four existing separate zoning Articles into one document; these were the Article I - Sign Regulations, the Article II - Coastal Zoning Ordinance, the Article III - Inland Zoning Ordinance, and the Article V - Road Naming Ordinance. The Montecito LUDC resulted from combining and reformatting three existing separate zoning Articles into one document; these were the Article I - Sign Regulations, the Article IV - Montecito Zoning Ordinance, and the Article V - Road Naming Ordinance. The goal of this phase was to create development codes that were better organized and easier to use that the predecessor zoning Articles. On October 17, 2006, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the new County and Montecito Land Use Development Codes. They became effective on January 2, 2007 except for those sections that regulate land located within the Coastal Zone. These sections will become effective once final certification from the California Coastal Commission has been granted (projected to occur in 2008). Until that time, land use within the Coastal Zone is still regulated by Article II - Coastal Zoning Ordinance.





Phase 1.5 - Incorporating Coastal Montecito Regulations into the Montecito LUDC

In January 2007, staff began removing the regulations pertaining to Coastal Montecito from the County LUDC and inserting them into the Montecito LUDC. The result of this effort will be a complete, stand-alone code for the Montecito Planning Area. Public review drafts of the revised County and Montecito LUDCs are anticipated to be available in one to two months.





Phase 2 - Substantive Changes

For purposes of the Zoning Ordinance Reformatting Project, a substantive change is considered to be an alteration of existing text which changes the way the County of Santa Barbara processes or reviews applications for development. Planning and Development staff did not make any substantive changes during Phase 1 of the Reformatting Project One so that the review could instead be focused on reformatting and simplifying the existing language. However, during Phase 1, Planning and Development staff did identify a number of areas that should be addressed in a comprehensive manner that would result in substantive changes. Work on Phase 2 is anticipated to begin in early 2008. If you are interested in participating in this future phase of the project, please contact Noel Langle, Planner by e-mail or by telephone at 805.568.2009.

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