Despite adding the new units, the county is still lagging in building housing for moderate- and very-low income levels.
Santa Barbara County added 400 housing units last year as it worked toward state goals for development.
The numbers were presented as part of an annual report to the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission on Wednesday during its weekly meeting.
The county is required to compile a report documenting the number of units built over the past year as part of the state's Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA.
Santa Barbara's South County added 290 units in 2024, more than double the amount added in 2023.
Out of the 290 new units, 125 were accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. The other units included 80 single-family homes, 11 manufactured homes, and three agricultural employee dwellings.
Other new structures included a duplex, a triplex, and a multiple-family dwelling. These structures made up 71 additional units of the South County's housing total new units in 2024.
Santa Barbara County is required to add 4,142 new dwellings by 2031 as part of RHNA.
According to said Breanna Alamilla, a planner for the Planning and Development Department, the county is currently failing to meet the housing requirements for every income level.
"However, this is only the second year of the new eight-year planning period, and the county has time to continue making progress toward reaching its allocation," said Alamilla.
Last year's housing crop is also being built for income levels that the county records as "above moderate." Of the 375 housing permits granted in the South County, 315 were issued for higher-income projects.
Only 54 permits were issued for low-income units. Three permits were issued for very low incomes and another three for moderate incomes.
She added that county staff expects housing development to grow over the next few years due to the county's efforts to streamline permitting and changes to its ordinances.
In the North County, 110 housing units were added to the region -- a dip from the previous year's number of 157 new units.
The new housing was made up of 94 ADUs, 12 single-family homes, three manufactured homes, and one agricultural employee dwelling, or ADE.
According to Danielle Moore, a planner for the county, the North County is failing to meet demands for very-low and moderate-level income housing.
The northern portion needs to add 1,522 by 2031, but only issued 267 permits in 2024. Of those, 153 were for low-income housing and 95 permits were for above-moderate units.
During his comments, Commissioner Roy Reed stressed the "critical need" for ADEs in his district. He said that building employee housing for agriculture workers would free up low-income housing for other families.
He was then informed that most of the housing that was permitted would not benefit agricultural workers.
"Rather minuscule but heading in the right direction. Hopefully something can be done to enhance those," Reed said.
One of the reasons given for the lack of AEDs is the lack of water and wastewater service to some areas. Additionally, there is a lack of interest from the private sector in building these units.
In the end, the commission moved to accept the report with a 5-0 vote. The report will now move to the Board of Supervisors to discuss.