Central Coast drive-in movie theater can be replaced by housing project, planners say

A proposal for a housing development at the home of the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater received the approval of the Santa Maria Planning Commission on Nov. 17 even as members admitted struggling with the looming loss of the nostalgic business.

People’s Self-Help Housing has proposed building 49 single-family homes at the 8.9-acre drive-in theater site at 3170 Santa Maria Way.

The commissioners voted 3-1 to change the existing land use and zoning designations from commercial to residential. Commissioner Tim Seifert was the lone opponent, and colleague Tom Lopez was absent.

The commission’s action will serve as a recommendation for the Santa Maria City Council, which has final approval of the land use and zone changes and will consider the item in the future.

“I like the project. I struggle with it. I’d love to be able to go to the drive-in again, but times are changing and it’s out of our control a little bit. I think the project is a good fit and a good use of this property,” Commissioner Esau Blanco said.

Chair Robert Dickerson said he felt bad for the struggling drive-in’s owners and admitted he was sad at the loss.

“I think this is an appropriate project for that area. It fits in very well with all the other residential,” Dickerson said.

The application included a conceptual plan for the future housing project, which raised concerns from some commissioners although the applicant will have to return with more specific plans for final approval in the future.

Commissioner Maribel Hernandez said she supported the project since it involved People’s Self-Help Housing, a sentiment that other commissioners echoed in recognizing the nonprofit organization’s reputation.

“It is a difficult choice to make because we are giving up commercial use that could be used for something else to bring commercial to the city, but we also do need housing,” Hernandez said.

Seifert said he would prefer that the new development have two entrances and exits by linking up with an existing neighborhood.

The nonprofit People’s Self-Help Housing focuses on affordable projects with owners using so-called “sweat equity” to build the homes.

“People’s Self-Help believes in opening doors, building neighborhoods and improving lives in your community,” said Sheryl Flores, vice president of home ownership. “Drive-ins are becoming extinct but even more so is the American dream of home ownership.”

Santa Maria’s median home price in September was $574,000, an increase of more than 20% from a year ago, she said.

Some neighbors opposed any type of housing projects at the drive-in theater site, which is bordered to the north and east by low-density, single-family residential developments — Rolling Hills Estates and Sunset Hills, respectively. A mobile home park sits south of the site.

Traffic was among concerns raised by those who live nearby, but it was not deemed an impact during the analysis of the proposal, planner Frank Albro said.

The topic spurred pleas from people to reject the housing project to save the drive-in theater, although the owners have said the business has not been profitable amid a changing landscape, including plenty of streaming services for people to view movies at home.

The plight of the drive-in serves as a reminder that people should stand up and look around at places that mean something to discuss solutions before they have been forced to go in a different direction, Dickerson said.

A similar outcry occurred when the planning commissioners considered a U-Haul truck rental and storage facility at the former Kmart building on Santa Maria Way.

“The time to do it is before it reaches this body,” Dickerson said.