who worry that they could lose their rent protection, which they have under Santa Barbara County rules, but would potentially disappear under Santa Barbara City rules. The petition drive to get Noleta included in the Santa Barbara sphere of influence was led by two committees, the "West Santa Barbara Committee" and the "Committee of One." Prior to the 2008 recession, pressure to build new housing in the area had been intense, due to two reasons: the area contained the largest number of undeveloped parcels on the South Coast, and there was a general lack of affordable housing in the Santa Barbara area, as the median home price in 2005 had reached approximately 1.3 million dollars. In mid-October 2005, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors authorized $43,000 to fund a growth outline for the area. Several large-scale housing projects were proposed by the county in the Noleta area, which were opposed by many local residents due to traffic and quality-of-life concerns. References News articles "Noleta" residents gear up to defeat housing proposal Noleta Local Guide to Cities Unincorporated communities in Santa Barbara County, California Goleta, California Santa Barbara, California Unincorporated communities in California