Proposed Mixed-Use “Courtyard” Developer Meets Neighborhood Pushback Ahead of Santa Maria City Council Vote

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A property next to a school in north Santa Maria that’s currently an empty lot is caught in a developmental snag, awaiting the City Council’s vote expected next month.

As the developer has refined the proposal, neighbors have been voicing concerns over the “Courtyard at Hidden Pines” project adjacent to Tommie Kunst Junior High School.

The empty lot at the corner of Railroad and Hidden Pines, originally owned by a church organization, was purchased a few years ago by Dan Patin, a developer affiliated with Urban Planning Concepts.

Patin is proposing the development of a mixed-use complex consisting of apartments and condos, a medical facility, a restaurant, and a large pickleball court.

Long-term residents of the North Preisker Ranch neighborhood say the proposed development has undergone several revisions already, but the latest permutation still doesn’t seem to address their core concerns.

The lot is only a couple blocks from the Santa Maria Riverbed.

Residents say every morning and afternoon Monday through Friday, school traffic significantly backs up at the two roundabouts that flank Tommie Kunst Junior High School on Hidden Pines Way.

Hundreds of parents arrive each morning and come back every afternoon dropping off and picking up their kids. 

Crossing guards hold traffic for the kids who walk, and it’s also the school bus entrance and exit zones.

Neighbors are concerned the development as currently proposed would escalate school-time traffic clogs out of control, particularly because Patin is only designing two access points to 72 parking space — intended for 68 living units — when the neighborhood is already plagued with street parking problems 24/7 due to household overflow.

The city is expected to vote on the proposed development next month.

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