Supervisors Approve Design for 384-Bed Northern Branch Jail Expansion

Santa Barbara County is moving forward with a major reshaping of its incarceration system after the Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to approve the design for a 384-bed expansion of the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria, according to Noozhawk.

The vote, taken at a board meeting held in Santa Maria, keeps the roughly $139 million project on schedule and on budget, county staff said. Supervisor Bob Nelson did not participate in the vote because he had left before the item was heard. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the expanded facility anticipated to open by July 2029.

What the Approved Design Includes

The design covers 1.5 additional housing units totaling 384 beds, organized into six pods of 64 beds each. The pods are not high-security and are designed to encourage interaction among people in custody — part of what county officials described as a more progressive approach that limits restrictive housing.

Jeffrey Patton, assistant director of General Services, told the board that designers drew lessons from the original Northern Branch Jail, expanding access to natural light and upgrading furnishings "to provide a more modern and even more humane facility," Noozhawk reported.

The schematics also reflect feedback from community meetings held in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, where residents reviewed early plans. Recommendations covered design, landscaping and programming, and several were incorporated — including interview and health treatment spaces integrated directly into the pods so people can access services without leaving their housing areas. Residents even suggested more hooks, handles and shelf space in showers; that input made it into the plans. Each housing area will include space for programming and recreation.

In July, the board approved a $138,650,000 design-build contract with Sletten Construction Co. for the project. Unlike the original jail construction, which was funded by about $80 million in state grants and roughly $40 million in county funds, the expansion may be funded entirely by the county.

Why the County Is Restructuring Its Jails

The expansion is part of a broader shift in how Santa Barbara County houses people in custody. The county currently operates two facilities: the aging Main Jail in Santa Barbara, built in the 1970s, and the newer Northern Branch Jail at 2301 Black Road in Santa Maria, which opened in early 2022 after a roughly five-year construction period marked by delays.

The county plans to downsize the Main Jail and limit it primarily to intake services, with the Santa Maria expansion compensating for the lost beds. The original 376-bed Northern Branch Jail was itself built to relieve overcrowding and poor conditions at the Main Jail — problems that came to a head after a 2017 class-action lawsuit argued that people were held in dangerous and unconstitutional conditions there. A settlement required the county to address the conditions, and after weighing the high cost of renovating the Main Jail, officials concluded that expanding the Santa Maria facility was the better path.

A Debate Over Size and Priorities

The project has not been without critics. At Tuesday's meeting, opponents argued during public comment that the money would be better spent on mental health programs and community support rather than jail beds.

Gail Osherenko, representing the local chapter of the League of Women Voters on its Criminal Justice Task Force, said her group supports rehabilitation and helping people return to the community. "We don't feel that this what we're doing here, overbuilding the jail system, is really getting us there," she said, "and it's unfortunately taking money away from things that (we really) do need in the community."

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, whose district includes Santa Maria, addressed concerns that the expansion is too large. He said he hopes the critics prove right — but argued the board must plan for the county's future needs, pointing to continued housing growth and rising populations in Santa Maria, Goleta and Orcutt.

Lavagnino also praised county staff for listening to public feedback and incorporating it into the design, thanking residents for holding the board's "feet to the fire" during the process. "Nobody wants to do this," he said, "but I think we're getting the best possible project that we can right now."

What Comes Next

For Santa Barbara County residents, the project marks a decade-long transformation of the county's justice infrastructure: from a lawsuit over unconstitutional conditions at a 1970s-era downtown jail, to a new Santa Maria facility opened in 2022, to a expanded northern campus expected by mid-2029 — with the Main Jail's future role significantly reduced.

With the design now approved, the next milestone is the start of construction in 2027. County staff say the project remains on schedule and on budget, though the original Northern Branch Jail's history of construction delays suggests residents will be watching the timeline closely. Meanwhile, the debate over whether the county is investing too much in jail capacity and too little in mental health and rehabilitation services is likely to continue as budget discussions move forward.