Last week, the Goleta City Council approved construction of the city’s largest development plan — a combined residential and business complex on Hollister Avenue — since its incorporation into the county in 2002.

The mixed-use project will be built across from Camino Real Marketplace and will include 274 residential units, several stores and restaurants and 19 additional buildings that range from one to three stories high. The plan was approved by city officials last Tuesday with a 4-1 vote after first being proposed by Westar Associates in July 2008 and undergoing various discussions and subsequent changes thereafter.

Goleta community members’ concerns about the project have primarily focused on pedestrian safety and traffic flow surrounding construction of the 23-acre site.

While residential units are expected to look similar to traditional condominiums, they will also include a commercial aspect as residents can manage a workspace on one floor while using other floors for housing. The new spaces will be the first live/work units constructed in Goleta.

The multi-use plaza will also include a recreational center and club house, with the center planned as 19 different buildings that will have small parks and other open spaces located in between them.

President and CEO of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce Kristen Miller said the complex will make itself eco-friendly by effectively regulating air pollution and solid waste.

Scott Kolwitz, case planner for the City of Goleta, said that while market rates are subject to change, the monthly cost for a one-bedroom unit is $1,800, while two-bedroom units range from $2,200 to $2,500 and three-bedroom units are priced from $2,500 to $2,600 as of September 2012.

Zoning codes regarding the new units will be discussed Oct. 16 as Goleta City Council begins addressing related ordinances and examines whether the property area should be re-zoned, with possible plans to make the project one-third commercial and two-thirds housing space.