The developers of the Arlington Village Apartments in downtown Santa Barbara are considering converting 13 of the 33 residential units into hotel rooms.

Project manager Trent Lyon on Feb. 14 put in a pre-application request for the complex under construction at the corner of Chapala and Sola streets next to the landmark Arlington Theatre, according to city planner Renee Brooke.

"It’s not a formal application," she said. "Staff will be reviewing it for compliance with regulations and providing a response to the applicant in the next few weeks."

After that, Brooke said, a formal development plan application would be required to proceed, as well as other possible applications that city staff identify during the pre-application review.

That application would be reviewed and decided by the Planning Commission, she said.

The Planning Commission actions can be appealed to the City Council, she added.

The project originally was planned for the same parcel as the theater, but developers later requested a subdivision, so the housing development is on its own lot, Brooke said.

When the project subdivided, she said, developers requested to be recognized as an Average Unit-Size Density Incentive Program development.

The AUD program supports the construction of smaller, more-affordable housing units near transit and within easy walking and biking distance to commercial services and parks, according to city officials.

"They (the Arlington Village complex) are developed at a high-density level," Brooke said, noting the site has 30 dwelling units per acre.

"This request to convert some of the units to a hotel will change the overall density on the site," she said. "That’s one thing we have to look at. It may change their status."

Lyon could not be reached for comment.

In 2013, the Historic Landmarks Commission approved the design for the Arlington Village mixed-use project, which includes a three-story, 41½-foot-tall complex with a semi-subterranean parking garage.

The total building size is approximately 61,450 square feet.

Elsewhere in the city, several applications have been submitted to convert residences into hotels or vacation rentals.

Last year, a single-family home in the 100 block of West Ortega Street received the proper approvals to convert to a hotel, Brooke said.

The Mill Project at the corner of Haley and Laguna streets has one residential unit in the complex, and Brooke said it’s going through the permitting process to convert to a vacation rental.

Another project also in the permitting process is a single unit in the 1900 block of Bath Street, she said.

— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at [email protected]. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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