Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Slip Waitlist Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Harbor commission backs nontransferable slip permits, seeks lottery to open wait list
Summary
The Santa Barbara Harbor Commission directed staff to finalize changes making slips obtained from the public wait list nontransferable and to consolidate multiple closed wait lists into a single annual lottery, a move intended to increase public access and curb private profiteering.
The Santa Barbara Harbor Commission voted July 2025 to move forward with revisions to the waterfront slip wait list policy that would make any slip obtained from the public wait list nontransferable and convert the current multi-list system into a single annual lottery.
Commissioners said the changes aim to increase public access to slip space and to stop individuals from keeping wait-list rights for long periods and then selling them for profit. Harbor Operations Manager Nathan Aldridge told the commission the threefold staff goals for the policy are compliance with the local coastal plan, fairness, and “providing policy that enhances low cost accessibility for slips.”
Aldridge said the present system — a master wait list, a submaster wait list and a lottery list — has become complicated and largely closed to new entrants. He told commissioners that about 1 to 2 wait-list slips are offered each year, most are small (20–25 feet), and that the combined master/submaster lists currently have only 11 names. “Five out of the 11 names on the Master and the Submaster waitlist already have slips in the harbor,” Aldridge said.
Under the staff proposal, slips obtained from the wait list would carry no private-transfer rights, and the three lists would be consolidated into a single annual lottery. Individuals would submit their names each year and the commission would draw a small cohort (staff suggested 10 names) to form that year’s prioritized list; if an eligible wait-list slip became available it would be offered in list order. Aldridge said current master/submaster names could be added to the first year's pool on a one-time basis.
Commissioners pressed staff on details. Commissioner McCray asked how acceptance would work if multiple slips in different sizes were available; Aldridge said the person offered a slip could accept or decline and that offers would then proceed to the next person on the list. Aldridge also confirmed that applicants would not gain seniority simply by being on prior lists: after the first year anyone who wanted to remain in the lottery would have to reapply annually.
Several public commenters addressed the proposal. Robert Vatcher, who said he has been on the 60-foot wait list since the early 2000s, asked the commission to “leave it alone” and allow the list to run out by attrition. Jamie Diamond, general manager of Santa Barbara Landing, said she supports nontransferability as a public-resource principle but warned the harbor must maintain predictable procedures so cruise and maritime partners can plan reliably.
After discussion, the commission voted to recommend staff finalize the proposed changes for a future meeting with redlined municipal-code language and an attorney review. The motion passed with five votes in favor; Commissioner Cohen abstained and Commissioner Nelson was absent.
The commission directed staff to return with a draft ordinance for legal review, fee implications and concrete lottery procedures before any code changes are published for public comment.
Votes at the meeting also included approval of routine items and the election of next year’s commission leadership; those formal outcomes are listed in a separate “Votes at a glance” summary of this meeting.
