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Santa Barbara council holds facilitated strategic planning workshop; drafts four priority areas and schedules follow-up engagement
Summary
At a June 3 retreat, councilmembers, staff and a consultant reviewed a draft vision and identified four high-level strategic priority areaseconomic vitality; community resiliency and safety; housing and community services; and a thriving organizationand directed staff to synthesize the workshop for public engagement and next steps.
The Santa Barbara City Council held a facilitated strategic planning workshop on June 3 to draft a citywide strategic framework and clarify council expectations for the next three to five years.
Consultant Nancy Hetrick of Raftellus led the session and summarized prior interviews with council and department heads and the themes that surfaced in preparatory work. Hetrick said the workshop—s goal was to define a vision and a small number of strategic priorities to guide the city over the next several years, then to engage staff and the broader community to identify actionable strategies.
"This conversation today is really about informing kind of where we're headed in the next, you know, 2 to 3 to 5 years," Kelly, a city staff member who addressed the council, said at the start of the workshop. She and the consultant emphasized that the retreat was intended to guide future decisions and not to decide the budget that the council is scheduled to adopt in mid-June.
Workshop participants clustered input around four draft priority areas: stimulating economic vitality; enhancing community resiliency and safety; strengthening housing and community services; and ensuring a thriving organization. Workshop materials and discussion listed sample focus items under each heading: State Street and downtown revitalization, waterfront and airport considerations and business attraction for economic vitality; emergency preparedness, wildfire and climate adaptation, and infrastructure planning for resiliency; housing affordability, access and preservation and social support services for housing and community services; and multiyear budgeting, staff recruitment and retention, compensation and process improvements for the thriving organization priority.
Councilmembers discussed two sample vision statements developed from department-head input. One draft opened, "Santa Barbara is an iconic coastal community that honors its heritage, protects its physical and natural beauty, and ensures public safety," and included a line about striving to be "a model of resilience, sustainability, innovation, health and civic pride." A second draft emphasized being "a welcoming coastal community that values and protects our natural environment, creates a safe and healthy environment for our residents, and is a welcoming destination for visitors." Councilmembers and staff debated wording and tonefor example, whether the vision should be aspirational about being "a model" for other cities or more plainly assert the city—s commitment to residents.
The consultant and staff led a visioning exercise in which each councilmember listed elements they wish to preserve and goals to make true in five years. Common themes included preserving natural beauty and cultural resources, improving downtown vitality, addressing housing affordability, strengthening fiscal stability, and investing in the organization to support implementation.
Councilmembers voiced concerns about timing and implementation. Several said the workshop—s output should be tied to concrete performance metrics and to the city—s budget process so shorter-term budget decisions do not undermine longer-term goals. Councilmember comments repeatedly returned to an emphasis on financial stability as an organizing constraint: elected officials and staff said the city must be realistic about resources and prioritize within the strategic framework.
City staff and the consultant described next steps as a synthesis of workshop output, additional community engagement to test priorities and options, and return to council with a draft strategic plan that would include implementation steps and measurable indicators. Staff said the department-head team is prepared to use the council—s guidance to craft operational plans and potential budget implications.
Ending
The workshop closed with a commitment from staff and the consultant to synthesize the day—s input, engage stakeholders, and return with a draft strategic plan and recommendations for how to sequence near-term actions alongside longer-term objectives. No formal council votes were taken at the workshop.
