Santa Barbara council agrees to put tighter tenant-protection ordinance back on the calendar after weeks of public pressure

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 5–2 on March 4 to return for a full hearing an ordinance that would amend municipal code Chapter 26.50 to tighten tenant protections for residents displaced during renovations.

The move followed more than two hours of public testimony and several council members’ appeals to move the matter forward quickly. The motion to agendize was made by Councilmember Wendy Santa Maria and seconded by Councilmember Heather Harmon; the final vote was 5 in favor, 2 opposed (Mayor Rouse and Councilmember Mike Jordan).

Councilmember Wendy Santa Maria, who introduced the memo, told the council the amendments would “close an existing, ongoing, and well-documented loophole” and would reflect language previously approved by the ordinance committee and reviewed by the city attorney.

Public commenters pressed the council to act immediately. Alex Entrenkin, managing attorney for housing at the Legal Aid Foundation, urged councilmembers to consider the item’s urgency: “I looked at numbers first... I can’t say, but I just want you to feel what it... feels like for these families,” Entrenkin said, describing tenants driven from units and dispersed across the region. Lisa Carlos, who said she grew up in Santa Barbara, told the council she had watched families lose homes and asked the council to “protect the people who work in…