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Council directs staff to draft rent‑increase moratorium and just‑cause/Ellis Act fixes, 4–3
Summary
After hours of testimony and discussion, the City Council voted 4–3 to ask staff to prepare an urgency moratorium on rent increases (with a rollback date) and to draft amendments addressing Ellis Act/just‑cause loopholes; council chose direction rather than final ordinance drafting tonight.
Santa Barbara’s City Council gave staff direction to draft an interim rent‑increase moratorium and to return with amendments addressing Ellis Act/just‑cause issues after a lengthy public hearing and policy discussion on Dec. 16.
Staff framed the item as policy guidance rather than a final decision. Barbara Anderson and other staff outlined a multi‑phase work plan that includes hiring a technical expert, conducting new data collection and stakeholder focus groups, drafting an ordinance, and running a public education campaign; staff proposed a timeline that would include drafting and potential ordinance adoption by July 2026 and implementation…
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