Council directs staff to draft rent‑increase moratorium and just‑cause/Ellis Act fixes, 4–3
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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 planning ahead of a January program launch.
The council spent more than two hours in focused deliberation and heard dozens of public speakers: tenant advocates urged an immediate rent freeze, eviction moratorium and a 60%‑of‑CPI cap plus a rental registry; landlords and property‑owner groups warned of high administrative costs, constitutional takings and the risk of driving small owners from the market. City Attorney Dan Henske explained that an urgency ordinance (a moratorium that takes effect immediately) requires five votes and that courts are generally deferential to councils that declare an immediate need; he advised caution about an Ellis Act moratorium and recommended using targeted amendments to existing just‑cause provisions and right‑of‑return requirements instead.
Councilmember Jaime Harmon moved that staff return in January with draft moratorium language and proposed amendments addressing Ellis Act/just‑cause; Councilmember Santa Maria offered a friendly amendment to include a rollback date (to be researched by staff). The clerk recorded a 4–3 vote in favor of the motion. Mayor Rouse, Mayor Pro Tem Friedman and Councilmember Jordan voted no. Councilmembers Harmon, Sneddon, Gutierrez and Santa Maria voted yes.
What the vote means: the council did not adopt a final rent stabilization ordinance or set caps tonight. Instead, staff were directed to develop moratorium language (including a rollback date to freeze the state of play while the ordinance is drafted), research legal defensibility of rollback timing, draft proposed changes to just‑cause/Ellis Act rules, estimate the administrative costs and return to council for further direction and possible ordinance adoption.
Next steps: staff will prepare a moratorium draft and proposed just‑cause/Ellis Act clarifications for council consideration in January and continue the public engagement, technical analysis and budget estimates needed for an ordinance development and implementation timeline.