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Santa Barbara Council votes to place charter amendment on June ballot to modernize contracts and leases rules
Summary
The City Council voted unanimously to call a June 2, 2026 special election to ask voters to amend charter section 5 2 1, giving the council flexibility to approve contracts and leases by ordinance or resolution and removing a 50‑year cap subject to other legal limits; staff recommended June despite higher cost to preserve negotiation flexibility for near‑term projects.
The Santa Barbara City Council unanimously voted to place a proposed charter amendment on the June 2, 2026 special municipal election ballot that would change how the city approves contracts and leases of city property.
Staff told the council the current charter requires any contract or lease longer than five years to be approved by ordinance, which typically means a roughly 40‑day process and exposes such approvals to referendum. The proposed amendment would allow the council to approve contracts and leases by ordinance or by resolution, and would eliminate the 50‑year lease cap in the charter while preserving limits imposed by federal or state law.
City staff recommended putting the measure on the June primary ballot to provide the city flexibility while negotiations for near‑term projects continue. "If we put the…
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